Assaf Rappaport shakes up Israel Bidur: After the CEO, the COO also departs
The Israel Bidur group is undergoing rapid leadership changes following its acquisition by Assaf Rappaport and a group of investors. Within 24 hours, two senior executives have left the company: following CEO Idan Elrom, COO Bar Grinstein has also stepped down.
Dramatic changes are taking place within the Z Platform group, the digital media entity that owns the influential Instagram page "Israel Bidur," following the acquisition of a 60% stake by Assaf Rappaport and a group of investors at a valuation of 80 million shekels.
As reported yesterday, Israel Bidur has appointed a new CEO to replace Idan Elrom. The new leader is David Anulik, CEO of Gitam IM, the strategic consulting arm of the Gitam group. Elrom, the former CEO of Walla, had been appointed CEO of the group last October, but significant shifts have occurred since then.
In May of this year, Elrom was appointed acting CEO of Reshet 13 and has served as the de facto CEO since. His selection was made by shareholders led by Len Blavatnik, apparently with the tacit agreement of the investor group led by Assaf Rappaport, as official regulatory approval from the Second Authority for Television and Radio has not yet been received.
While Elrom was expected to serve as CEO in both capacities simultaneously, Israel Bidur sought a full-time executive, leading Rappaport and the investors to appoint Anulik to the position.
Meanwhile, the tenure of Bar Grinstein has also come to an end. Grinstein was appointed last October by Elrom as the COO of the media group, having previously served in a similar role at the Walla website. With Elrom's official departure from Israel Bidur, the appointment he brought to the group is also concluding, signaling that Assaf Rappaport is beginning to assert control over senior appointments within the Israel Bidur group.
Separately, the wave of departures at Reshet 13 continues, alongside growing concerns regarding potential layoffs at News 13. This morning, it was announced that foreign affairs correspondent Yosef Israel is leaving the channel after more than a decade of service.
Israel began his career in 2014 as a news editor for the digital desk of nana10 and later at News 10. He eventually served as senior editor and deputy editor-in-chief of the News 13 website. In 2018, he moved into television broadcasting, joining the foreign desk under the management of Nadav Eyal. In 2020, he was officially appointed as the foreign affairs correspondent for News 13 and as a presenter for the channel's news segments and programs. His next professional role has not yet been disclosed.
