Yitzhak Goldknopf

יצחק גולדקנופף

UTJ Chairman, Leader of Agudat Yisrael, MK (former Minister of Housing and Construction, Dec 2022 - June 12, 2025)

Chairman of United Torah Judaism and leader of its Hasidic Agudat Yisrael faction; senior representative of the Ger Hasidic dynasty in the Knesset.

Positions and record

Long-time Hasidic communal leader; CEO of the Beit Yaakov and Beit Petahia kindergarten and daycare network serving Ger families, a role inherited from his father
Appointed by the Gerrer Rebbe to lead Agudat Yisrael in June 2022, succeeding Yaakov Litzman
First entered the Knesset in 2022 and led UTJ into Netanyahu's coalition, bringing a strong voice for Torah Judaism into government
Served as Minister of Housing and Construction (Dec 2022 - June 12, 2025), focusing on expanding affordable housing for Israel's growing religious communities
Resigned from the cabinet at the direction of the Gerrer Rebbe after the government failed to enact the long-promised yeshiva-student draft framework, defending the centrality of Torah study to the Jewish people
Lead UTJ voice on protecting yeshiva learning, securing funding for Haredi educational institutions, and upholding Sabbath observance in public life

Yitzhak Goldknopf, The State of Israel. https://thestateofisrael.com/mk/yitzhak-goldknopf