Misplaced Pages

Eylon Levy

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
British-born Israeli government spokesman

Eylon Levy
אילון לוי
BornEylon Aslan-Levy
1991 (age 32–33)
London, United Kingdom
Alma materUniversity of Oxford
University of Cambridge
Known forIsraeli government spokesperson

Eylon Aslan-Levy, also known as Eylon Levy, is a British-Israeli figure who served as official Israeli government spokesman, from the start of 2023 Israel–Hamas war to March 2024, when he was suspended as spokesman after complaints from the UK government following his public criticism of their stance towards Israel and the war against Hamas. He continues his public advocacy work, with a podcast partly-sponsored by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism. He also visits Jewish diaspora communities around the world with organizations such as the Jewish National Fund and StandWithUs.

Levy was born in London, United Kingdom. He attended University College School in London and University of Oxford, where he received his bachelor's degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics in 2013. He moved to Israel in 2014 at the age of 23 to join the Israeli military during the 2014 Gaza War. In 2016, Levy began work as the chief news anchor at IBA News, and then later presented news at i24NEWS.

Early life and education

Levy was born in London, United Kingdom to Israeli emigrant parents who worked in real estate, and is of Iraqi-Jewish ancestry. He began participating in debate clubs at age 14. Levy attended University College School in London, before going onto Brasenose College at the University of Oxford, where he received his bachelor's degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics in 2013. While studying at Oxford, he participated in debate championships around the world. In 2013, he notably participated in a debate with George Galloway in which Galloway walked out after learning that Levy was an Israeli citizen. In his final year at Oxford, he also co-wrote A Theory of Justice: The Musical, a satirical musical comedy adapting John Rawls's A Theory of Justice; premiering in 2013, it was performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe later that year and at a London West End production in 2018, and was nominated for numerous awards.

He received his master's degree in International Relations from the University of Cambridge, where he wrote his thesis on the issue of Jewish refugees from the Arab world in Israeli foreign policy. While at Cambridge, Levy ran unsuccessfully to become President of the Cambridge Union Society. He moved to Israel in 2014 at the age of 23 to enlist in the Israeli military during the 2014 Gaza War, and served in the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit.

Career

In 2014, Levy published a column for The Guardian newspaper, "Obsessive Gaza coverage is fanning antisemitism". Levy criticised disproportionate media coverage of Israel, claiming that it fuels antisemitism in Europe. Levy also condemned accusations of genocide against Israel and those that invoke the Holocaust to criticize the country. Between 2014 to 2019, he was also a frequent contributor to Tablet, a Jewish online magazine published in the United States. He also wrote frequently for The Tower Magazine from 2016 to 2017. He has also been published by The Daily Telegraph in England.Since 2013, he has been contributing blogs to The Times of Israel.

In 2016, Levy worked as the chief news anchor at IBA News, the English-language broadcast on Israeli public television. He later worked at the international news network i24NEWS, as a news anchor, commentator, and investigative journalist.. In 2021, Israeli President Isaac Herzog appointed him as his international media advisor at the Office of the President of Israel, in which capacity he served for the first two years of the Herzog presidency. After the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, he became an official Israeli government spokesman and one of Israel's most internationally recognized faces in the war. Mark Regev had encountered Levy in the public diplomacy directorate, recognizing his potential and setting him work tasks. As training, he was instructed to observe Regev's live interviews and then give his own interviews.

During the early stages of the conflict, Eylon Levy encountered a diplomatic setback characterized by a press conference response to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Levy remarked with what Levy described as "dark British humour" that Nasrallah's speech was so boring that Israel probably had assassinated Nasrallah's speechwriter. Levy also noted that Nasrallah was not onstage during the address, such that the Hezbollah leader must have been "hiding in a bunker like a coward" as he was defending what Levy termed "the pedophile rapists of Hamas".

The Public Diplomacy Directorate of the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel deemed the comments a diplomatic failure. The Directorate contemplated removing Levy as international media spokesperson, but in the end granted him a second opportunity with guidance from higher authorities who emphasized the inappropriate nature of his response as a government spokesperson. Levy acknowledged the lapse, recognizing that, in his role, humour was not the primary objective but rather conveying information seriously and professionally.

