Ron Gabayan, a former head of the international media section of the Israel Defense Forces, is to be international spokesman for the Israeli Mission to the United Nations in New York, JNS has learned.
Gabayan told JNS that he is “excited” to join the Israel’s mission to the global body at a time when the Jewish state “faces significant challenges on the international stage.”
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to contribute,” he told JNS.
Gabayan, who is Israeli, spent almost six years in the IDF, serving as head of the military’s international media section from 2020 to 2022. He was also spokesman for Israeli military intelligence and the ground forces, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He most recently served as spokesman for the Gedera Municipality, a town in Israel’s Central District with a population of more than 30,000. Earlier, he was head of the commercial department and a media consultant at Unik Public Image, an Israeli communications firm.
He succeeds Jonathan Harounoff, who told JNS exclusively that he would be leaving the post at the end of June.
In 2022, Gabayan served as spokesman for Eli Avidar, then a Knesset member for Yisrael Beiteinu and outspoken critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Avidar, who served as strategic planning minister in the Bennett-Lapid government, later broke with Yisrael Beiteinu and founded the libertarian Israel Free and Democratic party.
The party pushed for secular governance and legislation barring a politician under indictment from forming a government.
Gabayan is pursuing a doctorate in communication and media studies at Bar-Ilan University, where he earned a master’s degree in 2023.
His research focuses on “the theory and practice of intelligence public disclosure for psycho-operational goals,” per his LinkedIn profile.
Harounoff told JNS that he plans to build his public relations company, Noff Media, and pen a new book.
