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{{Region_icon_Ajax}}
{{WIP}}
{{WIP}}
{{Infobox Officeholder
{{Infobox Officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = The Honorable<br>
| honorific-prefix    = The Honorable
| name                = Zalman Yitzchak Katz<br>
| name                = Zalman Yitzchak Katz
| honorific-suffix    =  
| honorific-suffix    =  
| image              = New War Ministry head.jpg
| image              = Yisroel Levy pic.jpg
| imagesize          = 200px
| imagesize          = 200px
| smallimage          =  
| smallimage          =  
| caption            = <small>Minister Katz speaking at a press conference in [[Provisa]] in early 2015.</small>  
| caption            = <small>Chief Inspector Katz observing a {{wp|military parade}} at the [[Royal Yisraeli Political Academy system|RYPA - Ashkelon]], c. 2019.</small>  
| order              =  
| order              =  
| office              = Imperial War Minister of Belhavia
| office              = Chief Inspector of the [[Royal Yisraeli Intelligence Service|RYIS]]
| term_start          = January 24<sup>th</sup>, 2012
| term_start          = February 2<sup>nd</sup>, 2015
| predecessor        = [[Evan Fox]]
| predecessor        = [[Nosson Lifshultz]]
|office2      =General, General Staff, [[Imperial Armed Forces of Belhavia]]
|office2      ={{wp|Ramatkal}} ({{wp|Lt. General}}), General Staff, [[Royal Yisraeli Defense Forces]]
|term_start2  =June 9<sup>th</sup>, 2005
|term_start2  =June 30<sup>th</sup>, 2010
|term_end2    =January 23<sup>rd</sup>, 2012
|term_end2    =February 2<sup>nd</sup>, 2015
|predecessor2  =[[Schlomo Weissman]]
|predecessor2  =[[Schlomo Weissman]]
|constituency2 =
|constituency2 =
|successor2    =[[Frank Gold]]
|successor2    =[[Avi Goldschmidt]]
|office3      =
|office3      =
|term_start3  =
|term_start3  =
Line 24: Line 25:
|constituency3 =
|constituency3 =
|successor3    =
|successor3    =
| birth_date          = {{wpl|May 7th}}, {{wpl|1946}}  
| birth_date          = {{wpl|March 10th}}, {{wpl|1959}}  
| birth_place        = [[Freeport City]], [[Freeport (province)|Freeport]]
| birth_place        = [[Yerushalayim]], [[Yisrael]]
| nationality        = [[Belhavia|Belhavian]]  
| nationality        = [[Yisrael]]i
| party              = [[National Patriotic Union (Belhavia)|National Patriotic Union]] (1964 - 1969)<br>[[Conservative Party (Belhavia)|Conservative Party]] (1969 - Present)
| party              = [[National Union Party (Yisrael)|National Union Party]] (1977 - 1985)<br>[[Royalist Conservative Party (Yisrael)|Royalist Conservative Party]] (1985 - Present)
| spouse              = Chana I. Katz
| spouse              = Chana I. Katz
| residence          = [[Provisa]]
| residence          = [[Yerushalayim]]
| alma_mater          = {{wp|Bachelors of Science|B.S.}}, Military Science, [[Freeport Military Academy]]
| alma_mater          = {{wp|Bachelors of Science|B.S.}}, Military Science, [[Royal Yisraeli Political Academy system|RYPA - Yerushalayim]]
| profession          = {{wp|Military officer}}, {{wp|Functionary}}
| profession          = {{wp|Military officer}}, {{wp|Functionary}}, {{wp|Intelligence officer}}
| religion            = {{wp|Orthodox Judaism}}
| website            =  
| website            =  
}}
}}


'''Zalman Yitzchak Katz''' (born May 7th, 1946) is the current [[Imperial War Ministry (Belhavia)|Imperial War Minister]] of [[Belhavia]] and formerly a {{wp|Four-star rank|four-star}} general in the [[Imperial Armed Forces of Belhavia|Imperial military's]] General Staff. He is a member of the [[Conservative Party (Belhavia)|Conservative Party]]. He is a recipient of the [[Imperial Blue Star]] for valor on the battlefield for his actions in the [[Nazali War]] in 1970.  
'''Zalman Yitzchak Katz''' (born March 10th, 1959) is the current [[Royal Yisraeli Intelligence Service|Chief Inspector of the Royal Yisraeli Intelligence Service]] and formerly a {{wp|Israel Defense Forces ranks|two-star}} general in the [[Royal Yisraeli Defense Forces|RYDF's]] {{wp|General Staff}}. He is a member of the [[Royalist Conservative Party (Yisrael)|Royalist Conservative Party]].  


