Journalist-turned-politician Yair Lapid has taken over as Israel’s acting prime minister in November, preparing to go to the polls for the fifth time in four years. The 58-year-old leader – widely credited with building the coalition that ended Benjamin Netanyahu’s record of 12 consecutive years in power – is now waiting for November elections to prevent him from returning to form a government again. Gearing up for
But despite the political turmoil in the country, Lapid – who is said to be a man of many talents – has garnered attention beyond borders for now. He is known as a household name in Israel for hosting one of the biggest mainstream talk shows in the 1990s.
The “Being Israeli” columnist-commentator is said to have built up a solid profile in public service over the decade, having been the head of the party – “Yesh Atid. He composed songs, acting in films before going into television.” Did, according to a BBC report.
He also worked briefly for Israeli-American mogul Arnon Milchan while acting in Hollywood and is also known to be an amateur boxer.
The multi-faceted leader has also been a screenwriter. He wrote a popular Israeli TV series, “War Room” in 2005, which was based on a secret unit of elite spies and military officers. They handled national crises as professionals rather than politicians – this was the premise of the show.
Yosef “Tommy” Lapid, his father, was a Holocaust survivor. He later became a secular politician.
Israel’s longest-lived PM Netanyahu is Lapid’s biggest rival in November’s elections. Analysts are eager to see if Lapid will be able to do what it did in 2021 again.
Lapid’s predecessor, Naftali Bennett, has said he will not seek re-election after an eight-party coalition led by him faced ideological divisions. Israel’s parliament was dissolved after a unanimous vote on Thursday, after which Lapid, who has been foreign minister and continues to hold that portfolio, took over as acting prime minister.
Early opinion polls suggest the November 1 election will be inconclusive but for Lapid, a major agenda in the coming weeks is US President Joe Biden’s visit to Jerusalem.
(with inputs from AFP, Reuters)
