MK Gavrieli more noted for fashion, romance than politics

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
Although Likud MK Inbal Gavrieli has never sought to distance herself from her relatives, the relationship has cast a cloud over her life from the moment she gained a place in the Knesset in 2003. Although she tried hard to apply herself to her Knesset duties, she didn't really have a chance, no matter how diligently she worked. She had two strikes against her from the start. The first was her family connections and the second was that her taste in clothes and grooming was remarkably similar to that of fellow Likudnik Ruhama Avraham. Journalists paid less attention to their motions than their moves - and the more form fitting the white pants suit, the more obvious the long finger nails, the more mention they got in the media. Any intellectual contributions that they may have made to the Knesset were either scorned or ignored. Gavrieli's studies for a law degree were treated with little more than contempt. The media became somewhat kinder to her when she found romance with soccer star Liran Strauber, but with typical zeal, relished the turnaround when the romance went temporarily sour and the two split up. Fortunately they got together again before the most recent Likud primaries, which resulted in a total flop for Gavrieli. The two were making wedding plans when police closed in on Gavrieli's father, uncle and other family members. Although Strauber has professed his love for his bride-to-be to the Hebrew media, will this little glitch affect their relationship and cause him to get cold feet? The story has all the makings of a gripping telenovella.