Shlomo Karhi

Karhi was born in Ramat Gan into a religious family, and was the oldest of seventeen siblings. At the age of four he moved to the Zimrat moshav. [2] He was educated at the Kisse Rahamim and Mercaz HaRav yeshivas. He subsequently served in the Netzah Yehuda Battalion during his national service in the Israel Defense Forces,[2] before earning a BA in management accounting and information systems at the Jerusalem College of Technology, and a master's degree and PhD in industrial engineering and management at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. He began work as a lecturer at Sapir Academic College, before becoming part of the faculty at Ben-Gurion University and then Bar-Ilan University.

Karhi was placed twenty-fifth on the Likud list for the April 2019 elections,[3] a slot reserved for candidates from the Negev.[2] 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,[4][5] and was re-elected again in 2021 (in twenty-fourth place)[6] and 2022 (in thirteenth place).[7]

In 2023, Karhi sparked a widespread controversy during the Purim holiday in Israel. Karhi took to Twitter to address a group of individuals, including pilots, doctors, and members of the special operations unit, who had announced that they would not volunteer to serve in the reserves if the proposed legal revolution were to pass. He referred to them as "impudent conscientious 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 and that they were self-appointed rulers akin to Haman. The tweet caused a public uproar, but Karhi stood by his statement and doubled down, calling the refusal to serve "sad, stinking, and pathetic."[8]

Later that month, 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]

• Shlomo Karhi on the Knesset website