Amichai Chikli

Chikli was born in Jerusalem in 1981 to a Tunisian Jewish family. He is the son of Masorti Rabbi Eitan Chikli. After completing high school he spent a year in Ma'ayan Baruch attending the Social Leadership Institute.[2] He then joined the Israel Defense Forces and served in the Golani Brigade and the Shayetet 13 naval unit.[2] He subsequently studied for a bachelor's degree in security and Middle Eastern studies at the Tactical Command Academy, after which he became a company commander in Unit Egoz. After leaving the army he began studying for a master's degree in diplomacy and security at Tel Aviv University.[2] During his studies he established the Tavor Academy for Social Leadership in Nazareth Illit in 2010.[2]

Entering politics, Chikli was placed ninth on the New Right list for the April 2019 elections,[3] but the party failed to win a seat.[4] Prior to the 2021 elections he was placed fifth on the Yamina list,[1] and was elected to the Knesset as the party won seven seats. In May 2021 he stated that he would vote against a government containing Meretz or the Joint List.[5] After Yamina joined a coalition government that included Meretz, Chikli voted against the new government in its investiture vote on 13 June, the only Yamina MK to do so.[6] However, on 23 June it was reported that Chikli would vote in favour of most legislation proposed by the coalition government.[7] In July he voted against the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law, that would prevent Palestinians from marrying Israelis and receiving citizenship, resulting in it failing to pass as the vote ended in a 59–59 tie.[8]

Chikli subsequently voted against his party a total of 754 times, regularly assisting the opposition.[9] On 25 April 2022, a Knesset committee voted 7–0 in favour of a request from Yamina declare him a "retiree" (no longer part of the party). He was then legally declared a "retiree", meaning he cannot run in the next Knesset elections as part of a faction from the current Knesset, but only in a new party. However, Chikli will be able to run in one of the existing parties on the condition that he resigns from the Knesset. This was only the second time such proceedings had been used against an MK who had not retired independently, with Chikli only the third Knesset member to be declared a retiree.

• Amichai Chikli on the Knesset website
• Amichai Chikli on Twitter