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Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Likud’s Ofir Katz appointed chair of Knesset Finance Committee following Gafni’s resignation
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Following chairman Moshe Gafni’s resignation on Monday evening, the Knesset Finance Committee approves a Knesset House Committee recommendation to appoint Likud MK Ofir Katz as chairman of the influential panel.
Following his approval as chairman, the committee announces that it will hold a meeting on Sunday to discuss the government’s compensation plan for businesses and workers harmed economically by last month’s war with Iran.
Gafni failed to show up for a scheduled discussion of the bill earlier this week, pausing its progress until his replacement could be chosen. This sparked concerns regarding the Knesset’s ability to pass the crucial legislation before the end of the summer legislative session, which wraps up on July 27.
The Knesset House Committee voted 6-3 to recommend Katz, who also serves as its chairman.
“There is an urgency to finish with the compensation outline, on which most of the work has already been done,” said Katz, adding that he intends to “finish the work in the committee, and bring the legislation up in the plenum next week.”
Katz’s appointment follows a fight between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism over which party would take over the committee.
The Times of Israel Community.