Masa head takes leave of absence for Blue and White

The CEO of Masa Israel Journey, Liran Avisar, was forced to take a leave of absence on Wednesday after it was revealed that she was part of Blue and White’s coalition negotiating team.

Army Radio revealed two days ago that she was on the team. However, her participation was prohibited, because Masa is a project of the government and the Jewish Agency, so she must remain apolitical.

A Blue and White spokeswoman said Avisar already went into unpaid leave on Saturday night before the report was released. But Makor Rishon reported that she only announced her leave of absence on Wednesday.

Avisar did not respond to repeated requests for comments.

Masa has brought more than 110,000 Jews between the ages of 18-30 from more than 60 countries to Israel for two to 12-month study, volunteering and career development programs since its founding in 2004.