Ruth Marks Eglash
Jewish Insider, June 27, 2022
“When Lapid consulted me before he entered politics, I told him that he must join an existing party. He did not want to do it and what he is doing now is against all odds.”
After a week of tumultuous politics, Israel will soon have a new prime minister: Yair Lapid.
A man who has long eyed the country’s top job, Lapid will replace Naftali Bennett as the 14th prime minister of Israel when the Knesset is dissolved in the coming days. Although he will serve only as a caretaker until a general election that is likely to take place in the fall, Lapid will be in a prime position to showcase his talents and make the argument to Israelis that he is a leader worthy of their support.
Lapid’s rise from a journalist and media personality — whose credits include a “Top Gun”-style commercial for an Israeli beer company — to Israel’s most powerful political figure is unusual and, for many, unexpected. Unlike most of the country’s previous leaders, he has no significant security or military background, holds no academic degrees and, although over the past decade has held positions such as foreign minister, finance minister and opposition leader, he does not have professional roots in politics.
“It is unusual that an Israeli person with no security background can become prime minister,” Aviv Bushinsky, former media advisor and chief of staff for former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told Jewish Insider.
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