Yigal Palmor is the Head of the International Relations Unit and Foreign Policy Advisor to the Chairman at the Jewish Agency for Israel, where he had previously served for four years as Director of Public Affairs and Communications. He was the longest serving Spokesperson and Head of Press Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Israel from August 2008 to August 2014. [1] Prior to this post, he served stints in Israel's embassies in Madrid (where he was a junior member of the Israeli delegation to the Madrid Conference of 1991) and in Paris, served as Deputy Director of the European Institutions department, and later as Director of the Maghreb, Syria and Lebanon department. He was a spokesperson of the Israeli delegations in a number of peace summits, including the Casablanca and Cairo Regional Economic Summits [2] and the Annapolis Conference. In January 2009 he was dubbed "my favourite diplomat" [3] by Australian former minister (Labour) Barry Cohen. In February 2013, he was elected "Best Government Spokesperson" in a survey of Israeli journalists. [4]
He made headlines when he called Brazil an "economic and cultural giant but a diplomatic dwarf" in July 2014, in response to Brazil being the only country at the time to recall its ambassador for consultations over Israel's military operation in Gaza [5] [6] , to shun attempts by President Shimon Peres to have a conversation with his Brazilian counterpart, and to push for condemnation at the UN [7] . Rejected by the Brazilian President [8] , his statement, however, encountered supportive follow-up in many of Brazil's leading media, [9] [10] who used it to criticize their own government's policy, [11] [12] while in Israel, it was Israeli president Reuven Rivlin's apology that came under severe criticism itself. [13] When the 2023 Israel–Hamas war broke out, this quote was used again by Brazilian politicians and journalists to criticize their government's stance. [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20]
On 27 May 2014, it was reported that his retirement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was imminent, after a career spanning 28 years. [21] Dubbed "a central pole of Israel's communications apparatus", his departure was seen as part of a wave of senior diplomatic resignations due to the weakening of the Foreign Ministry under Avigdor Lieberman. [22] He left the Ministry in September 2014, [23] and joined the Jewish Agency in November of that same year, where he worked closely with Agency's Chairman Natan Sharansky, and later with Chairman Isaac Herzog and Chairman Doron Almog.
He initiated, on behalf of the Jewish Agency, the Diasporas 2017 international conference, which convened Government ministers and officials from 29 countries around the world to discuss issues related to their national diasporas, the relations between diaspora and home country and cooperation between different national diasporas at home and abroad. In this groundbreaking event, participants presented their policies for contact with their diasporas, discussed how these policies are realized through a variety of initiatives, programs and partnerships, and explained the main challenges they face in developing these activities. [24] [25] [26] [27] This conference launched an ongoing cooperation between The Jewish Agency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Greece) and the Presidential Commissioner for Cypriots Abroad. A number of trialateral summits were held, a joint mission of Greek and Cypriot diaspora leaders was hosted in Jerusalem at the Jewish Agency's Board of Governors, and a trialteral young diaspora leaders mission visited Jerusalem, Athens and Nicosia. [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33] [34] [35]
He is the author of the "Diplomatic Cliché Collection" (הקלישאון הדיפלומטי), a compilation of conventional forms of speech in diplomatese and their real, ironic meaning. Or, as Haaretz described it: "A semi-humorous paper intended to translate the euphemisms uttered by leaders, foreign ministers, diplomats and government spokespeople when they are faced with difficult questions". [36] [37] [38] [39]
He has published articles in the international media on issues such as Israel's diplomacy, [40] [41] [42] the Jewish Agency [43] and antisemitism [44]
Foreign relations of Israel refers to diplomatic and trade relations between Israel and other countries around the world. Israel has diplomatic ties with 165 of the other 192 UN member states as of 12 December 2020. Israel is a member of the United Nations (UN) and a number of other international organisations. Israel maintains full diplomatic relations with two of its Arab neighbours, Egypt and Jordan, after signing peace treaties in 1979 and 1994 respectively. In 2020, Israel signed agreements establishing diplomatic relations with three Arab League countries, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco. As of 2021, Israel had formal diplomatic relations with 168 other countries, while twenty-eight UN member states have either never established, or have broken off diplomatic relations with Israel.
