Lihi Lapid, wife of Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, is pushing back on claims she is a messianic Jew.
Rumors that Mrs. Lapid is secretly affiliated with a Christian church began circulating on the internet last week, after a video by messianic Jewish preacher Chaim Malespin went viral.
In the video, Malespin claimed that Lihi Lapid “is a believer [in Jesus].”
“We’re in a time with more congregations, more openness to the Gospel. Even the government, the Prime Minister’s wife, is a believer right now… Yair Lapid’s wife, Lihi, is a believer.”
“Like what? This is, what? I mean a confirmed believer. This is crazy stuff going on right now in Israel. Hallelujah! Yeah, we’re living in exciting times.”
After Malespin’s video went viral, Mrs. Lapid’s personal website, LihiLapid.com, was hacked, with references to Christianity added.
In addition, Lihi Lapid’s Wikipedia page was edited to reference the rumor that she is a practicing Christian.
“Her and her family are christians belonging to the messianic church,” the addition read.
Shortly afterwards, the Wikipedia entry was edited, removing the claim, and Lihi Lapid’s website taken down.
A spokesperson for Mrs. Lapid told the London-based Jewish Chronicle that that “Lihi Lapid's website was blocked after it had been hacked and used to spread fake news.”
A spokesperson for Prime Minister Lapid’s Yesh Atid party pushed back on the rumor, calling it “nothing short of ridiculous.”
“Somebody said something that is not true. This is the situation. It’s not true. It’s a lie. I don’t know why he said that. I don’t know what his interest is. I don’t know. But it’s a lie.”
Malespin later issued a video statement walking back his claims and issued an apology.