On 23 November 2023, he was interviewed on Sky News by Kay Burley who said: “I was speaking to a hostage negotiator this morning, and he made the comparison between the 50 hostages that Hamas has promised to release as opposed to the 150 prisoners that are Palestinians that Israel has said it will release,”. Burley continued: “He made the comparison between the numbers and the fact that does Israel not think that Palestinian lives are valued as highly as Israeli lives?”

Levy received widespread support from the Jewish community for his response: “That is an astonishing accusation. If we could release one prisoner for every one hostage, we would obviously do that. We are operating in horrific circumstances. We’re not choosing to release these prisoners who have blood on their hands. We are talking about people who have been convicted of stabbing and shooting attacks. Notice the question of proportionality doesn’t interest Palestinian supporters when they’re able to get more of their prisoners out, but really it is outrageous to suggest that the fact that we are willing to release prisoners who are convicted of terrorism offenses – more of them than we are getting our own innocent children back – somehow suggests that we don’t care about Palestinian lives? Really? That’s a disgusting accusation.” Burley's remarks led to many complaints to Ofcom, Britain's government-approved regulatory and competition authority for broadcasting. It was the fifth most-complained about TV broadcast of 2023.

The Times of Israel praised Levy for his interview performance, writing that Levy is

"energized, assumes a Sphinx-like expression and delivers an impressive barrage of well-reasoned, well-crafted arguments. There’s no hesitation. He doesn’t play the victim, doesn’t argue, doesn’t philosophize. Levy wears a face of restrained anger when talking about children, a penetrating look when discussing soldiers, and a neutral expression when mentioning the prime minister – the same prime minister against whom Levy demonstrated with shirts that read “Democracy or Rebellion” just over two months ago. Nonetheless, no one can detect even a hint of criticism [of Netanyahu] in him."

In November 2023, host Lewis Goodall of radio show LBC questioned Levy about his tweet labelling protestors at pro-Palestinian protests in London, where pro-Hamas signs have been present, as "rape apologists". Levy made the comments in the context of Sexual and gender-based violence in the 7 October Hamas-led attack on Israel. Levy replied that he challenged anyone offended by the term to hold up a sign at a pro-Palestine march with the sentence "I condemn Hamas for raping Israeli women and girls". The independent UN Commission of Inquiry (CoI) subsequently published a legal and in-depth investigative report in June 2024 which concluded from “documented evidence” that there was a pattern indicative of sexual violence by Palestinian forces during the attack, that these incidents were not isolated, and that Hamas and other militant groups were responsible for gender-based violence "by willful killings, abductions, and physical, mental and sexual abuse."

In January 2024, as government spokesperson, Levy condemned South Africa's genocide claims against Israel, stating that his country would fight the case: "to dispel South Africa's absurd blood libel".

On January 22, 2024, the Times of Israel and the Jerusalem Post reported that Sara Netanyahu, wife of the current Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, tried to oust Levy from his spokesperson role for participating in the 2023 Israeli judicial reform protests before the Israeli war on Gaza. Levy's posts on X (Twitter) had reportedly circulated among persons in the prime minister's inner circle and upset some of them. Sara Netanyahu's endeavor to dismiss Levy aroused significant public outcry over what was seen as her overreach. The Movement for Quality Government in Israel promptly petitioned the government's legal advisor, urging the issuance of guidelines delineating the specific domain within which she is authorized to intervene in and unjustly or illegally influence governmental affairs. Later that day it was reported that Sara Netanyahu had reprimanded Israel’s Ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely for praising Levy whom Hotovely called a "wonderful public diplomacy star", with Sara Netanyahu denying having done so. At the same time it was reported that Levy would be allowed to stay on as an international spokesman, but that his media appearances would be less frequent.

According to a Channel 12 report on January 21, 2024, officials opted to reduce Levy's public appearances promptly, with a complete removal from the position anticipated within the following few weeks, while the official rationale behind this decision would be stated to be the government's expressed aim to project a more diverse image to the international media.

In March 2024, he engaged in an online row with UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron Levy said in response to a tweet from Cameron urging Israel "to allow more trucks into Gaza":

"I hope you are also aware there are NO limits on the entry of food, water, medicine, or shelter equipment into Gaza, and in fact the crossings have EXCESS capacity. Test us. Send another 100 trucks a day to Kerem Shalom and we'll get them in."

