Yizhar Shai

Israeli politician

2020–2021Minister of Science & TechnologyFaction represented in the Knesset2019–2020Blue and White2021Blue and White Personal detailsBorn (1963-07-16) 16 July 1963 (age 60)
Ein HaShlosha, Israel

Yizhar Nitzan Shai (Hebrew: יזהר ניצן שי, born 16 July 1963) is an Israeli businessman and politician. He served as a member of the Knesset for Blue and White between 2019 and 2021, and as Minister of Science & Technology from 2020 to 2021.

Biography

Shai was born in kibbutz Ein HaShlosha to parents from Argentina. His family moved to Jerusalem in the mid-1960s, where he attended the Hebrew Gymnasium school. In 1981 he started his national service in the Israel Defense Forces, joining the Paratroopers Brigade and serving in the 1982 Lebanon War. He left the army in 1985 with the rank of lieutenant. He later gained an electrical engineering certificate from the Technion and subsequently worked in the high-tech sector. He established the Business Layers firm in 1998, serving as CEO until it was sold to Netegrity in 2003. In 2006 he joined Canaan Partners as a partner, working there until 2014 when he established Canaan Partners Israel.

Prior to the April 2019 elections he joined the Israel Resilience Party. After the party joined the Blue and White alliance, he was given the twentieth slot on the joint list;^[1] he was subsequently elected to the Knesset when the alliance won 35 seats. He was re-elected in the September 2019 and March 2020 elections. In May 2020 he was appointed Minister of Science and Technology. The following month he resigned from the Knesset under the Norwegian Law and was replaced by Hila Vazan. After resigning from his ministerial role in January 2021, he returned to the Knesset, replacing Ruth Wasserman Lande, who had been an MK for only four days.^[2] Prior to the 2021 elections he joined Telem.^[3] However, the party did not contest the elections and he lost his seat in the Knesset.

Private life

Shai is married with four children and lives in Tzoran-Kadima. One of his sons, Yaron, was killed in the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.^[4]

References

^ 2019 Blue and White list CEC
^ Hoffman, Gil (12 January 2021). "Former minister forces South African MK out of Knesset after four days". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 13 January 2021.
^ "Bedouin women's activist who backed polygamy joins Ya'alon's Telem". The Times of Israel. 21 January 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
^ "Israel at war: The names and faces of Israel's fallen heroes". The Jerusalem Post. 8 October 2023.