In the Right Place  

Boaz Bismuth has a long personal history of being in the right place at the right time.

The most recent example of this came on July 23, when he was overwhelmingly elected by his Likud colleagues to replace Yuli Edelstein as chair of the Knesset’s powerful Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, on a vote of 29 to four. That move was primarily seen as a way for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to smooth ruffled feathers among his chareidi coalition partners, after Edelstein refused to advance a bill regulating the draft status of full-time Torah learners.

But it was telling that Boaz Bismuth, 60, was widely seen as the consensus choice. The longtime committee member posted to social media after his appointment as chair: “I approach my position with sacred reverence, in a time of war that requires national unity. We must — coalition and opposition — rise to the magnitude of the hour, and act for the people and the country. The enemy does not distinguish between Jewish communities. We are all in the same boat.

Since assuming the chairmanship, Bismuth has had to endure the raucous antics of the opposition during committee proceedings. But he keeps the discussion on track, and with his affable manner, has won over many detractors.