Cameron commented on Levy's claims that there were “no limits” on the entry of aid into Gaza, and that the Kerem Shalom border crossing into Gaza was closed on Saturdays because of the UN, in a letter addressed to MP Alicia Kearns:

In response to the Israeli spokesman claims you quote in your letter, I can confirm that the UN has not requested that the Kerem Shalom crossing is closed on Saturdays. It is our understanding that Israel closes it due to the Sabbath. It is of enormous frustration that UK aid for Gaza has been routinely held up waiting for Israeli permission. For instance, I am aware of some UK funded aid being stuck at the border for just under three weeks waiting for approval. The main blockers remain arbitrary denials by the Government of Israel and lengthy clearance procedures, including multiple screenings and narrow opening windows in daylight hours.

Levy was suspended after the UK Foreign Office expressed "surprise" to Israel's foreign ministry and sought clarification on whether his tweets represented the Israeli government's official position. A report in the Financial Times paraphrased the UK's query as: "Is this the way allies speak to each other?"

By his estimate, between October 7 2023 and March 2024, Levy had participated in 270 interviews across the mediums of television, radio and podcast. He has also led fifty press conferences and gave seventy briefings to delegations.

Since he was suspended as a spokesperson following complaints from the British government, he has since founded the State of the Nation podcast in which he interviews guests about Israel, antisemitism, and Jewish history. The podcast is partly funded by the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism and the initiative is supported by the Minister, Amichai Chikli. He has also founded the New Israeli Discourse public advocacy project and Israeli Citizen Spokespersons Project, which aim to support independent non-governmental Israeli advocacy and activism in support of Israel. The project raised more than $300,000 in less than a week.

In April 2024, he appeared on the cover of the weekly newspaper, The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles with the cover headline "Mr Hasbara".

In September 2024, he embarked on a public diplomacy speaking tour in Australia for the Jewish National Fund Australia. He engaged with over 5, 000 members of Australian Jewry in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. Months prior to his tour, he was interviewed by Australia's SBS Hebrew. In October and November 2024, he addressed Jewish communities in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary with StandWithUs.

On 31 October 2024, he gave a lecture at the University of Calgary, sponsored by StandWithUs. 200 pro-Palestinian protestors attempted to disrupt the lecture, chanting "From the river to the sea" and accusing Levy of genocide. The lecture was cut short by campus security over safety concerns, and students evacuated through a hidden back entrance. Levy was harassed by protestors on the way to his car. Levy condemned the "hateful extremism" of the protestors, but added that he was "pleasantly surprised" by the number of non-Jewish students that attended his lecture, describing them as “genuinely curious and empathetic.” On 5 November, Levy spoke at Congregation Shaar Hashomayim in Montreal. 40 masked pro-Palestinian protestors gathered outside the synagogue. The protestors were condemned in a joint declaration by the Federation CJA and Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs: “radicals came to desecrate the tranquility of one of (our) community’s residential neighborhoods and houses of worship by calling for ‘intifada’ in front of the Shaar Hashomayim synagogue in Montreal. (That) they do so in violation of the injunction protecting our community’s premises from this kind of antisemitic demonstration, and all that in front of the SPVM, is revolting."

Translation and other work

As a Hebrew-to-English literature translator, Levy has translated several influential works of Hebrew non-fiction. In 2022, he was named the inaugural translation finalist of the Sami Rohr Prize in recognition of his translation of Danny Adeno Abebe's memoir From Africa to Zion. Among his previously published works:

  • Catch-67 by Micah Goodman (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2018)
  • #IsraeliJudaism by Shmuel Rosner and Camil Fuchs (Jerusalem: JPPI, 2019)
  • The War of Return by Einat Wilf and Adi Schwartz (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2020)
  • Shimon Peres: An Insider's Account by Avi Gil (London: I.B. Tauris, 2020)
  • The Story of Secular Jews by Amnon Rubinstein (Tel Aviv: Kotarim, 2021)
  • The Wondering Jew by Micah Goodman (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2021)
  • From Africa to Zion by Danny Adeno Abebe (Tel Aviv: Yediot Books, 2021)
  • The Israeli Century by Yossi Shain (New York: Wicked Son, 2021)
  • The Fifth Fiasco by David Passig (Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Press, 2021)
  • Frayed by Yair Ettinger (New York: Koren Publishers, 2023)

Levy was the co-creator of the musical comedy A Theory of Justice: The Musical, which premiered in Oxford in 2013 and was revived for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where it was nominated for four awards.

