Zvi Hauser

Zvi Hauser was born in Ramat Gan to Mordechai and Yehudit Hauser, the youngest of three. He was born with a heart defect and went through successful open heart surgery at the age of eight. At the age of eleven he played basketball for Maccabi Ramat Gan. He attended Blich high school in Ramat Gan, where he served as the national chairman of the youth wing of the Tehiya Party.

Hauser enlisted as part of Israel's mandatory military service and served in the IDF's School of Leadership Development. Among his roles there he also served as the schools commander of the public diplomacy unit. After his release from the IDF, he became a professional assistant to the Director-General of the Ministry of Labor and Welfare, Shmuel Slavin. Following that he worked as the assistant to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the government-owned company Amidar; a provider of subsidized and rent-controlled housing.

In 1992, he became the Spokesperson for the National Union of Israeli Students. The following year, he served as a Media Adviser to the Likud party and to the then-Chairman of the Opposition, Benjamin Netanyahu. After two years he left this position to complete his legal internship. Hauser was also a member of the University Disciplinary Court of Appeals at Tel Aviv University.

He graduated from Tel Aviv University's Faculty of Law in 1994, completed a legal internship at Pinchas Marinsky & Co. law firm, and became a member of the Israel Bar Association in 1996.[1] From 2000 to 2009, Hauser worked in the private sector and became a law firm partner at Goldfarb Seligman & Co. in Tel Aviv. He headed the

firm's Communications and Media Department.

At the same time, he continued his public service being a board member for several government owned companies including the Tel Aviv Port "Otzar Mif'aley Yam" and Mikve Israel. He was also a member of the Public Council for the Commemoration of Theodor Herzl and the Management Committee on the Council for Preserving Heritage Sites in Israel between the years 2008 and 2009.

When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formed Israel's 27th government in 1996, Hauser was appointed Senior Professional Adviser to Minister of Communications, Limor Livnat. In this capacity, he served as the Coordinator of the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Enhancing Competition in the Telecommunications Market, and as the Coordinator for the Ministry of Communications for Increasing Competition in the Broadcasting Market. He also was a member of the public committee for expanding broadcasting services in the state of Israel and served as a member of the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Regulating National Radio Broadcasting.

In 1997, Hauser was appointed as the Chairman of the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council and as the Chairman of the Administration for Regulating Broadcasts for the Public. In 1999 he was also appointed as the Chairman of the Israeli Rating Committee. Later on, in 2002, he served as a member of the Public Committee for Examining the Future of Israeli Educational Television.

He was involved in the establishment of the 'Israel News' Company, which served as Channel 10's news company. From 2004 to 2009, he served as the director for the "Dori Media Group" (DMG), a traded company on the AIM London Stock Exchange.

In April 2009, upon the establishment of the Thirty-second government of Israel headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Hauser was appointed as Israel's 17th Cabinet Secretary[2] and served in that position until 2013 under the Thirty-third government of Israel.

Besides the responsibility of setting the Cabinet's agenda and ministerial committee meetings as well as managing the inner workings of the Office, he simultaneously served as the Secretary of The Ministers Committee on Security Affairs ('The Political-Security Cabinet'). In this position, Hauser liaised between the cabinet and the Knesset (Israeli parliament), and between the cabinet and the President of Israel. He was also deputy to the Director General of the Office of the Prime Minister and served as the Cabinet's spokesperson.

Hauser co-Chaired Masa Israel Journey, an organization that brings young Jewish adults to Israel to strengthen their bond with Israel and the Jewish people. He served as a member for Western Wall Heritage Foundation, Independence Hall and initiated the Moreshet Program, a national program for preserving restoring national heritage sites.

With the formation of the 33rd government, in January 2013, Hauser announced his desire to end his term after more than four years in office. Hauser continued to serve as the 33rd Secretary of Government until the appointment of Maj. Gen. Avichai Mandelblit, who served as the Military Advocate General, in May 2013. In the background of the termination of Hauser's role as Cabinet Secretary was the complaint, he filled with Yoaz Hendel and Yohanan Locker about the actions of Natan Eshel, the prime minister's close confidant.[3]

Hauser is identified with Conservative right. In the run-up to the 21st Knesset elections, Hauser joined Moshe Ya'alon and the Telem Party and was placed 14th on the Blue and White list. The party received 35 seats and Hauser entered the 21'st Knesset for the first time.[6]

Currently he is the Chairman of the Foreign affairs and Defense committee, and the Chairman of the Israel-Japan Parliamentary Friendship Group, in the Knesset. On 7 July 2020, Hauser was elected to represent the parliamentary body on the Committee to Appoint Judges[7].

In March 2020, Hauser and Yoaz Hendel formed their own political faction, Derekh Eretz.[8] On 9 December 2020, Hauser and Hendel announced that they will join Gideon Sa'ar's new party, New Hope.[9]

Hauser was married to Hila Tov and have two sons, including Michael Hauser Tov, who serves as the political correspondent for Gali Tzahal. After a decade of marriage, the two were separated.

His current spouse is a TV producer and IEC spokeswoman, Dalia Bodinger.

Hauser is a collector of Israeli items called Israeliana.

• Zvi Hauser on the Knesset website
• Zvi Hauser tells Haaretz what Israel is doing wrong
• Zvi Hauser appointed temporary PMO director-general
• Zvi Hauser in The Times of Israel: "Finding new Home in New Hope"