David Keyes

Keyes was born in Los Angeles and graduated with honors from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a degree in Middle Eastern studies.[3][1] He immigrated to Israel with his family at age 23 and began military service after arriving.[1] His service included work in the Israel Defense Forces’ Foreign Relations unit in the Planning Directorate.[1]

He subsequently studied diplomacy at Tel Aviv University, earning a master’s degree, and spoke English, Hebrew, and Arabic.[1] A 2003 Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs article identified him at that time as a UCLA sophomore, an assistant to former ambassador Dore Gold at the center, and media and information chair of Bruins for Israel.[7]

Before his government appointment, Keyes served as executive director of Advancing Human Rights, which operated Movements.org, a platform connecting dissidents in closed societies with people who could assist them.[3][4] He also directed Cyberdissidents.org, which he founded while working in Israel for former Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky.[3]

His public advocacy included online activism and staged events criticizing the human-rights records of Iran and Saudi Arabia.[3] In 2013, he confronted Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif about his use of Facebook while the Iranian government restricted access to it.[3] During the encounter, Keyes also asked about imprisoned Iranian activist Majid Tavakoli; Tavakoli was temporarily released after Iranian television highlighted the episode, but was later imprisoned again.[3]

During the 2014 Iran nuclear negotiations in Vienna, Keyes staged a mock press conference satirizing Iran’s human-rights record.[3] In New York in 2015, he distributed balloons and ice cream at an event framed as a satirical “celebration” of executions in Iran, saying that “every balloon counts when you’re trying to topple the Iranian regime.”[3]

Keyes also wrote about Israeli security and diplomacy.[7][4] His Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs author profile lists a November 2004 article coauthored with Dore Gold on prospects for negotiations and a coauthored article with Yaakov Amidror on Gaza as a potential al-Qaeda sanctuary.[4]

On March 14, 2016, Netanyahu appointed Keyes as his adviser for international communications.[1] As foreign-media adviser and spokesperson, he replaced Mark Regev, who had been appointed Israel’s ambassador to the United Kingdom.[3] Keyes’s previous work at the time of his appointment combined human-rights advocacy, dissident-support networks, and publicity campaigns directed at authoritarian governments.[3]

In government, Keyes produced videos promoting Israel’s positions, including messages concerning Iran.[5] His Iran-related public-relations material was presented to Netanyahu and appealed to him.[5] When Keyes’s departure was announced in December 2018, Netanyahu praised the videos for presenting what he called basic facts about Israel and said they had attracted millions of views.[8] Netanyahu also said messages addressed to the Iranian public had been particularly well received by many Iranian citizens.[8]

Keyes’s public work connected support for dissidents with attention-seeking advocacy and, later, official Israeli international communications.[3][5] His pre-government activities included direct encounters with Iranian officials and satirical public events, while his government role emphasized videos presenting Israel’s positions to audiences abroad.[3][5]

Upon leaving office, Keyes said he intended to pursue opportunities in the private sector.[2] He thanked Netanyahu for the opportunity to serve him and Israel, and described Israeli innovation as an inspiration for his next professional steps.[2]

In his August 2003 policy article, Keyes argued that the hudna, or truce, failed to satisfy the road map’s requirement for an unconditional cessation of violence and that the Palestinian Authority had not dismantled terrorist infrastructure.[7] He claimed that at least 240 Palestinian attacks had occurred since June 29, averaging four per day, characterized the Quartet’s approach as “Scotch-tape diplomacy,” and advocated allowing Israel to complete a security fence along a route chosen to protect its citizens.[7] These were arguments and contemporary claims in his policy commentary, rather than independently verified findings.[7]

In September 2018, 12 women’s accounts of alleged inappropriate behavior by Keyes were published, many concerning his leadership of Advancing Human Rights in New York during 2012–2015.[9] The allegations ranged from unwanted advances to physically aggressive conduct; one woman alleged that he continued attempting sexual contact after she refused and that she used physical force to leave.[9] Two published emails contained apologies from Keyes for being “less than gentlemanly.”[9] Public accusers included New York State Senate candidate Julia Salazar and journalist Shayndi Raice, while a separate report described complaints by two women at a Washington research institute in 2013.[5][10] Keyes denied the allegations as “deeply misleading,” saying many were “categorically false”; four additional women subsequently contacted the outlet that published the initial investigation.[8]

Keyes took open-ended leave in September and formally resigned in December 2018.[5][2] The Civil Service Commission closed its disciplinary file in November: most complaints concerned alleged conduct before state employment and fell outside its disciplinary remit, while a reported incident during his appointment was deemed unrelated to his work and not sexual harassment.[6] The commission stated that its legal decision did not determine the broader significance of the allegations or Keyes’s suitability for office.[6] The allegations were reported claims, not adjudicated findings.[5][9]