14 days: New leaders

Yair Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid party, informed President Reuven Rivlin late on June 2 that he had succeeded in forming a new government in Israel, in a rotation agreement under which Yamina chairman Naftali Bennett would begin serving as prime minister. “I commit to you Mr. President, that this government will work to serve all the citizens of Israel, including those who aren’t members of it, will respect those who oppose it, and do everything in its power to unite all parts of Israeli society,” Lapid told Rivlin. The announcement came after Lapid, Bennett and Ra’am chairman Mansour Abbas signed a coalition agreement in Ramat Gan, the first time that such a deal was endorsed by an Arab party.

Isaac Herzog, 60, was elected as Israel’s 11th president on June 2, beating educator Miriam Peretz 87-26 in a secret ballot in the Knesset. Herzog will serve a seven-year term as the country’s ceremonial head of state, taking over from President Reuven Rivlin on July 9. The outgoing chairman of the Jewish Agency, Herzog is a former leader of the Labor party and the son of the late Chaim Herzog, Israel’s sixth president. In his acceptance speech, Herzog said, “I intend to be the president of all Israelis, to lend an attentive ear to every position and respect every person.”

David Barnea, 56, a Mossad veteran who served as deputy director for two years and is known by his nickname, “Dedi,” took over for Yossi Cohen on June 1. “I’m convinced the incoming Mossad director will do great things and will continue to lead the Mossad to operational successes and meaningful achievements,” Cohen said. In announcing the appointment, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Barnea’s top priority “is to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.” The appointment was held up by Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit for several months due to legal concerns over whether an interim government was permitted to appoint a Mossad chief.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke out against rising antisemitism in the US during a visit to Jerusalem on May 26. “In our own country, we witnessed a shocking eruption of antisemitic attacks,” Blinken said in a news conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “As President [Joe] Biden said, they are despicable and they must stop.” After meeting Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, Blinken announced that the US would reopen its consulate in Jerusalem, which had served as a de facto embassy for the Palestinians until Donald Trump closed it in 2019. Meanwhile, Tom Nides, 60, a vice chairman of Morgan Stanley and former State Department official, accepted US President Joe Biden’s nomination to be the next ambassador to Israel.

Five Israelis were among the 14 people who were killed in a cable car accident in northern Italy on May 23. The victims were Amit Biran, 30, and Tal Peleg-Biran, 27, a couple living in Italy, and their two-year-old child, Tom, as well as Tal’s grandparents, Barbara Cohen Konisky and Itshak Cohen, who were visiting from Israel. Another son, Eitan Moshe Biran, 5, was critically injured and hospitalized in Italy. His father, Amit, was in Italy to study medicine and worked as a security agent for Milan’s Jewish community. Amit’s sister, Aya Biran, a doctor who lives in the Pavia region with her husband and two children, was said to be taking care of Eitan.

Dr. Eilat Mazar, a renowned biblical archaeologist who made historic discoveries in Jerusalem, died on May 25 at the age of 64 following a serious illness. Mazar, a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Institute of Archaeology, directed historic excavations in the City of David and the Temple Mount’s southern wall. Among other things, she discovered what she believed were remnants of King David’s Palace and a portion of a wall built by King Solomon. Most recently, she unearthed clay seals that read: “Belonging to Hezekiah, (son of) Ahaz, King of Judah” and seals that may have belonged to Isaiah the Prophet.