Failed Knesset bid proves costly for 20-year-old MK wannabe — and her parents

Hadar Muchtar has been dubbed by some as Israel’s first “TikTok politician” because of her snappy videos and social media following. 

By Pesach Benson, TPS

The parents of Hadar Muchtar paid the Israeli Tax Authority 60,000 shekels after her failed Knesset campaign drew attention to the legal ownership of her apartment.

Muchtar has been dubbed by some as Israel’s first “TikTok politician” because of her snappy videos and social media following. She currently has more than 132,000 followers on TikTok.

Muchtar was 20 years old when she registered her party with the Central Elections Committee and ineligible for a Knesset seat, but she prominently spearheaded the campaign for Youth on Fire’s list of candidates.

She focused on corruption and cost of living issues — especially affordable housing. Muchatar said on numerous occasions that she couldn’t afford her own apartment, and that her Haifa apartment was owned by her parents.

But the campaign unraveled in September when it was disclosed that she was registered her apartment’s owner. Muchtar said her parents had paid for the apartment with the intention of renting it out for additional income, prompting tax officials to investigate.

Muchtar’s parents bought the apartment for 825,000 shekels in 2021.

The Tax Authority concluded that her parents were the apartment’s real — though unregistered — owners.

Following the revelation, Muchtar tweeted that the media was “lynching” her. She subsequently stopped all interviews.

Youth on Fire failed to secure any Knesset seats.

World Israel News contributed to this report.