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Monday, May 25, 2026
Likud MK Galit Distel Atbaryan won’t seek reelection, will leave Knesset at end of term
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAriela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.
Likud MK Galit Distel Atbaryan says that she will not run in the upcoming elections and will leave the Knesset at the end of its current term, during a session of the special Knesset panel overseeing Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi’s controversial media overhaul bill.
The announcement comes after months of mounting criticism over the conduct of the committee, which is led by Distel Atbaryan, including allegations that it has bypassed parliamentary procedures, curtailed debate and disregarded legal advice, prompting Knesset Legal Adviser Sagit Afik last month to call for the legislation to be moved to the Economic Affairs Committee, where such bills are normally discussed.
Distel Atbaryan has served in the Knesset since 2022. She briefly served as public diplomacy minister before resigning days after the October 7, 2023 attacks, arguing that her office had been sidelined while other government bodies were tasked with Israel’s international public diplomacy efforts.
The ministry was criticized for failing to release any meaningful explanatory content as Israel suffered the largest single-day loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust and was shuttered.
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