In popular culture

Eyebrow incident and memes

The eyebrow incident on Sky News, 23 November 2023

On 23 November 2023 TV, Sky News anchor Kay Burley interviewed Levy during which she asked him whether Israel's plan to release 150 Palestinian fighters in exchange for Hamas freeing only 50 Israeli hostages, one Israeli for every three Palestinians, implied that Israel perceived Palestinian lives as inferior. Levy raised his eyebrows dramatically in apparent disbelief at the question and stayed silent for a moment, then replied that Burley's accusation was "astonishing", continuing "If we could release one prisoner for every one hostage, we would obviously do that". Clips of Levy raising his eyebrows went viral on social media. The next day on X (Twitter) Levy expressed further frustration, and then joked "my eyebrows are tired".

News articles about Levy referenced the eyebrow incident as well – in some cases, in the headline itself. Examples include:

  • “Levy – or at least his eyebrow raise – has become a household name in Israel” – Jerusalem Post, "Meet Eylon Levy, Israel's spokesperson and viral meme sensation"
  • “Israeli Government Spokesman Eylon Levy, who became a viral sensation after raising his eyebrows in shock at a question from a Sky News reporter” – Channel 7, Israel
  • “Levy raised his eyebrows in utter shock and told Burley that that was "an astonishing accusation." The video has since garnered over 16 million views since Levy shared it on social media.” – Fox News, "Viral Israeli spokesman discusses ‘frustrating’ media narrative"
  • From Times of Israel – "Israel’s newest, British-born international spokesperson is raising some eyebrows":
    • “Since the eyebrow incident, many of his moves have gone viral;”
    • “They’re making fun of my eyebrows, and soldiers are dying”
    • “Levy’s raised eyebrows have even been turned into a trance music video”
  • “Levy’s eyebrow raise has since become an online meme.” – Times of Israel, "Israeli gov’t spokesman’s reply to UK host’s question about hostage deal.”
  • “It has raised eyebrows all round” – Times of London

Since the eyebrow incident, Levy has been portrayed in other video clips, memes, sketches and other expressions of popular culture. These include a humorous parody of the typical Israeli accent on an American podcast and a video where he facetiously apologizes to those he accused of supporting Hamas, asserting that they were, in reality, merely "indifferent" to the organization's atrocities.

