Netanyahu-backed candidate barred from Knesset election over US citizenship

Dual Israeli-US citizen and tech entrepreneur Oren Dobronsky dropped from Likud’s 2026 Knesset list over his US citizenship – but Netanyahu vows he will serve as AI Minister.

By World Israel News Staff

A dual Israeli-US citizen tapped by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to serve in the Likud’s next Knesset delegation has withdrawn from the race over requirements that he relinquish his American citizenship.

Israeli tech entrepreneur Oren Dobronsky withdrew Monday night from a reserved position on Likud’s Knesset slate, saying he instead intends to join a future Benjamin Netanyahu government as a professional minister focused on artificial intelligence.

The decision came just hours before Likud was due to finalize its candidate list for Israel’s October 27 election and after reports that Dobronsky would have been required to relinquish his US citizenship in order to serve as a member of the Knesset.

Dobronsky, a dual Israeli-American citizen and prominent technology investor, had been selected by Netanyahu as one of the prime minister’s personally chosen additions to the Likud list. He had been expected to receive the No. 11 position.

In a Facebook post confirming that he would not run for the Knesset, Dobronsky said Netanyahu had offered him both a high position on the slate and responsibility for artificial intelligence policy.

“The prime minister offered that I serve as a minister for AI-related issues and get a reserved spot in the top 10,” Dobronsky wrote.

He said he had decided that he could contribute more effectively from outside the Knesset as a professional minister.

“I intend to work hand in hand with Prime Minister Netanyahu, as part of the Likud team, to ensure the State of Israel becomes an AI powerhouse,” he added.

The proposed arrangement, however, appears to face the same citizenship problem that prompted Dobronsky to abandon his Knesset candidacy.

Israel’s Basic Law: The Knesset requires an incoming lawmaker who possesses another citizenship to take the necessary steps to relinquish it when the other country permits renunciation before the lawmaker can take the oath and exercise the rights of an MK.

A separate provision in Basic Law: The Government imposes essentially the same restriction on ministers. While a minister other than the prime minister does not have to be a Knesset member, a dual citizen who is legally able to relinquish his foreign citizenship cannot be appointed until he has taken the steps required to give it up.

Because the United States permits its citizens to renounce their citizenship, Dobronsky’s plan to serve as an AI minister without entering the Knesset would therefore not by itself eliminate the citizenship issue.

The Times of Israel reported that Dobronsky had been widely expected to surrender his reserved Knesset slot because relinquishing his American citizenship could trigger millions of dollars in tax liabilities. The outlet noted that the ministerial option would still be subject to Israel’s citizenship restrictions.

Dobronsky, an entrepreneur and investor known to Israeli television viewers as one of the investors on “The Sharks,” Israel’s version of “Shark Tank,” was announced in August as Netanyahu’s first choice for one of the eight positions the Likud leader was granted authority to fill personally.

The expanded power gives Netanyahu control over positions 3, 5, 9, 11, 15, 18, 26 and 29 on the party slate, an unusually large number of personally selected places in a party that traditionally emphasizes its primary system.

Netanyahu had previously tapped Dobronsky, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Likud Central Committee chairman Haim Katz for reserved positions.

Dobronsky’s withdrawal came amid a separate internal dispute over Netanyahu’s delay in revealing the remainder of his selections.

Likud’s internal court ordered Netanyahu on Monday evening to provide his full list of candidates within two hours. Netanyahu did not meet the deadline and subsequently informed the court that he would submit the names Tuesday morning, reportedly calling the demand “unreasonable.”

The final candidate lists must be submitted to the Central Elections Committee by 10 pm Tuesday.

Dobronsky’s planned entry into politics had already attracted attention before the citizenship issue emerged. Shortly before Netanyahu announced his selection, past social-media remarks by the businessman criticizing US President Donald Trump resurfaced.

In June, during a dispute surrounding US policy toward Iran, Dobronsky used an obscenity to attack Trump and accused him of moral corruption. He subsequently apologized after Netanyahu selected him for the Likud slate.