Keren Terner Eyal

Keren Terner Eyal
קרן טרנר אייל
Director-General of the Ministry of Finance
In office
June 2020 – October 2020
Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu
MinisterIsrael Katz
Preceded byShai Babad
Succeeded byEran Yaacov (acting)
Director-General of the Ministry of Transport
In office
2016 – May 2020
MinisterIsrael Katz
Personal details
Born
Israel
PartyBennett 2026 (from 2026)
Alma materHebrew University of Jerusalem
OccupationCivil servant, businesswoman

Keren Terner Eyal (Hebrew: קרן טרנר אייל), also rendered Keren Terner-Eyal, Keren Terner or Keren Turner Eyal, is an Israeli civil servant and businesswoman. She served as Director-General of Israel's Ministry of Transport from 2016 to 2020 — the first woman to hold that post — and as Director-General of the Ministry of Finance in 2020, becoming only the second woman to head the ministry.[1] After leaving government service, she became Chief Operating Partner at the venture capital firm Vintage Investment Partners,[2] and in April 2026 was named one of the first two declared candidates for former prime minister Naftali Bennett's new party ahead of elections expected later that year.[3]

Early life and education

Turner grew up in moshav Hadar Am. She has a Bachelor's degree in economics, as well as a Master's degree in Business Management, both from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[4][5] She served in the Israel Defense Forces as a training officer in the Moran special unit and was discharged with the rank of First Lieutenant.[2]

Public sector

Ministry of Finance Budget Division

Terner Eyal began her career in the civil service in the Ministry of Finance's Budget Division, working on transport-sector allocations, and later served as the ministry's coordinator for foreign-worker affairs.[6] In 2011 she moved to the Ministry of Transport, where she was placed in charge of infrastructure planning; she was appointed deputy director-general in 2012.

Director-General of the Ministry of Transportation

In 2011, Terner was appointed Deputy Director of the Ministry of Transportation by then-minister Israel Katz.[7] The following year, she was appointed the Ministry's first female Director, following the retirement of her predecessor.[8] Terner served under ministers Israel Katz and Bezalel Smotrich.[9][10]

As a senior transport official she was also the finance minister's representative on the boards of directors of Israel Railways and Israel Post.[2]

Dismissal from the role

In May 2020, while on maternity leave following the birth of her third child, Terner Eyal was informed by incoming Transport Minister Miri Regev that she would be removed from her post immediately, prompting public criticism of the move.[11] Regev defended the dismissal as standard practice for an incoming minister.[6]

Director-General of the Ministry of Finance

In May 2020, after being dismissed from her role in the Ministry of Transportation, Minister of Finance Israel Katz appointed Terner Eyal as director-general of his ministry, and the cabinet confirmed the appointment in June 2020.[6][1]

At 41, she returned early from maternity leave to lead the ministry through the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, replacing the outgoing Shai Babad.[1] In September 2020 she wrote to the director-general of the Health Ministry warning that further lockdown restrictions would carry a "dramatic and painful cost" for the economy running into billions of shekels.[12]

In October 2020, after five months in office, Terner Eyal resigned amid disagreements with Katz over the government's handling of the coronavirus crisis and the continued absence of a state budget, in what was one of several senior departures from the ministry that year.[12][13][14][15] Katz appointed Israel Tax Authority head Eran Yaacov as acting director-general pending a permanent replacement.[12][13]

In 2021, Terner was appointed to serve on the Board of Directors of real estate company Amot,[16] and joined Israeli Venture Capital fund Vintage.[17]

Political career

In April 2026, former prime minister Naftali Bennett named Terner Eyal, alongside former director-general Liran Avisar Ben-Horin, as the first two candidates on the list of his new party ahead of elections expected by the end of October 2026. The announcement drew criticism from the Likud party, which linked her to the Brothers and Sisters in Arms protest movement; Bennett's party disputed the characterization, saying she had volunteered with a civilian coordination centre formed after the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel and had never been a member of, or involved in, the movement's calls for refusal to serve in the military.[3]

Private sector

In October 2021, Terner Eyal joined Vintage Investment Partners, a global technology investment firm, as its Chief Operating Partner.[2]

In March 2022, the vehicle-to-everything communications company Autotalks announced her appointment to its board of directors as an observer representing Vintage Investment Partners, which had invested in the company.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Cabinet confirms Keren Terner Eyal to head treasury through economic crisis". The Times of Israel. 14 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Vintage Investment Partners Announces the Appointment of Keren Terner, Former Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Finance, as its Chief Operating Partner" (Press release). PR Newswire. 15 October 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  3. 1 2 Neev, Keshet (12 April 2026). "Bennett brings in two ex-gov't officials as first two members of election list". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  4. ↑ Zagrizak, Assaf (2016-09-14). "טבילת האש למנכ"לית הראשונה של משרד התחבורה". ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  5. ↑ "מנכל"ית משרד האוצר - בוגרת העברית". Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 2020-06-09. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  6. 1 2 3 Barkat, Amiram (20 May 2020). "Katz appoints Keren Terner-Eyal as Treasury chief". Globes. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  7. ↑ Lior, Gad; Etzion, Udi (2020-05-21). "לא נשארה מובטלת: קרן טרנר־אייל הופכת לאישה החזקה באוצר". ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  8. ↑ Posek, Hallel (2016-06-14). "קרן טרנר תהיה מנכ"לית משרד התחבורה". ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  9. ↑ "בצלאל סמוטריץ' הודה לקרן טרנר אייל: "מנכ''לית משובחת, זכיתי לעבוד לצידה"". Arutz Sheva (in Hebrew). 2020-05-14. Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  10. ↑ Eitel, Yoav (2020-05-15). "טרם כניסתה לתפקיד שרת התחבורה: רגב פיטרה את מנכ"לית המשרד". Walla (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  11. ↑ "Miri Regev, first female transport minister, fires D-G on maternity leave". The Jerusalem Post. 15 May 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 Wootliff, Raoul (11 October 2020). "Treasury director resigns amid deepening turmoil under Minister Katz". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  13. 1 2 Barkat, Amiram (11 October 2020). "Israel Treasury chief Keren Terner quits". Globes. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  14. ↑ "Finance Ministry D-G Keren Turner-Eyal resigns". The Jerusalem Post. 11 October 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  15. ↑ "Israel: Finance Director General Keren Terner-Eyal Resigns From Treasury". Bloomberg. 11 October 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  16. ↑ Hazani, Golan (2021-09-05). "הג'וב החדש של קרן טרנר: דירקטורית בלתי תלויה באמות". Calcalist (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2026-04-15.
  17. ↑ Orbach, Meir (2021-10-14). "ג'וב חדש לקרן טרנר: מצטרפת לקרן וינטג' של אלן פלד". Calcalist (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  18. ↑ Orbach, Meir (28 March 2022). "Keren Terner-Eyal joining Autotalks board". CTech (Calcalist). Retrieved 21 June 2026.
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