Shlomo Karhi (Hebrew: שְׁלֹמֹה קַרְעִי, born 6 April 1982) is an Israeli academic and politician. He is currently a member of the Knesset for Likud and serving as the Minister of Communications in the thirty-seventh government.[1]
Shlomo Karhi
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|---|---|
Karhi in 2020
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| Ministerial roles | |
| 2022– | Minister of Communications |
| Faction represented in the Knesset | |
| 2019– | Likud |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1982-04-06) 6 April 1982 (age 42) Ramat Gan, Israel |
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Karhi was born in Ramat Gan as the eldest of seventeen siblings in a religious family,[2] to mother Mazal and father Rabbi David Karhi, an Israeli-born SabraofTunisian Jewish heritage from Djerba. At the age of four Shlomo Karhi moved to Zimrat, a religious moshav.
Before enlisting in the IDF, he studied for a year at Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav, where he completed his matriculation certificate and took the psychometric exam. He served in the 97th Battalion of the Nahal Haredi and was honorably discharged from regular service at the rank of staff sergeant. He carries out his reserve service in the Geffen Brigade. After his discharge from the military, he earned a BA in Management Accounting and Information Systems at the Jerusalem College of Technology. After completing his internship, Shlomo received his CPA license. In 2011, he completed his master’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Management at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and in 2013, he completed his Ph.D. under the supervision of Prof. Dvir Shabtay on timing in multipurpose machinery. His research addresses areas of applied mathematics and computer science—timing and optimization. From 2006 to 2013, he was a guest lecturer in the Department of Industrial Management at Bar-Ilan University, and for some of those years, he was a member of the academic committee at Sapir College. In parallel, from 2009 to 2014, he was a lecturer in the Department of Industrial and Management Engineering at Ben-Gurion University. In 2014, he was appointed a permanent lecturer in the Department of Management at Bar-Ilan University.
In the years 2012-2021 he published 11 scientific articles that were cited in about a hundred academic publications.
In the 23rd Knesset, he served as chairman of the lobby for a democratic Israel and the lobby for the Negev, and was appointed chairman of the subcommittee for Negev affairs. Karai, who was involved in economic issues even before he was elected to the Knesset, focused on economic areas such as the fight against the early repayment fee for mortgages. A law that proposed extending the tax exemption for housing developers who have not yet sold their old apartment is merged into a government law. [20] Krai led, with Finance Minister Israel Katz, approval in the Finance Committee for a 20% increase in unemployment benefits For those under the age of 28 with at least one child.
In 2021, he worked to cancel the mortgage limit on prime interest, which was very low at that time, contrary to the opinion of the Bank of Israel which claimed that the limit was intended to protect the public from rising interest rates. After threatening to pass the repeal in legislation, he reached an understanding with the Bank of Israel, that the limit would be softened and the law would not be promoted. In 2023, the Bank of Israel began raising interest rates to deal with inflationary data. The increase in interest rates caused a sharp jump in the monthly repayments among the public of mortgage takers who took advantage of the removal of the prime limit and moved 1 out of every 10 households into an overdraft.
Karhi was placed twenty-fifth on the Likud list for the April 2019 elections,[3] a slot reserved for candidates from the Negev.[4] He was subsequently elected to the Knesset as Likud won 36 seats. He was re-elected in the September 2019 and March 2020 elections after being placed twenty-seventh on the Likud list,[5][6] and was re-elected again in 2021 (in twenty-fourth place)[7] and 2022 (in thirteenth place).[8] Following the 2022 elections he was appointed Minister of Communications.
In March 2023 Karhi unveiled his plan for a communications market reform. He announced the cancellation of the Second Authority and the Cable and Satellite Council, declaring an end to the era of "hyperactive regulation". The minister emphasized the need for less intervention, increased competition, and greater freedom in the Israeli communications sector. According to Karhi, the plan involves reducing interference in business models, expanding the advertising market, and encouraging the launch of new content channels.[9]
On 2 October 2023 Karhi made history when he visited Riyadh, Saudi Arabia among the first delegation to attend the Universal Postal Union's Extraordinary Congress and was the first Israeli minister ever to speak in the country. [10] On the following day, he held a Jewish prayer service with a minyan during the Sukkot holiday, complete with a Torah scroll dedicated to the rulers of the kingdom.[11] Later that month, Karhi criticized former U.S. President Donald Trump over his criticism of Netanyahu.[12]
On February 14, 2024, he signed a license to operate the Starlink satellite internet service in Israel.
On May 5, 2024, following the government's decision to close the Al-Jazeera channel, Minister Karai signed appropriate orders, and the Israel Police acted to implement them.[32][33]
On May 21, 2024, he ordered the confiscation of equipment from the American news agency Associated Press, whose clients include the Al Jazeera channel, as part of the implementation of the "Al Jazeera Law".[34] After a few hours he canceled the operation following criticism from the United States.[35]
In March 2023 Karhi sparked a widespread controversy during the Purim holiday in Israel. Karhi took to Twitter to address a group of individuals who had announced that they would refuse to serve in the reserves if the proposed legal revolution were to pass. He referred to them as "impudent objectors" and told them to "go to hell." In his tweet, Karhi drew comparisons between the objectors and the biblical story of Mordechai and Esther, suggesting that Israel would prosper without them. The tweet caused a public uproar, but Karhi stood by his statement and doubled down, calling the refusal to serve "sad, stinking, and pathetic."[13]
In 2023 Karhi, serving as Israel's Minister of Communication, initiated a notable legislative action concerning foreign media. The law was framed to prohibit news outlets believed to jeopardize Israel's national security in the wake of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war. The Israeli government endorsed an emergency provision under his guidance, targeting the Qatari news channel Al Jazeera. Karhi critiqued Al Jazeera, characterizing it as a "propaganda platform" and expressed concerns over its coverage, suggesting that it might be inciting adverse sentiments against Israel.[14]
In January 2024 Karhi attended a "Settlement Brings Security" conference advocating for Israeli resettlement of the Gaza Strip,[15] where he stated "We have an obligation to act... to [bring about] voluntary emigration — even if this war... turns this voluntary migration into a situation of 'Coerce him until he says, "I want to do so"'".[16]