Golan Cipel (born 1968) is an Israeli consultant most known for his relationship with former New Jersey Governor

Jim McGreevey James Edward McGreevey (born August 6, 1957) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the 52nd governor of New Jersey from 2002 until his resignation in 2004 following the revelation of his extramarital affair w ...

Biography

Cipel was born in Tel Aviv in 1968 and grew up in the city of

Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( he, רִאשׁוֹן לְצִיּוֹן , ''lit.'' First to Zion, Arabic: راشون لتسيون) is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan ...

.Golan Cipel's official web site
/ref> Cipel served in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for five years as a

naval officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent cont ...

, eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant. Following his service in the

Israeli Navy The Israeli Navy ( he, חיל הים הישראלי, ''Ḥeil HaYam HaYisraeli'' (English: The Israeli Sea Corps); ar, البحرية الإسرائيلية) is the naval warfare service arm of the Israel Defense Forces, operating primarily i ...

, Cipel held several positions in government. He began his career in 1992 as parliamentary aide in the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, where he was responsible for policy formation, as well as the drafting of legislation. In 1994 he joined the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs as chief information officer at the

Consulate General A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

of Israel in New York, where he was responsible for presenting the Israeli government perspective to the American media and public. In 1999, Cipel was appointed the spokesperson for the municipality of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. In 2001, Cipel returned to the United States to work on the New Jersey gubernatorial campaign of

. Following the election, Cipel was appointed counselor to the governor, advising McGreevey on issues including political strategy, diplomatic affairs and Jewish community relations. He also served as liaison between the states's various security and law enforcement agencies and the governor's office. McGreevey and Cipel were having an affair in secret, something that would later lead to McGreevey's resignation as governor. Cipel currently works as an independent marketing consultant. He holds a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in communications arts from the

New York Institute of Technology The New York Institute of Technology (NYIT or New York Tech) is a private research university founded in 1955. It has two main campuses in New York—one in Old Westbury, on Long Island, and one in Manhattan. Additionally, it has a cyberse ...

Relationship with McGreevey

McGreevey met Cipel while on a junket to Israel in 2000. Cipel was working as a public affairs officer for a

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

government. Cipel later moved to New Jersey in order to provide outreach to the

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

community on behalf of McGreevey's gubernatorial campaign. McGreevey eventually appointed Cipel as a counselor to the governor, a position from which he resigned in August 2002 to take a position at the public relations firm MWW. Cipel's intention to file a sexual harassment lawsuit against McGreevey in Mercer County Court led to McGreevey's decision to resign as governor on August 12, 2004. Cipel dropped the lawsuit after McGreevey resigned, stating that justice had been served.

Cipel's version

In an interview with the Israeli newspaper ''

Ha'aretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner ...

'' (August 19, 2004), Cipel stated that his situation was intentionally misrepresented by the governor's office and affirmed that he had never actually been responsible for internal security under the governor. According to Cipel, the press had distorted his history, transforming him from someone who had self-published a book of poetry at age sixteen into a "poet". He claims such distortions supported the story that McGreevey allegedly created and the press eagerly covered. In his own words, Cipel claims he was one of many victims of McGreevey's sexual harassment, that he had "no romantic affair" with the governor, but rather was taken advantage of. He also describes the former governor's behavior as egotistical, unprofessional, immoral, and immature.

References

External links

Golan Cipel's official web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cipel, Golan 1968 births Living people Israeli Jews People from New Jersey People from Tel Aviv