Lihi Lapid (; born 12 May 1968) is an Israeli author,

photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (suc ...

, and newspaper

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...

. She is an activist for people with

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

. Her husband is

Yair Lapid Yair Lapid ( ; born 5 November 1963) is an Israeli politician of the centrist Yesh Atid party and a former journalist who has been the Leader of the Opposition (Israel), Leader of the Opposition since January 2023, having previously served in t ...

, the former

Prime Minister of Israel The prime minister of Israel (, Hebrew abbreviations, Hebrew abbreviation: ; , ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief executive of the Israel, State of Israel. Israel is a parliamentary republic with a President of Isra ...

Biography

Lihi Mann () was born and raised in

Arad, Israel Arad ( ) is a city in the Southern District of Israel. It is located on the border of the Negev and the Judaean deserts, west of the Dead Sea and east of Beersheba. The city is home to a diverse population of in , including Ashkenazi and Se ...

. Her family is of

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

descent who hails from Poland, Germany, and Austria. She attended , the and

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

.During her service in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

, Lapid was a photographer for '' Bamahane''. Lapid met her future spouse,

, while she was in the Israeli military. They have a son and daughter and reside in Ramat Aviv Gimel,

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, Israel. In an affidavit submitted to a Tel Aviv court in December 2024 she stated that she does not believe Jesus was messiah. This controverts statements made by Christian missionary Chaim Malespin.

Journalism and literary career

She was a columnist at ''

Yedioth Ahronoth (, ; lit. "Latest News") is an Israeli daily mass market newspaper published in Tel Aviv. Founded in 1939, is Israel's largest paid newspaper by sales and circulation and has been described as "undoubtedly the country's number-one paper."

'' for 15 years. In April 2019, after taking time off to campaign for her spouse, the newspaper would not hire her back. In 2008, she authored a novel and memoir titled ''Women of Valor''. Lapid is a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

and an advocate for people with disabilities. She has an

autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

daughter. Lapid is president of SHEKEL, a community organization for people with special needs.

Published works

* * * ''On Her Own'', Harper Collins, 2024Lihi Lapid, Wife of ex-PM, Discovers Grim New Reality for Israeli Authors in America
''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lapid, Lihi 1968 births Living people People from Arad, Israel Israeli photojournalists Israeli columnists Israeli feminists Israeli women activists Israeli disability rights activists Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent Israeli women columnists Thelma Yellin High School of Arts alumni 20th-century Israeli women writers 21st-century Israeli women writers Spouses of prime ministers of Israel Yair Lapid 20th-century Israeli journalists 20th-century Israeli women journalists 21st-century Israeli journalists 21st-century Israeli women journalists