Before his promotion to War Minister, Katz was an Imperial Army general in the military General Staff. He is known as a fierce {{wp|war hawk}} and {{wp|Ultranationalism|ultra-nationalist}}. He is an advocate in the military School of Unilateral Action and promotes frequent Belhavian military intervention abroad, though he often acknowledges the role of having {{wp|multinational}} military allies assist Belhavia when the Imperial government deploys forces overseas.
Before his promotion to Chief Inspector, Katz was an RYDF lieutenant general in the military General Staff. He is known as a fierce {{wp|war hawk}} and {{wp|Religious nationalism|nationalist}}. He is an advocate in the military School of Unilateral Action and promotes frequent Yisraeli military intervention and intelligence operations abroad, though he often acknowledges the role of having {{wp|multinational}} military allies assist Yisrael.  


==Early Life and Education==
He was appointed at the tail-end of [[Noah Feldman|the first Feldman term]] after the {{wp|retirement}} of [[Nosson Lifshultz]]. He was retained in his role by the incoming [[Yitzchok Katz|Katz administration]] in early 2020.


Katz was born in May 1946, in [[Misgram-av]], [[West Dakos (province)|West Dakos]], to a {{wp|Lower middle-class|lower-middle-income}} family that observed a {{wp|Union for Traditional Judaism|traditionalist Conservative}}/{{wp|Conservadox Judaism|Conservadox}} Jewish lifestyle. His father, Akiva Katz, had served in the [[Imperial Navy (Belhavia)|Imperial Navy]] in the [[Galarian Regime|Galarian years]], while his mother, Miriam, was a housewife.
==Early life and education==


His neighborhood was religious but had a modern bent to it. He attended [[Misgram-av|Misgram-av Yeshiva]] for his primary and secondary education. In the mid-1960s, when he was old enough to vote and started to pay attention to politics and broader social debates, he was attracted to the {{wp|Far right|far right}}, {{wp|Ultranationalism|ultra-nationalist}}, {{wp|Haredi|religiously Haredi}} [[National Patriotic Union (Belhavia)|National Patriotic Union]] political party. His foray with local NPU activism developed a fervent patriotic streak in him, as well as prompting him to consider a spiritual re-evaluation of his life.  
Katz was born in March 1959, in [[Yerushalayim|Har Nof, Yerushalayim]], [[District system (Yisrael)|Yerushalayim District]], to a {{wp|middle-class|middle-income}} {{wp|Military brat (U.S. subculture)|military family}}. His family was one of many that in the 1960s and 1970s would [[Chiloni-dati divide (Yisrael)#Chardal|constitute the emerging national-chareidi Chardal sector]]. His father, Akiva Katz, served in the [[Royal Yisraeli Army]] as a {{wp|tank commander}}, and saw action in the [[Third West Scipian War|Third]] and [[Fourth West Scipian War]]s as well as the [[Year of Blood]]. His mother, Miriam, was a housewife.  


To his parent's surprise, he decided to undergo the process of ''{{wp|Baal teshuva|baal teshuva}}'' and attended the famed [[Provisa|Ohr Torah Yeshiva of Provisa]] for his {{wp|Post-secondary education|post-secondary education}}. After two years in the yeshiva, he considered himself an Orthodox Jew.
His neighborhood was a mix of ''[[Chiloni-dati divide (Yisrael)|Dati]]'' (religious) families but had a modern and nationalist bent to it. He attended [[Yerushalayim|Har Nof Yeshiva]] for his primary education, and he applied and was accepted as a {{wp|legacy preferences|legacy}} to the [[Royal Yisraeli Political Academy system]] in its Yerushalayim campus for secondary education.  


