Eylon Levy confirms dismissal, announces new discourse initiative

Former Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy confirmed that he was no longer an official representative of the state following reports of his suspension and dismissal in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday.

“After more than 400 media interviews, briefings, and press conferences as an official spokesperson on behalf of the Israeli government since October 7, the time has come to set out on an independent path in advocacy,” he said, “with the team that has helped me since the outbreak of the war.

You don’t need to be a spokesperson to speak up for Israel. Help us keep fighting: https://t.co/p6Itawgtop pic.twitter.com/4qRaGtyhMO

— Eylon Levy (@EylonALevy) March 31, 2024

“We do not have the privilege of neglecting the battlefield,” Levy said, adding, “I will continue to fight for our good name, whether as an official spokesman or not.” 

Levy announced the founding of a new initiative called New Israeli Discourse, for which he solicited funds via the Jewish crowdfunding site JGive. 

Levy was suspended, then dismissed, earlier this month

The spokesman was suspended earlier this month for reasons that remain unclear. A post by Levy on X in response to British Foreign Minister David Cameron was widely cited as having caused offense, and, according to Israel’s N12, the government spokesperson’s office invoked that incident as “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” following other spats with leadership. 

It was also reported, however, that Sara Netanyahu, wife of the prime minister, had been pursuing a vendetta against Levy, in part because of his criticisms of the Netanyahu government and his participation in the large-scale protests against the government’s proposed judicial reforms in the first half of 2023.