Ariel Kallner

Kallner was born into a secular family in Haifa on 5 July 1980,^[1] the oldest of three brothers, and attended the Hebrew Reali School.

His national service in the Israel Defense Forces saw him serve as a combat medic in the Golani Brigade, during which time he became religious. He subsequently attended the Technion and earned an MBA at the University of Haifa.

Whilst at the Technion, he established the anti-disengagement movement known as the orange cell,^[2] and was elected chair of the Likud Youth Movement in 2004.

In 2013, he established Hazon Leumi – The Center for Zionist Leadership, which set itself the goal of shaping the leadership of the next generation in a Jewish-Zionist-national spirit.^[3]

Knesset career

Kallner was placed thirty-fourth on the Likud list in the April 2019 election,^[4] and was elected to the Knesset after the party won 35 seats. In June 2019, Kallner and fellow Likud MK Michal Shir unsuccessfully sued to prevent Likud's merger with Kulanu.^[5] Kallner went on to lose his seat in the September 2019 election after Likud was reduced to 31 seats.^[6]

Kallner failed to regain his seat in the 2020 legislative election. However, re-entered the Knesset on 5 July 2020 to replace Tzipi Hotovely, who resigned her seat under the Norwegian Law following her appointment to the cabinet. In late July 2020, Kallner publicly opposed an effort to rename a street in Haifa in honor of Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum.^[7] Placed thirty-third on the Likud list in the 2021 elections, he lost his seat as Likud was reduced to 30 seats.

He re-entered the Knesset in January 2023, replacing Haim Katz.^[8] In February 2023, the Knesset Education, Culture and Sports Committee held a committee hearing at Kallner's behest over alleged censorship of right-wing views on Israeli university campuses.^[9] Following a clash in April 2023 in which Israeli forces killed a 15 year old Palestinian child in the Aqbat Jaber refugee camp in Jericho, West Bank, Kallner was quoted by CNN as saying "The land of Israel belongs to the people of Israel, belongs to us... I think that those who live here, the Arabs and so on, they can live here. But it’s our land."^[10] In May 2023 Kallner proposed a bill to institute a 65% tax on donations to non-governmental organizations (NGO) accused of "interfering in Israel's internal affairs."^[11] Kallner was one of three Likud MKs, along with Dan Illouz and Amit Halevi to go up to the Temple Mount alongside MKs from the far-right Otzma Yehudit party.^[12]

Kallner was described as a "hard-right member of Netanyahu’s own Likud party" by the The Times of Israel owing to his championing of a controversial bill that would have hindered the ability of NGOs to receive foreign funding.^[13]

Following Hamas’s attack on Israeli communities near Gaza, Kallner in October 2023 called for Israel to bring about a second Nakba.^[14] In a post on social media platform X, Kallner advocated for a "Nakba that will overshadow the Nakba of ’48", calling for a "Nakba in Gaza and Nakba to anyone who dares to join."^[15][16]

Kallner is married with four children and lives in Haifa.

• Ariel Kallner on the Knesset website