Eylon Levy, the charismatic face of Israeli Hasbara in English-speaking media, has reportedly been sacked from his position in the Israeli government.
Levy, a graduate of University College School Hampstead and Brasenose College, Oxford shot to fame early in Israel’s war against Hamas, doing dozens of media interviews a day before being hired by the Prime Minister’s office as a spokesman.
He joined the ranks of Mark Regev, Jonathan Conricus and Daniel Hagari and made dozens of appearances on British media outlets including the BBC, Sky, and Channel 4.
Levy, who was previously a TV journalist before working for Israeli president Isaac Herzog joined the Israeli government spokesman’s unit early in the war with Hamas and was widely praised by Israelis for his forthright if outspoken style.
According to Israel’s Channel 12, Levy was on thin ice with his bosses in the PMO for several incidents including auditioning for Israel’s version of Dancing with the Stars as well as tweeting a video that later turned out to be fake. Like other temporary government employees, Levy is believed to have been on a rolling contract which the government has said will not be renewed.
A government source told Channel 12 that a Twitter incident earlier this month was “the straw that broke the camel’s back” referring to a spat between Levy and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron.
Earlier this month, David Cameron posted a message urging the Israeli government to increase aid shipments into the Gaza Strip.
Replying to the former Prime Minister, Levy, in a now-deleted tweet said: “I hope you are also aware there are NO limits on the entry of food, water, medicine, or shelter equipment into Gaza, and in fact the crossings have EXCESS capacity,”
“Test us. Send another 100 trucks a day to Kerem Shalom and we’ll get them in.”
According to Israel’s Channel 12 news, the Foreign Office wrote to the Israeli government asking if the post they deemed critical of Cameron was the country’s official position, at which point Levy was suspended.
The 33-year-old has not acknowledged his reported suspension or firing, and at the time of writing, his profile on Twitter still described him as occupying the role.
Earlier this year, the wife of Israel’s Prime Minister Sara Netanyahu reportedly tried to have Levy, from his role due to his former life as organiser of protests against judicial reform.
