David Keyes (/kiːz/) (Hebrew: דוד קיז) is an Israeli-American public relations representative and human rights activist.

[7] In 2004, Keyes conducted research at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, where he specialized in terrorism and assisted Dore Gold, Israel's former ambassador to the United Nations.

[15] While working for former Soviet dissident Natan Sharansky in Israel, Keyes founded CyberDissidents.org, a site meant to "highlight the voices of democratic online activists in the Middle East.

"[28] Bernstein saw potential in CyberDissidents and asked Keyes to help establish a new group called Advancing Human Rights.

[32] During an interview on MSNBC, Keyes displayed a whip that Saudi authorities use to lash women who are convicted of leaving home without a male relative.

"[34] In 2012, Keyes became the head of Movements, an online platform for human rights activists founded in 2008 by Jared Cohen, the director of Google Ideas.

"[3] With Keyes at the helm, Movements declared June 2013 to be "Dictator Appreciation Month" – an initiative that highlighted human rights activists who use satire.

[37] On 13 November 2013, Keyes co-authored an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal with Garry Kasparov, a former presidential candidate in Russia and former world chess champion.

[40] The article launched Keyes' new initiative, Dissident Squared, to rename the streets in front of the embassies of dictatorships after political prisoners.

The Daily Beast cited Keyes as the "brainchild" of Dissident Squared and said it had "earned the support of major human rights luminaries and fighters for freedom around the world.

"[41] In 2014, Keyes was the driving force behind the bipartisan effort in Congress to rename the street address of the Chinese embassy in Washington, DC, to No.

[45] Keyes is a fellow at the Disruptor Foundation, an organization whose mission is to raise awareness of disruptive innovation theory and encourage its application in order to bring about changes in society.

"[49] In May 2015, the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission announced that its annual job fair would be taking place at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center.

[50] Keyes used the opportunity to protest Saudi Arabia's treatment of homosexuals[51] and threw a "big gay party" in the lobby of the Gaylord.

[43] In summer 2015, Keyes ambushed Iranian diplomats at the nuclear negotiations in Vienna and asked them on camera, "Who's your favorite political prisoner, if you could only pick one?

[67] Keyes said on CNN that it was outrageous that the Security Council resolution considered the Western Wall to be part of "occupied Palestinian territory.

[74] Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif called Netanyahu's prop a "cartoonish circus" that "does not even deserve the dignity of a response.

"[77] In June 2018, Keyes was credited with producing a viral video in which Netanyahu offered to share Israeli water technology with Iran, which suffers from severe drought.

"[80] Eli Lake, a foreign policy columnist for Bloomberg, credited Keyes' "revolutionary pedigree" from his time as a human rights activist for encouraging Netanyahu to speak directly to the Iranian people.

[82] In July 2018, Keyes crafted a video for Netanyahu that called on the world to help Iranians improve their lives by standing up to "a regime that oppresses them and denies them a life of dignity, prosperity, and respect.

[4] Before Keyes formally began his role as Netanyahu's spokesman, he underwent a lengthy vetting process for the job that brought him into the prime minister's inner circle.

[89] As part of the vetting process, Keyes passed a polygraph test during which he was asked questions about whether he was involved in any criminal or sexual offenses.

"[92] Following these reports, a total of fourteen additional women subsequently came out with allegations of improper behavior; ten of them remained anonymous.

[93] One report said that in 2013, Keyes had been barred from entering The Wall Street Journal opinion section's offices without appointment due to complaints made by female employees.

"[94] Another women, a North American immigrant to Israel, described an "aggressive, sexual advance", which she described in detail, made by Keyes weeks after he became Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesperson for the international media.

Israel's Channel 10 reported that two female employees at the Washington, DC, think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies had also complained to their superiors about Keyes having "harassed" them in 2013.

[96] The commission also investigated the role of Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer who had acknowledged that he was warned that Keyes was likely to be a threat to women working at the Prime Minister's office, but failed to alert the relevant authorities.

[97] Two months later, the commission closed its case, with its spokesperson stating that while Keyes may have acted improperly, it did not constitute a criminal or disciplinary offense.

"[98] The commissioner, Prof. Hershkovitz explained that his reason for closing the enquiry was that the alleged offences had taken place before Mr Keyes was a government employee and that no criminal complaint had been registered with the police.