51 Facts About Yair Lapid

Yair Lapid is an Israeli politician of the centrist Yesh Atid party and a former journalist who has been the Leader of the Opposition since January 2023, having previously served in that role from 2020 to 2021.

Yair Lapid had previously served as the 14th prime minister of Israel from 1 July to 29 December 2022, the second alternate prime minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs under Prime Minister Naftali Bennett from 2021 to 2022, and as the Minister of Finance under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from 2013 to 2014.

Yair Lapid is the leader of Yeah Atid since the party's founding in 2010.

From 2013 to 2014, following his coalition agreement with Likud, Yair Lapid served as Minister of Finance under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In 2013, Yair Lapid ranked first on the list of the "Most Influential Jews in the World" by The Jerusalem Post.

Yair Lapid was recognized in 2013 as one of the leading Foreign Policy Global Thinkers, and ranked as one of Time magazine's 100 "Most Influential People in the World".

Yair Lapid serves on the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, and the Sub-Committee on Intelligence and the Security Services.

On 17 May 2020, Yair Lapid became the Leader of the Opposition, after the thirty-fifth government of Israel was sworn in.

On 2 June 2021, Yair Lapid informed Israeli President Reuven Rivlin that he had agreed to a rotation government with Naftali Bennett and was prepared to replace the incumbent prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Yair Lapid became the prime minister of Israel on 1 July 2022 after Bennett stepped down as prime minister following the dissolution of the Knesset.

Yair Lapid remained prime minister until a new government was formed after the November 2022 election.

Yair Lapid has supported Israel's actions under the Netanyahu government in the Gaza war.

Yair Lapid was born in Tel Aviv, the son of journalist and politician Yosef "Tommy" Lapid, who served as Justice Minister, and novelist and playwright Shulamit Lapid.

Yair Lapid's father was born in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia to Hungarian Jewish parents, and his mother was born in Tel Aviv.

Yair Lapid's maternal grandfather David Giladi, originally from Transylvania, was a writer and journalist who was among the founders of the newspaper Maariv.

Yair Lapid has a sister, Merav, who is a clinical psychologist.

Yair Lapid attended high school at the Herzliya Hebrew Gymnasium, but struggled with learning disabilities and dropped out without earning a bagrut certificate.

Yair Lapid spent most of his mandatory military service in the Israel Defense Forces as a military correspondent for the IDF's weekly newspaper, Bamahane.

Yair Lapid later married Lihi Lapid, with whom he has two children.

Yair Lapid attends the Daniel Centers for Progressive Judaism, a Reform synagogue in Tel Aviv.

In 1988, at age 25, Yair Lapid was appointed editor of Yedioth Tel Aviv, a local newspaper published by the Yedioth Ahronoth group.

In 1994, Yair Lapid started on TV, hosting the leading Friday evening talk show on Israel TV's Channel 1.

Yair Lapid next hosted a talk show on TV Channel 3.

From 1989 to 2010, Yair Lapid wrote and published books spanning a variety of genres.

Yair Lapid's first was a thriller, of which he has published three more; the others include two children's books, two novels, and a collection of his newspaper columns.

Yair Lapid's most successful book, Memories After My Death, was a biography of his late father.

Yair Lapid was a songwriter for numerous Israeli musicians, among them Rami Kleinstein, Yardena Arazi, and Rita.

In January 2008, Yair Lapid was the host of Ulpan Shishi, Channel 2's Friday night news magazine.

In January 2012, controversy arose after Yair Lapid was admitted by Bar-Ilan University into a doctorate program, studying towards a PhD in hermeneutics.

Yair Lapid, who had failed to complete high school, was admitted to the university based on his extra-academic credentials and career in journalism and writing.

On 8 January 2012 Yair Lapid announced that he would be leaving journalism in order to enter politics.

In 2016, Yair Lapid presented his platform, the "Seven Point Plan for Israel", which included a robust security doctrine, a regional conference with Arab states based on the necessity of separating from the Palestinians, reforms of the political system to clean up corruption, the State of Israel that strikes a balance between its Jewish and democratic character, a strengthened law enforcement system, an economy propelled forward by innovation, and increased emphasis on education and science.

On 5 May 2021, Yair Lapid was entrusted with the second mandate to form a new government, after the incumbent Netanyahu failed to do so with the first mandate.

Several weeks later Yair Lapid inaugurated Israel's embassy in Abu Dhabi, in what was the first official visit of the country by a member of the Israeli Government.

Yair Lapid became the caretaker Prime Minister of Israel on 1 July 2022, after the Knesset had voted to dissolve and call a snap election the previous day.

The rotation government agreement had specified that if a snap election were called while Bennett was still prime minister, Yair Lapid would rotate into the premiership as caretaker prime minister until the next government would be formed after the election.

On 10 October 2022, Yair Lapid "strongly" condemned "Russian attacks on the civilian population in Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine" during strikes on energy infrastructure that killed at least 11 people.

Yair Lapid became the Leader of the Opposition for a second time on 2 January 2023.

Yair Lapid has said that he would demand a resumption of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

In January 2013, just days before the election, Yair Lapid said he would not join a cabinet that stalled peace talks with the Palestinian Authority, and added that a single country for both Israelis and Palestinians without a peace agreement would endanger Israel's Jewish character.

Now functioning as a kind of shadow foreign minister, Yair Lapid argues that Israel must seize the diplomatic initiative with the Palestinians if it is to continue existing as a Jewish-majority democracy, and he is proposing a regional summit somewhat along the lines of the earlier Arab Peace Initiative.

Yair Lapid stated in 2017 that with Iran attempting to establish a foothold in Syria, Israel cannot be expected to relinquish the Golan Heights.

In 2013, when Yesh Atid sat in the government, Yair Lapid pushed for increased public transportation on Shabbat, as opposed to the current law that mandates most public transportation shut down.

Yair Lapid is a leading proponent of a deep bipartisan US-Israel relationship.

Yair Lapid said he would work to see all Israeli citizens, including the thousands of Haredim, who had up until that point been exempt from most civil service, be included in military and civil service.

On 27 May 2013, Yair Lapid threatened to topple the government unless ultra-Orthodox would be subject to criminal sanctions for draft-dodging.

Yair Lapid has repeatedly accused the United Nations of bias against Israel.

Yair Lapid has pointed to the creation of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine as an example of alleged bias, noting that it services only Palestinian refugees and gives them hereditary status so that the number of refugees has expanded from approximately 750,000 to five million.

Yair Lapid has in various instances asserted that presenting "both sides" of the conflict in effect "serves Hamas," and has argued in support of only showing the Israeli side.

Yair Lapid, whose father was a Holocaust survivor, spoke out against Poland's controversial Holocaust bill, which would criminalize accusing the Polish nation of being complicit in the Holocaust.

Yair Lapid was listed as one of the "Foreign Policy Global Thinkers 2013".