Meet the 36 new ambassadors approved to new posts around the world
MK Emilie Moatti congratulated the new appointees on Twitter, saying that former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been holding them as "political hostages."
By LAHAV HARKOVForeign Minister and alternate Prime MInister Yair Lapid accepts his new role from his predecessor, Gabi Ashkenazi, June 14, 2021.(photo credit: MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS)
The cabinet voted Sunday in favor of 36 professional appointments of ambassadors and consuls-general to be posted around the world.Earlier Sunday, the Ministerial Committee for Foreign Service Appointments approved the diplomats for the top positions in Thailand, Sweden, the Vatican, Senegal, Panama, EU institutions in Brussels, Japan and more.The diplomatic appointments had been delayed by six months in the previous government, and was the subject of a lawsuit earlier this month.Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that "this is something that was stuck for a long time," and that Foreign Minister Yair Lapid "opened up the traffic jam, and we are on our way."Lapid said, "the appointments we authorized today waited too long. The State of Israel needs the best people to fight for its good name in the world. These are some of the best professionals in Israel who are a significant and critical part of strengthening Israel's diplomatic and security status."MK Emilie Moatti congratulated the new appointees on Twitter, saying that former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been holding them as "political hostages."She said that Netanyahu "blocked the approval in the government, while ignoring not only the professional needs of the appointees... but also of their partners who needed to prepare for the move, their children who need to learn a language and enroll in schools and countless other details that make up the lives of the families that represent Israel around the world."The appointments include:1. Liron Bar-Sade, Israeli Ambassador to Ireland2. Eli Belotserkovsky, Israeli Ambassador to South Africa and Non-Resident Ambassador of Israel to Mauritius, Lesotho and Swaziland3. Yinam Cohen, Consul General of Israel in Chicago, USA4. Haim Regev, Head of Israel's Permanent Delegation to the European Union and NATO in Brussels, Belgium5. Maor Elbaz Starinsky, Consul General of Israel in Miami, USA6. Daniel Zohar-Zonshine, Israeli Ambassador to Brazil7. Oren Anolik, Israeli Ambassador to Cyprus8. Dor Shapira, Ambassador of Israel to Portugal9. Gilad Cohen, Ambassador of Israel to Japan10. Eitan Sorkis, Israeli Ambassador to Jordan11. Yacov Livne, Ambassador of Israel to Poland12. Michael Brodsky, Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine13. David Akov, Israeli Ambassador to Denmark14. Eldad Golan Rosenberg, Israeli Ambassador to Honduras15. Orna Sagiv, Israeli Ambassador to Thailand and Israel's non-resident Ambassador to Cambodia16. Ziv-Nevo Kulman, Israeli Ambassador to Sweden17. Ifat Reshef, Israeli Ambassador to Switzerland and Non-Resident Ambassador of Israel to Liechtenstein18. Raphael Schutz, Israeli Ambassador to the Vatican19. Shlomit Sufa, Israeli Ambassador to Ghana and a non-resident Israeli Ambassador to Liberia and Sierra Leone20. Ben Burgel, Israeli Ambassador to Senegal and Non-Resident Ambassador of Israel to Guinea-Bissau, Guinea Concari, Gambia and Cape Verde21. Itai Bar Dov, Ambassador of Israel to Panama22. Amir Lati, Consul General of Israel in Hong Kong and Consul General of Israel not resident in Macau23. Kobi Shoshani, Consul General of Israel in Mumbai, India24. Paul Hirschson, Consul General of Israel in Montreal, Canada25. Rafi Erdreich, Consul General of Israel in São Paulo, Brazil26. Ilan Fluss, Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines27. Gershon Kedar, a non-resident ambassador of Israel to South Sudan28. Simona Frankel, Israel's non-resident ambassador to northern Macedonia29. Ofra Farhi, Israel's non-resident ambassador to Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia30. Carmela Shamir, Consul General of Israel in Munich, Germany31. Idit Shamir, Consul General of Israel to Toronto, Canada32. Livia Link-Raviv, Consul General of Israel in Houston, United States33. Naor Gilon, Israeli Ambassador to India, Non-Resident Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Bhutan34. Anna Azari, Israeli Ambassador to the Czech Republic35. Uri Resnick, Consul General of Israel in St. Petersburg, Russia36. Mattanya Cohen, Israel's non-resident ambassador to El Salvador, in addition to his tenure as Israel's ambassador to GuatemalaIdan Zonshine contributed to this article.