The public diplomacy of Israel is Israel's efforts to communicate directly with citizens of other nations to inform and influence their perceptions, with the aim of garnering support or tolerance for the Israeli government's strategic objectives. Historically, these efforts have evolved from being called "propaganda" by early Zionists, with Theodor Herzl advocating such activities in 1899, to the more contemporary Hebrew term "hasbara" introduced by Nahum Sokolow, which translates roughly to "explaining". This communicative strategy seeks to justify actions and is considered reactive and event-driven.
Daniel "Danny" Ayalon is an Israeli diplomat, columnist and politician. He served as Deputy Foreign Minister and as a member of the Knesset. He was the Israeli Ambassador to the United States from 2002 until 2006. Previously, he worked as senior foreign policy advisor to Prime Ministers Ariel Sharon, Ehud Barak, and Benjamin Netanyahu.
The State of Israel and the Republic of Turkey formally established diplomatic relations in March 1949. Less than a year after the Israeli Declaration of Independence, Turkey recognized Israeli sovereignty, making it the world's first Muslim-majority country to do so. Both countries gave high priority to bilateral cooperation in the areas of diplomacy and military/strategic ties, while sharing concerns with respect to the regional instabilities in the Middle East. In recent decades, particularly under Turkey's Erdoğan administration, the two countries' relationship with each other has deteriorated considerably. However, diplomatic ties were reinstated after a normalization initiative in mid-2022. Relations soured again after the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Turkey condemning Israel and condoning Hamas. On 13 November 2024, Erdoğan announced that Turkey was severing all its diplomatic relations with Israel due to Israel's reluctance to end the war in Gaza.
Greece–Israel relations are the bilateral relationship between the Hellenic Republic and the State of Israel.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs is one of the most important ministries in the Israeli government. The ministry's role is to implement Israel's foreign policy, and promote economic, cultural, and scientific relations with other countries.
Chile–Israel relations refers to the bilateral and diplomatic ties between the Republic of Chile and the State of Israel. Chile recognized Israel's independence in February 1949. Both countries established diplomatic relation on 16 May 1950, with Israel sending their first ambassador on that date and Chile sending their first ambassador on 16 June 1952. Chile has an embassy in Tel Aviv. Israel has an embassy in Santiago.
Brazil–Israel relations are the bilateral relations between the Federative Republic of Brazil and the State of Israel. Brazil has an embassy in Tel Aviv and an honorary consulate in Haifa. Israel has an embassy in Brasília and a consulate-general in São Paulo. The Brazilian ambassador to Israel is Gerson Menandro Garcia de Freitas. Israel's current ambassador to Brazil is Daniel Zohar Zonshine. Brazil and Israel maintain close political and military ties. The two nations enjoy a degree of arms cooperation. Brazil is a full member state of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, while several Brazilian elected officials participate in the Israel Allies Caucus, a political advocacy organization that mobilizes pro-Israel parliamentarians in governments worldwide.
Palestine and Serbia maintain diplomatic relations established between the Palestine and SFR Yugoslavia in 1989. Relations have been close and friendly ever since.
As of June 2024, the State of Palestine is recognized as a sovereign state by 146 of the 193 member states of the United Nations, or just over 75% of all UN members. It has been a non-member observer state of the United Nations General Assembly since November 2012. This limited status is largely due to the fact that the United States, a permanent member of the UN Security Council with veto power, has consistently used its veto or threatened to do so to block Palestine's full UN membership.
Israel Tech Challenge is a non-profit organization that aims to bring international highly technical talent to Israel. It is backed by the Israeli National Cyber Bureau, the Jewish Agency, the Paul E. Singer Foundation, private donors, and corporate partners. It was founded in 2013 by Raphael Ouzan and Oren Toledano.
Nikos Christodoulides is a Cypriot politician, diplomat, and academic who has served as the 8th President of Cyprus since 2023. He previously served as Government Spokesman from 2014 to 2018 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2018 to 2022, both under his predecessor Nicos Anastasiades. A former member of the Democratic Rally, he has been an independent since the party ejected him for entering the 2023 presidential race against their chosen candidate.
Mordechai David Palzur is an Israeli former military officer, diplomat and chairman of the WJC Institute.
Amichai Chikli is an Israeli politician who serves as the Minister of Diaspora Affairs. He served in the 24th Knesset as part of the Yamina party slate, and in the 25th Knesset as part of Likud.
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