Sara Netanyahu tried to have government spokesperson Eylon Levy removed from his role for participating in the Israeli judicial reform protests before the Israel-Hamas War, N12 reported on Sunday night.
Tweets from the time of the weekly protests by Levy have reportedly circulated among the prime minister’s inner circle, and have upset some.
Sara Netanyahu’s attempt to remove Levy sparked a backlash. The Movement for Quality Government in Israel requested that the government legal advisor issue guidelines defining the area in which she is permitted to intervene in governmental affairs.
“The law does not define any public status or area of responsibility for the spouse of the prime minister,” the organization’s chairman, Dr. Eliad Shraga said. “As of this moment, Mrs. Netanyahu has not submitted herself to the voter test and does not hold any public office and, therefore, cannot interfere in anything that has not been specifically defined for her to interfere in. The State of Israel is not a monarchical state, and the prime minister’s wife is not a queen. We demand clear guidelines and an end to the laissez-faire approach that allows the prime minister’s wife free rein in managing the state.”
The chairman of the subcommittee for foreign policy and information, MK Ze’ev Elkin, has now sent a letter to the director of public diplomacy, Moshik Aviv, following the publication of rumors that Eylon Levy’s briefings were to be reduced, and even terminated.
The letter reads, “During the discussions we held in the subcommittee, the name of Eylon Levy, a speaker in the hasbara (public diplomacy) system, came up several times in positive contexts. During the tour of the subcommittee in the hasbara system, you yourself mentioned Levy’s work as worthy of praise.
“We were surprised to hear a report in the media according to which it was decided to reduce Levy’s briefings to the foreign media and that his impeachment is even being considered in light of pressure from foreign parties,” the letter continues. “If a quick and detailed response to this letter is not received, we will be forced to put the issue on the committee’s agenda.”
Levy has become a face of the Israeli government in media outlets across the world as Israel battles to save its public image after the Hamas atrocities of October 7 and the subsequent ground invasion of Gaza.
Responding to the report, the Public Diplomacy Department stated, “The report is incorrect. The Public Diplomacy Department operates in a professional manner.”
Levy, who previously served as international media advisor to President Isaac Herzog, became an international viral sensation while representing the Israeli government in an interview with Sky News anchor Kay Burley.
Levy's past criticism of Netanyahu's government
Levy has criticized many members of this current Netanyahu-led government, and participated in the protests against the judicial reforms.
Asked if this background doesn’t contradict service as a government spokesperson, he told The Jerusalem Post in December, Levy answered, “I don’t think that personal, private, or political opinions about issues that aren’t even on the agenda at the moment are relevant.
“On October 7, we experienced the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. And in an incredible moment in Jewish history, after a year in which we were at each other’s throats, Israeli society as a whole rose to the challenge. And we dropped our Jewish wars. We put them to the side. And as they say in Hebrew, I came under the stretcher to support the war effort.”
In the Sky News interview, Burley asked whether the hostage deal, which would trade 150 Palestinian security prisoners in exchange for just 50 hostages held by Hamas – or three Palestinians for every captive – meant that Israel valued Palestinian lives at one-third the value of Israeli ones. Levy answered, with arched eyebrows in a look of shock, and said that the comment was “an astonishing accusation. If we could release one prisoner for every hostage, we would do that. We are operating in horrific circumstances,” he said.
“We’re not choosing to release these prisoners who have blood on their hands. We are talking about people who have been convicted of stabbing and shooting attacks,” Levy stressed.