Knesset reporter, former CBI member, to discuss Israel

Lahav Harkov, Knesset reporter for The Jerusalem Post, will be guest speaker following 9 a.m. Shabbat services on Saturday, Dec. 13, at 11:30 a.m. at Congregation Brothers of Israel in Long Branch.

Lahav grew up in New Jersey and spent several years as a Brothers of Israel member before making aliya with her parents and sister at age 17. She earned degrees in political science and communications at Bar-Ilan University.

Harkov said, “I wanted to be a reporter like my grandmother and aunt for as long as I remember and I started reading the newspaper as a child.” Growing up with an Israeli mother, aunt, and grandparents, she said, “I was always especially interested in current events in Israel. I was in high school during the Second Intifada, and became very involved in Israel advocacy. After I moved to Israel at age 17 — the summer of the Gaza disengagement — I did everything I could to become a journalist: I interned, I blogged, and eventually I got a job for The Jerusalem Post’s website. 

“When the job of Knesset reporter opened up,” Harkov said, “I knew it was exactly what I wanted to do, because it really is the nerve center of the country. Nearly every newsworthy thing that happens in Israel ends up being discussed in the Knesset.

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“As far as lecturing about Israeli affairs, I really see it as a continuation of the Israel advocacy work that was so important to me when I still lived in the US. I realize that Jewish and Zionist communities outside of Israel are often thirsty for insider information and want to really understand what is going on in Israel.”

“People in those communities, schools, and on college campuses are Israel’s best ambassadors in public diplomacy,” she said, “so I’m proud to help teach and train people who love Israel to be able to defend it and discuss it in a knowledgeable, confident way.”

For more information, call 732-222-6666.