A series of unpleasant incidents brought the name of Tzachi Braverman to the headlines this week, who now plays a central role in the complex and sensitive task of dividing the coalition roles within the Likud.
Against the background of these tensions, two members of the Knesset in the party, Tali Gottlieb and Galit Distel-Atbarian, attacked Netanyahu’s chief of staff and accused him of leaking sensitive conversations. Gottlieb defined him as “Ahithophel’s adviser”, while Braverman was not obliged and called the two “out of favor” (according to a report by Michael Shemesh in Kan 11). It was later reported that the members of the bureau were required to undergo a polygraph test, and according to Netanyahu’s spokesman, they were all found to be telling the truth.
“Help against him” – that’s how, according to testimonies, Braverman himself calls his mission in relation to Netanyahu. As part of his role, he stands at the gate, is in charge of getting people in and out of the bureau, receives and screens frequent phone calls from important parties, answers briefly and to the point. Center members communicate regularly, MKs stop him in the corridor trying to find out what their role will be. For him, the incident with Gottlieb and Diestel is nothing more than an incident that will pass with the wind. He is headed for the next position: Chief of Staff in the Prime Minister’s Office.
With the appointment of Braverman as the secretary of the government, there were those who wondered about the appointment of the man who grew up in the local area to such a senior position, and one of the former members of the bureau even expressed harsh words against Braverman. “My impression of him is that of a Likudi businessman, everything with him is petty politics,” he believes. “I didn’t see any added value beyond that. He could be an excellent political advisor. The government secretariat is a fairly technical function, and Mandelblit didn’t count him. I mostly remember how he talked about Yosef Shapira, who was the State Comptroller. Shapira harassed Netanyahu and the bureau, but I was shocked From the way Braverman spoke about him. He knew him well, yet things were at a very low and poor level. There is a style that is below what is appropriate when you mention a government.”
Other senior officials who worked with Braverman in the past sound different. “They are trying to position Tzachi as a political figure, but he is a professional,” says Shir Cohen, who served as the head of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s communications department in the previous term. “Tzachi managed the government secretariat during Corona with a high hand. The decisions of the government during the Corona were very complex, and managing the long government meetings, which lasted into the night, was not an easy task. So was the management of the political-security cabinet during military operations. Tzachi did it professionally and responsibly.”
Cohen outright dismisses statements about chauvinism on the part of Braverman. “Netanyahu appointed me at the age of 25 to be the head of his communications system as prime minister, I was always the only woman in the room, and Tzachi never spoke or behaved offensively towards women. On the contrary,” she testifies.
The full article will be published tomorrow (Friday) in the journal of Mokur Rishon