==Military Career==
In the mid-1970s, when he was old enough to vote and started to pay attention to politics and broader social debates, he was attracted to the {{wp|right-wing nationalist}}, Chardal-oriented [[National Union Party (Yisrael)|National Union]] political party.


After two years in the [[Provisa|famous Provisa yeshiva]], Katz decided he wanted to serve in the military, inspired by his father as well as the NPU's rhetoric. He applied for the prestigious and storied officer's school, the [[Freeport Military Academy]], and was accepted.
==Military career==


In his third year as a cadet, the [[Ben-David Incident]] occurred - the attempted {{wp|Coup d'état|coup d'état}} by [[National Patriotic Union (Belhavia)|National Patriotic Union]] elements to overthrow the visibly left-wing administration of President [[Vern Callan]]. Katz was detained by academy officials in the aftermath due to his well-known activism on behalf of the NPU, but an investigation by the military school concluded he had shared no part in the failed coup. He was released and allowed to continue his cadet studies. He subsequently became a [[Conservative Party (Belhavia)|Tory]], finding a comfortable niche on its right-wing faction.  
He {{wp|matriculate}}d in 1977 from the RYPA as a newly commissioned {{wp|second lieutenant}}. He was assigned to the [[Royal Yisraeli Army|2nd Nachal Chareidi Infantry Brigade]], which was stationed in the [[District system (Yisrael)|Northern District]] along the [[Sydalon-Yisrael border]] from 1977-81.  


After this, he became a social outcast for his former party's actions - actions that inspired a deep guilt and were considered taboo from the [[Galarian Regime|Galarian era]]. Nevertheless, he graduated in spring 1970 as a newly commissioned second lieutenant.  
He decided to stay in after his national service, receiving a promotion to first lieutenant and asking to be reassigned to the [[Special forces units of the Royal Yisraeli Defense Forces|Mista'aravi unit]], a {{wp|special forces}} command that targeted the [[Christian terrorism in Yisrael|post-Yarden rise in Yisraeli and Sydalene Christian terror campaigns]].  


He was assigned to an infantry unit, and saw action in the [[Nazali War|Nazali conflict in Ashizwe]] several months later. Six months into his active service, he earned the [[Imperial Blue Star]] for valor and courage under fire. He earned brevet first lieutenant in 1971 after the death of his superior officer. In 1973, he served his last tour in that war, and was promoted to captain. In 1976, he attracted the attention of Colonel [[Yisroel Levy]], who liked the junior officer's hawkish views and valorous record, and saw to it that Katz was transferred from a line to a staff posting and was promoted to Major.  
He was promoted for his classified service in 1985 to captain, and later to major in 1994. After 1994, he was put in a line staff posting.


In 1978, it was alleged he was dispatched to covertly fight the beginnings of the [[Myrdesia War|Communist incursion into South Ashizwe]]. By the early 1980s, he was publicly noted as being stationed in [[Westonaria]] and had several strong working and personal relationships with members of the [[Westonaria|Westonarian Defense Force]]. Since taking more senior and public roles, Katz has been an outspoken supporter of Westonaria and Belhavia's close relationship with it, despite [[Belhavia and Racialist Regimes#Westonaria|some differences over domestic policies]].
He reached the rank of Lt. General ("Ramatkal") in 2010, and was appointed to the General Staff of the RYDF. [[Presidency of Yisrael|President]] [[Noah Feldman]] tapped Katz in February 2015 to fill the vacancy in the post of Chief Inspector of the RYIS, the country's top spy chief.


In the 1980s, his stock rose as Levy - his patron who now had ascended to Major General - was made a confidant to President [[Julian Settas]], who wanted a more hawkish military policy. This shift in policy from the Callan years rewarded officers like Katz.
==Political views==


In 1986, he was made lieutenant colonel. Just as soon, he took part in the [[South Ashizwe Border War]], and by 1991 was promoted to colonel. He was known as an effective tactical strategist, though some critics within the ranks complained he was too willing to see higher casualties to ensure the mission was successful. By this time, he had a family of 9 children, stretching from their thirties to their young preteens. Two of his sons, Eli and Benjamin, had joined the Army. He started to think of retiring, but decided against it.  
Chief Inspector Katz is a well-known war hawk and nationalist, and self-identifies as part of the Conservative right. He is critical of the rise of [[Constitutional Liberal Party#Platform_and_philosophy|political opposition to Yisrael's halachic state and growing social liberal and antiwar feelings from the left]].  