References

  1. Omitting "Aslan-" (Turkish: lion), a common surname of Iraqi Jews: cf. Beider, Alexander (Fall 2021). "Jewish Surnames in Iraq" (PDF). Avotaynu. XXXVII (3): 42. Retrieved 24 January 2024. Several dozen surnames found in Iraq are ultimately of Turkish origin… …one group of Turkish-sounding names in Iraq is drawn from the given names of Turkish origin that were used in Baghdad. Some examples… are Agha (lord, master), Aghababa (grandfather, oldest man), and Aslan (lion)
  2. Gritten, David (2024-03-21). "Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy suspended after UK online row". BBC News. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  3. ^ Callaghan, Louise (2024-08-07). "Eylon Levy: the ex-public schoolboy who became Israel's spokesman". The Times. Archived from the original on 2023-11-26. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  4. ^ The stunning rise, curious suspension and insistent return of Israel’s star spokesman The Times of Israel. 31 March 2024
  5. ^ Our Champion Advocate The Australian Jewish News. 12 September 2024
  6. ^ Hofstein, Avner (2023-12-20). "Israel's newest, British-born international spokesperson is raising some eyebrows". Times of Israel. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  7. Rosenberg, Michelle (2024-10-10). "Top London boys' school says no to talk by former pupil, Israeli spokesman Eylon Levy". Jewish News. Archived from the original on 2024-01-15. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  8. "Eylon Aslan-Levy". OxPol. Archived from the original on 2021-05-15. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
  9. "Notable Alumni - Brasenose College, Oxford". www.bnc.ox.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  10. Brady, Phelim (2013-02-22). "Galloway walks out of debate with Oxford Israeli student". Varsity. Archived from the original on 2021-05-19. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  11. Murray, Warren; Jones, Sam (2013-02-21). "George Galloway refuses to debate with Israeli student at Oxford". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  12. Urquhart, Conal (2013-02-23). "Oxford in uproar over union motion to boycott Israel". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  13. "PPE finalists create revision musical". Cherwell. 2 October 2012.
  14. "Eylon Aslan-Levy". aishcom. Archived from the original on 2021-05-19. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
  15. "**TODAY** Eylon Aslan-Levy for President of the Cambridge Union Society". Archived from the original on 2020-06-19. Retrieved 2024-03-26.
  16. Leong, Claudia (2013-12-01). "Blackmail, Coercion and Lies: Cambridge Union Scandal-Struck". The Cambridge Tab. Archived from the original on 2013-12-04.
  17. Leong, Claudia (2014-04-22). "Full Union Line-Up Revealed!". The Cambridge Tab. Archived from the original on 2014-07-07.
  18. Levy, Eylon (2015-11-26). "Farewell, IDF; it's been an honor". Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 2021-05-19. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
  19. ^ Obsessive Gaza coverage is fanning antisemitism The Guardian. 7 August 2014
  20. Eylon Aslan-Levy Tablet. Retrieved on 17 November 2024
  21. Eylon Aslan-Levy The Tower Magazine. Retrieved on 17 November 2024
  22. The media is twisting the knife into Israel over the 'lone wolf intifada' The Daily Telegraph. 23 February 2016
  23. The blogs - Eylon Levy The Times of Israel. Retrieved on 17 November 2024
  24. ^ Meet Eylon Levy, Israel's spokesperson and viral meme sensatio The Jerusalem Post. 2 December 2023
  25. ^ Eylon Levy: A conversation with the former English-language spokesman sensation The Jerusalem Post. 28 June 2024
  26. ^ Israel’s Defender: The Unstoppable Spokesperson Eylon Levy Jewish Journal. 25 April 2024
  27. Kay Burley’s hostage remarks in Ofcom’s 10 most complained about TV broadcasts Jewish News. 28 December 2023
  28. Eylon Levy (19 November 2023). "Post on X by Eylon Levy". Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  29. Police seek four people for ‘pro-Hamas’ signs at Palestine demo in London The Guardian. 28 October 2024
  30. Detailed findings on attacks carried out on and after 7 October 2023 in Israel United Nations Human Rights Council. 10 June 2024
  31. Israel to fight South Africa's Gaza genocide claim in court BBC. 3 January 2024
  32. "Sara Netanyahu tried to oust Israel's Eylon Levy from spokesperson role". The Jerusalem Post. 2024-01-21. Archived from the original on 2024-01-21. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  33. ^ "Sara Netanyahu pushing to oust English-language spokesman Eylon Levy — report". Times of Israel. 2024-01-22. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  34. "After furor over alleged removal plans, Israeli spokesman Eylon Levy to stay in role". Times of Israel. 2024-01-22. Retrieved 2024-01-23.
  35. ^ Yang, Maya; Belam, Martin; Sedghi, Amy (2024-03-21). "Middle East crisis live: consensus among US and Arab allies on need for immediate, sustained Gaza ceasefire, says Blinken". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  36. ^ "Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy suspended after UK online row". BBC News. 2024-03-21. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
