Likud’s new spokeswoman promises large English events
By GIL HOFFMANMelody Sucharewicz, Gantz's ex-foreign policy advisor(photo credit: Courtesy)
Blue and White leader Benny Gantz hired a reality television contest winner as his new spokeswoman, starting this week. Melody Sucharewicz will replace Yarden Avriel Lato, who is leaving on maternity leave.In 2006, Sucharewicz won the second season of The Ambassador, a reality show similar to US President Donald Trump’s show, The Apprentice. Contestants on the show competed over a post representing Israel abroad.Since her year as an international good will ambassador, Sucharewicz has worked for the Peres Center for Peace as a strategic and communications consultant in Israel and Germany, and worked for Gantz when he completed his IDF service. “I’m excited to work with him again,” Sucharewicz said.She was instrumental in enabling Gantz to speak in February at the Munich Security Conference. A native of Munich, Sucharewicz immigrated at age 19 to Israel, where she earned a BA in sociology and anthropology, and an MSc in management sciences at Tel Aviv University. Currently, she is pursuing a PhD in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, focusing on the deradicalization of Islamic terrorists.Sucharewicz, 38, is a mother of two. She speaks English, Hebrew, German, French and Italian. In 2013, she directed the third German-Israel Congress, Europe‘s largest pro-Israel event with over 3,000 participants, fostering strategic ties between Israel, Germany and the rest of Europe.Meanwhile, the Likud hired Rachel Broyde as its foreign press spokesperson and head of its English campaign. Broyde, 25, is the youngest spokesperson of all the parties. “I am handling all English events, as well as strategy relating to English voters,” she said. “We are doing both large and small events throughout the country.”Likud's foreign press spokesperson, Rachel Broyde (Credit: Cincy Kaplan)Broyde is an activist for immigrants and has spoken in the Knesset numerous times about the challenges Anglo-Olim face. She has also been an activist in the Likud and the Young Likud for five years. Her work on this campaign began on Whatsapp, when she voluntarily opened a group for people seeking information and allowing candidates in the primaries to talk to party members in English. At its height, the group had about 100 people, and Broyde conducted interviews with primaries candidates in the group.Broyde grew up in Atlanta before coming to Israel to study in seminary in 2011, and has lived here since. She has a BA from Bar-Ilan University and is currently pursuing an MA in public policy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her father, Michael J. Broyde, is a professor of law and the academic director of the Law and Religion Program at Emory University.Lahav Harkov contributed to this report.
