At the President’s Residence on Wednesday morning, arrangements were made for the changing of the guard. The red carpets were partially folded to ensure that they would not get dirty or dusty throughout the day.
Staff units congregated in clusters, waiting to enter the small reception hall to be photographed with outgoing president Reuven Rivlin.
There were hugs and tears as many of those present were also leaving.
Earlier in the day, many of them witnessed the official unveiling of Rivlin’s bust in the Avenue of the Presidents, where Rivlin said his grandchildren would finally be happy. When they had first come to visit, they could not understand why the busts of his nine predecessors were mounted on marble pillars at the entrance to the gardens, yet his statue was missing. “Aren’t you the president?” they asked. “So why is there no statue of you?
Every leader of an enterprise – be it in business or in government – wants to work with people whom he or she can trust, and primarily with people with whom they are familiar, and who have been with them for some time. Rivlin brought such people with him when he took up his position as president, and Isaac Herzog is no exception.
On the principle that a new broom sweeps clean, some of the people who have been with him for years are accompanying him to the President’s Residence, while Rivlin’s people will be making an exodus.
Eyal Shviki will take over from Harel Toubi as director-general. Shviki has already spent time at his new post to spy out the land. Toubi will stay on till the end of September to ensure that the transfer of powers is as complete as possible.
Shviki, 37, has been Herzog’s alter ego for the past 15 years, and was in charge of Herzog’s headquarters when the latter was leader of the opposition, and more recently when Herzog was chairman of the Jewish Agency.
At one stage, Shviki was also the spokesman for the Labor faction in the Knesset.
Dikla Cohen Sheinfeld will be the president’s bureau chief, replacing the legendary Rivka Ravitz.
She was previously the central force of operations at the Tourism Ministry and initiated and advanced many projects. She has also served as head of human resources at the agency and also spent two years as an emissary in the United States.
Naomi Toledano Kendal, who won high praise as Rivlin’s spokeswoman, is embarking on a new path as a fellow in the Mandel Center for Leadership, where she will be studying for two years. She thinks highly of her replacement, Naor Ihia, despite the controversy surrounding his appointment. She knows him personally and does not see any problem with the fact that he was previously the spokesman for Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud. She regards him as a consummate professional.
Jonathan Cummings, the spokesman to the foreign media, is moving into the political sphere and will act as an adviser to Labor Party leader Merav Michaeli. As yet, there has been no announcement as to who will replace him, other than that every one of the seven people in that office will be replaced, and one will be left on a temporary basis.
Liron Zach, who has been with Herzog for five years and served as his personal spokesman at the agency and in the Knesset, will serve as his senior adviser on Israeli society.
Shuli Davidovich, Rivlin’s senior adviser on foreign affairs, is returning to the Foreign Ministry. Though offered an ambassadorship, she did not want to disrupt the lives of her children by going abroad and instead will become the head of the ministry’s Bureau for World Jewish Affairs and World Religions. The position was previously held by Akiva Tor, who currently serves as ambassador to the Republic of Korea.
Even though Davidovich will no longer be the adviser to the president, she will work closely with Herzog, because her job definition includes issues that are very close to his heart, and which he has already said that he plans to include in his list of priorities.
Davidovich will be responsible for Israeli foreign policy on issues of relevance to the Jewish world and the Israel-Diaspora relationship, including combating antisemitism, the safety of Jewish communities and maintaining the unity of the Jewish people. She will also be responsible for Israeli foreign policy toward the Holy See, Christian denominations and the organizations of the major Western and Eastern religions.
Oren Avraham who is head of ceremonies and events at the President’s Residence, will be continuing in that role, as will his deputy, Rikki Tamir, who is one of the most veteran employees at the residence. Herzog will be the fifth president for whom she will be working.
The staff load at the President’s Residence numbers some 75 people, plus volunteers, individuals doing civilian national service, soldiers doing mandatory army service and security personnel.
One of the volunteers, Miriam Milo, the wife of a retired ambassador, has been volunteering on and off since the days of former president Ephraim Katzir, but has not been told whether she will be able to continue.
ALTHOUGH HE is returning to the role of an ordinary citizen, Rivlin will not be able to move freely without a bodyguard, who will be assigned to him for at least a year.
He is moving to his new apartment on the capital’s King David Street, overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem, and will also have a working office in the suite in the Malha Technology Park previously occupied by Israel’s fifth president, the late Yitzhak Navon.
The premises are government-owned. Rivlin’s office will be run by Orit Orkinini, who was previously the personal assistant to Rivlin’s late wife, Nechama.
Rivlin refused to discuss any future plans while he was still in office, though he let it be known that he was interested in arbitration – albeit not of a commercial nature – resolving disputes between nations and different sectors of society.