Matan Kahana

Biography

Former Minister of Religious Services

Lives in

Moshav Beit Gamliel

Education

Elementary school at Kibbutz Hafetz Haim; Netiv Meir Yeshiva; BA and MA in law from Bar-Ilan University, in the honors track

Service

Combat soldier in Sayeret Matkal (August 1990 intake), F-16 fighter pilot in various squadrons (116, 201, 110, 117, 140, 253), commander of Squadron 116 (2011), commander of Squadron 109 (2013), head of a department at Air Force headquarters (from 2015), rank of colonel (air), took part in the Second Lebanon War, Operation Cast Lead, Operation Pillar of Defense and Operation Protective Edge, served 1990-2018

Before politics

IDF officer, F-16 fighter pilot and Sayeret Matkal combat soldier with the rank of colonel; after his discharge he served as director of the Diaspora project at the Center for Educational Technology and as a fellow at the Gesher Leadership Institute

Public roles

MK (2019–2021, 2022–2025); former Minister of Religious Services (2021–2022); former Deputy Minister of Religious Services (2022)

Main political focus

Religion and state affairs, including reforms in kashrut, conversion and appointments to religious councils

Milestones

Initiated a reform opening the kashrut system to competition; presented a government conversion plan; promoted a move to appoint women to religious councils and signed regulations limiting the terms of city rabbis to 10 years

Key principles

Notable tweets ⓘThe numbers are as of when they were collected.