Lahav Harkov
Jerusalem Post, July 3, 2022
“Zivan continued to advise Lapid on international affairs when he was foreign minister, including repairing the bipartisan US relationship, the dialogue with the US and EU on Iran talks, the landmark Negev Summit with foreign ministers from four Arab states and more.”
Prime Minister Yair Lapid has been waiting a long time for those words to be said together, predicting upon his entrance to the Knesset almost a decade ago that he would make it to the premiership.
Playing the long game meant that Lapid was well-prepared for this moment, especially in terms of staff. There are not many MKs who have an experienced foreign policy adviser – Yair Zivan – for years while not having any official title beyond lawmaker, to give one example.
Lapid also has been able to retain the same close advisers for much of his time in office, an accomplishment that is rare in the Knesset, where the pay for aides is not great, the hours are worse, and the egos are even worse than that. While former prime minister Naftali Bennett’s office was plagued with infighting – more of which came out in a juicy interview former diplomatic adviser Shimrit Meir granted to Yediot Aharonot last week – the longtime coworkers for Lapid are known to be a team. Every staff has its internal politics, but little to none of it has leaked out of Lapid’s inner circle over the years.
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