"I didn't tone it down": Hanamel Dorfman in an exclusive interview on running for the Knesset

Hanamel Dorfman, former chief of staff to Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, speaks for the first time about moving from behind the scenes to the political stage. Dorfman is placed seventh on the Otzma Yehudit list for the Knesset, after years of running the minister's office. In the interview he addresses the warning investigation he underwent, the question of whether he has toned down, and the outward change he has made.

Hanamel Dorfman, 31, married and a father of five, was for years one of the closest people to National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and ran his office. Now he is leaving the role and is placed seventh on the Otzma Yehudit list for the Knesset. In an exclusive interview with Channel 14, Dorfman addresses the warning investigation he underwent in the Police Internal Investigations Department, on suspicion of interfering in investigations and ties with senior police officers, and denies that he broke the law. He stresses that he has not toned down, despite the outward change – removing the sidelocks that characterised him. Dorfman describes his early acquaintance with Ben Gvir, going back to their youth, and explains how he became his confidant and the manager of his office. The article presents his transition from a behind-the-scenes man to a potential public representative, while highlighting both the closeness to the top and the affairs in which his name has been linked.