He made brigadier general in 1997, and major general in 2002. By now, his overly hawkish and aggressive tactics well-known (and somewhat disliked) among his colleagues, and a gut of older officers who were staying in the senior hierarchy, it looked as if Katz had climbed the ladder as far as he could. However, in the infamous [[2004 Sackings]], a litany of older senior officers were made to retire to make way for younger officers, including Katz's friend and mentor, Yisroel Levy.
Despite sharing like-minded nationalism, Katz refused entreaties to join the {{wp|far-right}} [[League for New Judea|Northern League]], viewing them as insufficiently religious and too controversial. As a youth and cadet, he had opposed the [[Yarden Accords]], but later told a journalist after he was a senior RYDF staff officer that he "was at peace with" and "accepted" the 1973 accord between [[Yisrael]] and [[Sydalon]].  
 
Katz lobbied hard, and was made brevet lieutenant general in the Sacking's aftermath. In 2005, with help from Levy and other friends and allies, Katz was appointed to the General Staff and elevated to the rank of General.
 
==Generalship==
{{main|Pivot to the East}}
 
Once on the General Staff, Katz was one of the first to note the rising threat of the then-proto-[[RCO]].
 
He urged a strategic pivot of military resources to [[Tobia]] and [[Ashizwe|South West Ashizwe]], and a strengthening of ties with nations such as [[Anikatia]], [[Westonaria]], [[Dacia]], [[Cata Larga]], and [[Prestonia]].
 
===Candidate for War Minister (2011)===
 
==War Minister (2012 - Present)==
===Military Modernization Project===
====Navy Expansion====
{{main|Strategic Naval Initiative Act}}
==Political Views==
 
Minister Katz is a well-known war hawk and nationalist, and self-identifies as part of the Tory right. He is critical of the rise of {{wp|Isolationism|neoisolationist}} [[Libertarian Party (Belhavia)|Libertarians]] and {{wp|Social liberalism|socially liberal}} far left-wing of the [[Liberal Democratic Party (Belhavia)|Liberal Democrats]].  


Critics have charged his seeming callous disregard for his men's lives in pursuit of accomplishing the mission borders on {{wp|Egotism|egotistical}}, a charge Katz strongly denies.  
Critics have charged his seeming callous disregard for his men's lives in pursuit of accomplishing the mission borders on {{wp|Egotism|egotistical}}, a charge Katz strongly denies.  
Line 89: Line 70:
==Personal Life and Family==
==Personal Life and Family==


He is married to Chana Katz ({{wp|neé}} Friedman) since 1966. Together, they have a family of 9 children, 12 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren.  
He is married to Chana Katz ({{wp|neé}} Friedman) since 1981. Together, they have a family of 9 children, 12 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren.  


Two of his sons are officers in the [[Imperial Army (Belhavia)|Imperial Army]], one serves as a aircraft engineer in the [[Imperial Air Force (Belhavia)|Imperial Air Force]], one is a ''{{wp|Talmid Chacham|talmidim}}'', three daughters are housewives with their own families, and one daughter is a professor of Judaic studies in [[Provisa]].  
Two of his sons are officers in the [[Royal Yisraeli Army]], one serves as a aircraft engineer in the [[Yisraeli Air Force]], one is a ''{{wp|talmid chacham}}'' learning in {{wp|kollel}} in the famed [[Yerushalayim|Mir Yeshiva]], three daughters are housewives with their own families, and one daughter is married and a professor of military history.  


[[Category:Belhavia]]
[[Category:Yisrael]]
[[Category:Belhavian people]]
[[Category:Yisraeli military]]
[[Category:Belhavian leaders]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Defense Ministers]]
[[Category:Spies]]
[[Category:Religion in Belhavia]]
[[Category:Roles in the military]]
[[Category:People (Ajax)]]
[[Category:People]]
[[Category:People of Yisrael]]

