List of ambassadors of the United States to Israel

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Ambassador of the United States to the State of Israel
שגריר ארצות הברית לישראל
سفير الولايات المتحدة لدى إسرائيل
US Department of State official seal.svg
Seal of the United States Department of State
Flag of a United States ambassador.svg
Flag of a United States ambassador
Mike Huckabee, official portrait (2025).jpg
Incumbent
Mike Huckabee
since April 21, 2025
Style His or Her Excellency (formal)
Mr. or Madam Ambassador (informal)
Reports to United States Secretary of State
Seat Embassy of the United States, Jerusalem, Israel
Appointer President of the United States
with the advice and consent of the Senate
Term length At the pleasure of the president
Inaugural holder James Grover McDonald
as Ambassador
FormationMarch 28, 1949
Website U.S. Embassy - Jerusalem
Ambassador Daniel B. Shapiro presents his credentials to President Shimon Peres, August 3, 2011. In the background, Israeli volcanic ash art. Shapiro presenting credentials to Peres 2011-08-03.jpg
Ambassador Daniel B. Shapiro presents his credentials to President Shimon Peres, August 3, 2011. In the background, Israeli volcanic ash art.

The United States ambassador to Israel is the official representative of the president of the United States to the head of state of Israel.

Contents

Until 1948, the area that is now the state of Israel had been under British administration as part of the League of Nations/United Nations' Mandate for Palestine. On May 14, 1948, the British government unilaterally terminated the mandate. On the same day, the Jewish Agency, under future Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, declared independence and named the country Israel. The United States immediately recognized the nation and moved to establish diplomatic relations. The first U.S. ambassador commissioned to Israel was James Grover McDonald, who presented his credentials to the government of Israel on March 28, 1949. [1] The ambassador holds the title Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

The embassy of the United States in Israel is located at 14 David Flusser Street in Jerusalem.

Ambassadors and chiefs of mission

ImageNameAppointed Presented credentials Terminated mission
James Grover McDonald (cropped).jpg James Grover McDonald – Political appointeeMarch 18, 1949March 28, 1949December 13, 1950
Monnett Bain Davis - Haim Weizmann1951 (cropped).jpg Monnett Bain Davis – Career FSOFebruary 1, 1951February 26, 1951Died at post December 26, 1953
Edward Lawson1954 (cropped).jpg Edward B. Lawson – Career FSOApril 9, 1954November 12, 1954February 17, 1959
Ogden Reid.png Ogden Rogers Reid – Political AppointeeJune 5, 1959July 2, 1959Left Israel January 19, 1961
Walworth Barbour.jpg Walworth Barbour – Career FSOMay 11, 1961June 12, 1961January 19, 1973
Kenneth Keating (US Senator from New York).jpg Kenneth B. Keating – Political appointeeJune 22, 1973August 28, 1973Died in New York May 5, 1975 [2]
MalcolmToon.jpg Malcolm Toon – Career FSOJune 9, 1975July 10, 1975December 27, 1976
Samuel W. Lewis.jpg Samuel W. Lewis – Career FSOApril 26, 1977May 25, 1977May 31, 1985
ThomasRPickering.jpg Thomas R. Pickering – Career FSOJuly 12, 1985August 6, 1985December 28, 1988
William A. Brown (page 12 crop).jpg William Andreas Brown – Career FSO [3] November 22, 1988December 29, 1988January 7, 1992
William C. Harrop (page 6 crop).jpg William Caldwell Harrop – Career FSONovember 21, 1991January 21, 1992May 7, 1993
Djerejian.jpg Edward Djerejian – Career FSONovember 22, 1993January 13, 1994August 9, 1994
Martin Indyk 2.jpg Martin Indyk – Political appointeeMarch 4, 1995April 10, 1995September 27, 1997
Edward walker.jpg Edward S. Walker, Jr. – Career FSONovember 10, 1997December 24, 1997January 23, 2000
Martin Indyk 2.jpg Martin Indyk – Political appointeeNovember 16, 1999January 25, 2000July 13, 2001
Daniel C. Kurtzer.jpg Daniel C. Kurtzer – Career FSOJuly 12, 2001July 18, 2001July 17, 2005
JonesWeb.jpg Richard Henry Jones – Career FSOAugust 2, 2005September 26, 2005April 27, 2008
James B Cunningham.jpg James B. Cunningham – Career FSOJune 30, 2008September 17, 2008May 21, 2011
Daniel B Shapiro ambassador.jpg Daniel B. Shapiro – Political appointeeJuly 8, 2011 [4] August 3, 2011January 20, 2017
David Friedman (cropped).jpg David M. Friedman – Political appointeeMarch 23, 2017May 15, 2017January 20, 2021
Thomas R. Nides, Ambassador to Israel.jpg Thomas R. Nides – Political appointeeNovember 3, 2021December 5, 2021July 21, 2023
Jacob J. Lew, U.S. Ambassador.jpg Jack Lew – Political appointeeOctober 31, 2023 [5] November 5, 2023January 20, 2025
Mike Huckabee, official portrait (2025).jpg Mike Huckabee – Political appointeeApril 9, 2025April 21, 2025

List source: [6]

Notes

  1. ↑ "Israel". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2011-08-13.
  2. ↑ Ambassador Keating had departed Tel Aviv on March 31, 1975 for consultations on the reassessment of American policy in the Middle East and died in New York on May 5.
  3. ↑ Brown was commissioned during a recess of the Senate; his nomination of May 24, 1988 had not been acted upon by the Senate. He was recommissioned October 2, 1989 after confirmation.
  4. ↑ "Swearing-In Ceremony for Dan Shapiro, Ambassador to Israel". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on October 18, 2011. Retrieved August 13, 2011.
  5. ↑ Looker, Rachel (October 31, 2023). "Jack Lew confirmed as ambassador to Israel as the country's war rages on with Hamas". USA Today– via Yahoo! News.
  6. ↑ "Chiefs of Mission for Israel". United States Department of State. Retrieved August 13, 2011.

See also

References

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