Netanyahu’s ‘right-hand man’ is new UK ambassador

Tzachi Braverman, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff, is to be confirmed as Israel’s new ambassador to the UK.

Tzipi Hotovely ended her five-year term in the role on Monday, and her replacement has now been approved by the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee in Israel.

Braverman, who now awaits final approval for the post from the Israeli government, is expected to be the only candidate for the position and is expected to arrive in London in November to begin work.

Israel will send a formal request to the British government to approve the appointment prior to his arrival here.

Appointed Netanyahu’s chief of staff in April 2022, Braverman retained the post following Likud’s victory in the legislative elections in December that same year.

Although he was previously a civil servant, to whom impartiality rules apply, Braverman drew criticism in 2021 by publicly declaring support for Netanyahu’s Likud party in elections for the Knesset.

Known for his hardline political stance, Braverman’s appointment as Israel’s ambassador to the UK is likely to continue the tensions with the UK government, which have been prevalent during Hotovely’s time in the role.

He is known as the “most powerful man in the Prime Minister’s Office” in Israel, and has a reputation for being strict about what happens inside the office, with nothing advancing without his permission.

The 65-year-old has also served as Cabinet Secretariat and has acted as a government spokesperson between 2016 and 2021.

He was born in Tel Aviv and has served in the IDF as a liaison training officer in the 460th Bnei Or Brigade, which is the training brigade for the 80th Division of the Southern Command.

He later obtained a law degree from Bar-Ilan University. He was spokesperson for the Ness Ziona municipality and CEO of Ness Ziona’s educational and cultural institutions. He also served as Israeli Cabinet Secretary from 2016 to 2021.

Braverman and his wife Nava, are close to Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, travelling with them for a meeting with Donald Trump in Washington DC.

But this close friendship with the Israeli PM has also seen Braverman caught up in allegations around the circumstances behind the 7 October Hamas attack.

He is under investigation for forgery and fraud over the illegal alteration of records in the Prime Minister’s Office, and has been questioned by police.

Braverman has also been accused of having altered the stated time at which Netanyahu first received an update on the October 7 Hamas invasion. He has strongly denied the allegations, calling them “severe slander” and “wild incitement”.

His appointment as the new Israeli ambassador to the UK comes at a time when relations between the two countries are as strained as they have been for years.

Outgoing Ambassador Hotovely has repeatedly clashed with Keir Starmer’s government over the war in Gaza, settlement expansion, and recognition of a Palestinian state.

In an interview with the Times last weekend, Hotovely said: “The so-called two-state solution — it’s old thinking, irrelevant, and nothing more than the creation of a Palestinian terror state.”