Latest revision as of 20:59, 31 January 2021

The Honorable
Zalman Yitzchak Katz
Yisroel Levy pic.jpg
Chief Inspector Katz observing a military parade at the RYPA - Ashkelon, c. 2019.
Chief Inspector of the RYIS
Assumed office
February 2nd, 2015
Preceded byNosson Lifshultz
Ramatkal (Lt. General), General Staff, Royal Yisraeli Defense Forces
In office
June 30th, 2010 – February 2nd, 2015
Preceded bySchlomo Weissman
Succeeded byAvi Goldschmidt
Personal details
BornMarch 10th, 1959
Yerushalayim, Yisrael
NationalityYisraeli
Political partyNational Union Party (1977 - 1985)
Royalist Conservative Party (1985 - Present)
SpouseChana I. Katz
ResidenceYerushalayim
Alma materB.S., Military Science, RYPA - Yerushalayim
ProfessionMilitary officer, Functionary, Intelligence officer

Zalman Yitzchak Katz (born March 10th, 1959) is the current Chief Inspector of the Royal Yisraeli Intelligence Service and formerly a two-star general in the RYDF's General Staff. He is a member of the Royalist Conservative Party.

Before his promotion to Chief Inspector, Katz was an RYDF lieutenant general in the military General Staff. He is known as a fierce war hawk and nationalist. He is an advocate in the military School of Unilateral Action and promotes frequent Yisraeli military intervention and intelligence operations abroad, though he often acknowledges the role of having multinational military allies assist Yisrael.

He was appointed at the tail-end of the first Feldman term after the retirement of Nosson Lifshultz. He was retained in his role by the incoming Katz administration in early 2020.

Early life and education

Katz was born in March 1959, in Har Nof, Yerushalayim, Yerushalayim District, to a middle-income military family. His family was one of many that in the 1960s and 1970s would constitute the emerging national-chareidi Chardal sector. His father, Akiva Katz, served in the Royal Yisraeli Army as a tank commander, and saw action in the Third and Fourth West Scipian Wars as well as the Year of Blood. His mother, Miriam, was a housewife.

His neighborhood was a mix of Dati (religious) families but had a modern and nationalist bent to it. He attended Har Nof Yeshiva for his primary education, and he applied and was accepted as a legacy to the Royal Yisraeli Political Academy system in its Yerushalayim campus for secondary education.

In the mid-1970s, when he was old enough to vote and started to pay attention to politics and broader social debates, he was attracted to the right-wing nationalist, Chardal-oriented National Union political party.

Military career

He matriculated in 1977 from the RYPA as a newly commissioned second lieutenant. He was assigned to the 2nd Nachal Chareidi Infantry Brigade, which was stationed in the Northern District along the Sydalon-Yisrael border from 1977-81.

He decided to stay in after his national service, receiving a promotion to first lieutenant and asking to be reassigned to the Mista'aravi unit, a special forces command that targeted the post-Yarden rise in Yisraeli and Sydalene Christian terror campaigns.

He was promoted for his classified service in 1985 to captain, and later to major in 1994. After 1994, he was put in a line staff posting.

He reached the rank of Lt. General ("Ramatkal") in 2010, and was appointed to the General Staff of the RYDF. President Noah Feldman tapped Katz in February 2015 to fill the vacancy in the post of Chief Inspector of the RYIS, the country's top spy chief.

Political views

Chief Inspector Katz is a well-known war hawk and nationalist, and self-identifies as part of the Conservative right. He is critical of the rise of political opposition to Yisrael's halachic state and growing social liberal and antiwar feelings from the left.

Despite sharing like-minded nationalism, Katz refused entreaties to join the far-right Northern League, viewing them as insufficiently religious and too controversial. As a youth and cadet, he had opposed the Yarden Accords, but later told a journalist after he was a senior RYDF staff officer that he "was at peace with" and "accepted" the 1973 accord between Yisrael and Sydalon.

Critics have charged his seeming callous disregard for his men's lives in pursuit of accomplishing the mission borders on egotistical, a charge Katz strongly denies.

Personal Life and Family

He is married to Chana Katz (neé Friedman) since 1981. Together, they have a family of 9 children, 12 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren.

Two of his sons are officers in the Royal Yisraeli Army, one serves as a aircraft engineer in the Yisraeli Air Force, one is a talmid chacham learning in kollel in the famed Mir Yeshiva, three daughters are housewives with their own families, and one daughter is married and a professor of military history.