Intel exec to help safeguard Israel’s elections
Yifat Siminovski, who serves as the Corporate Lead of the Privacy & AI Risk Management Team at Intel, will become the legal adviser to the Central Elections Committee.
The Central Elections Committee for the Knesset on Monday unanimously elected attorney Yifat Siminovski as its new legal adviser, following a comprehensive selection process.
One of the main challenges she will face in the role is safeguarding the integrity of Israel’s elections against technological threats and external interference.
Siminovski joins the committee after holding several senior positions in both the public and private sectors, bringing expertise in law and technology, administrative law, public procurement and advanced technologies.
In her most recent role in the public sector, she served as a senior legal counsel for the technological division and administrative headquarters at the Israel National Cyber Directorate in the Prime Minister’s Office. In that position, she managed a team of lawyers, led complex procurement processes and was involved in shaping legislation and procedures in the fields of cyber security and privacy.
Previously, she served for about five years as head of legal and technology affairs at the Ministry of Education, where she gained extensive experience managing large national IT tenders and supporting cross-government technology projects.
In recent years, Siminovski also held senior roles at Intel, including Corporate Lead of the Privacy & AI Risk Management Team where she worked as a privacy risk management and artificial intelligence expert within the company’s global cyber risk management team.
She holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Master of Laws (LL.M.), with honors, from Bar-Ilan University.
The Central Elections Committee is an independent body, and Israel’s electoral legislation is designed to ensure its autonomy from the executive branch and prevent political interference in its work.
Under this framework, the committee’s chair serves as the appointing authority for its employees, and recruitment procedures follow special rules designed to preserve the institution’s independence.
The selection process was conducted by a professional search committee composed in accordance with the formal rules governing its composition and procedures.
Members of the selection committee included Noam Sohlberg, deputy president of the Supreme Court of Israel and chairman of the Central Elections Committee, who chaired the panel; Sagit Afik, legal adviser to the Knesset; Orly Ades, director general of the Central Elections Committee; and Neal Hendel, a retired Supreme Court justice and former chairman of the committee.
Siminovski’s appointment follows the resignation of the committee’s previous legal adviser, Dean Livne, about two months ago after 13 years in the role, during which Israel held eight national election campaigns.
The legal adviser plays a central role in the work of the Elections Committee. The position operates alongside the committee’s chairman and director general and is responsible for safeguarding the integrity of elections, advising on reforms to election law, and providing legal guidance on petitions and party requests, including those concerning the disqualification of parties or candidates. The legal adviser also represents the committee in court proceedings.