  37. Cashman, Greer Fay (2024-05-27). "A special forces hasbara unit: Eylon Levy's strategy for turning the narrative war for Israel". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  38. "Following suspension | Eylon Levy launches private advocacy initiative". Arutz Sheva. 2024-03-31. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  39. Eichner, Itamar (2024-04-04). "Israeli advocacy star Eylon Levy launches private public diplomacy project". Ynet. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  40. Lifting the Hasbara Game SBS Hebrew. 15 April 2024
  41. Ex-Israeli government official says antisemitism in Canada 'out of control' Toronto Sun. 4 November 2024
  42. ^ Former adviser to Benjamin Netanyahu met by anti-Israel student mob at University of Calgary National Post. 5 November 2024
  43. Go on offensive: Levy Jewish Independent. 31 October 2024
  44. Protesters trapped students in a Calgary lecture hall during a talk by Israel’s former spokesperson Eylon Levy The Canadian Jewish News. 1 November 2024
  45. Jewish leaders call on Montreal to tackle antisemitic violence The Montreal Gazette. 8 November 2024
  46. ^ Masked protesters gather outside Montreal’s Shaar Hashomayim synagogue, violating court-ordered buffer zone The Canadian Jewish News. 6 November 2004
  47. "The Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature and the National Library of Israel Announce New Collaboration". www.nli.org.il. Archived from the original on 2022-06-17. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  48. Goodman, Micah (2019-10-08). Catch-67: The Left, the Right, and the Legacy of the Six-Day War. Translated by Levy, Eylon. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300248418.
  49. Rosner, Shmuel; Fuchs, Camil (2019-08-29). #IsraeliJudaism: Portrait of a Cultural Revolution. JPPI, The Jewish People Policy Institute. ISBN 978-9657549261.
  50. Schwartz, Adi; Wilf, Einat (2020-04-28). The War of Return: How Western Indulgence of the Palestinian Dream Has Obstructed the Path to Peace. St. Martin's Publishing. ISBN 978-1250252760.
  51. Gil, Avi (2020-11-12). Shimon Peres: An Insider's Account of the Man and the Struggle for a New Middle East. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 978-0755617029.
  52. Rubinstein, Amnon (3 January 2021). THE STORY OF THE SECULAR JEWS. January 3, 2021). Archived from the original on 22 January 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  53. Goodman, Micah (2020-11-10). The Wondering Jew: Israel and the Search for Jewish Identity. Translated by Levy, Eylon. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300252248.
  54. Abebe, Danny Adeno (2021-04-20). From Africa To Zion. Yedioth Ahronoth and Chemed Books. ISBN 978-9652012869.
  55. Shain, Yossi (2021-11-02). The Israeli Century: How the Zionist Revolution Changed History and Reinvented Judaism. Post Hill Press. ISBN 978-1642938456.
  56. "The Fifth Fiasco, or How to Escape the Traps of Jewish History in the Twenty-First Century - Cambridge Scholars Publishing". Cambridge Scholars. Archived from the original on 2021-08-05. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  57. "Frayed". Koren Publishers. Archived from the original on 2023-12-24. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
  58. "Nominees for WhatsOnStage supported MTN Awards announced in Edinburgh". What’s On Stage?. 2013-08-16. Archived from the original on 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2021-07-01.
  59. Levy, Eylon (24 November 2023). "Post by @EylonALevy". X (Twitter). Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  60. Klein, Zvika (2023-12-02). "Meet Eylon Levy, Israel's spokesperson and viral meme sensation". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2024-01-23. Levy – or at least his eyebrow raise – has become a household name in Israel
  61. Kempinski, Yoni (13 December 2023). "Sheva about his visit to Kfar Aza, efforts to combat misinformation globally". Channel 7 Israel - israelnationalnews.com. Retrieved 23 January 2024. Israeli Government Spokesman Eylon Levy, who became a viral sensation after raising his eyebrows in shock at a question from a Sky News reporter
  62. Tietz, Kendall (1 December 2023). "Viral Israeli spokesman discusses 'frustrating' media narrative following deadly Oct. 7 terrorist attack". Fox News. Retrieved 23 January 2024. Levy raised his eyebrows in utter shock and told Burley that that was "an astonishing accusation." The video has since garnered over 16 million views since Levy shared it on social media.
  63. Hofstein, Avner (20 December 2023). "Israel's newest, British-born international spokesperson is raising some eyebrows". Times of Israel. Retrieved 23 January 2024. Since the eyebrow incident, many of his moves have gone viral;So sometimes it's uncomfortable for me – they're making fun of my eyebrows, and soldiers are dying; Levy's raised eyebrows have even been turned into a trance music video.
  64. ^ "Israeli gov't spokesman's reply to UK host's question about hostage deal goes viral". Times of Israel. 23 November 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2024. Levy's eyebrow raise has since become an online meme.
  65. Callaghan, Louise (23 January 2024). "Eylon Levy: the ex-public schoolboy who became Israel's spokesman". Retrieved 23 January 2024. It has raised eyebrows all around

External links

Categories: