New Israeli Ambassador Named

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The Israeli Foreign Ministry has named a new ambassador to Australia.
The Foreign Ministry’s appointments committee, which is headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, appointed Shmuel Ben-Shmuel as its new man in Canberra, Haaretz reported on Thursday.
He will replace Yuval Rotem, who has served in the post since 2007. It is unclear when he will take up his post.
Shmuel Ben-Shmuel, who served as head of the Diaspora Division, has formerly served as Deputy Consul General of the Israeli Consulate in New York, according to a biography on one website.
Born in Tel Aviv in 1951, he served in the IDF as a paratrooper, participating in the 1973 Yom Kippur War and the Lebanese War. During the ’70s, he studied law and political science at Tel Aviv University. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1981 and served in several capacities, including work in the Information Department, assistant to the Director of the International Organization Division, and postings in the Asian Department and the office of the Director General of the Foreign Ministry. In 1984, he was appointed Consul in Houston, Texas and in 1989 returned to Jerusalem to become Head of the Information Division for North America at the Foreign Ministry. In 1992, he was appointed Counselor of Political Affairs at the Embassy of Israel Pretoria, South Africa, and also served as liaison to the black community, having regular contact with Nelson Mandela and other officials of the ANC.
Israel’s ambassador to Australia also serves as non-resident ambassador to Papua New Guinea and Fiji.

President of the Zionist Federation of Australia Philip Chester said: “”Whilst we haven’t yet had contact with Israel’s forthcoming ambassador to Australia, Shmuel ben-Shmuel, we are aware he is highly credentialed. We are particularly happy that a succession plan has been put into place well in advance for this important posting.
We have every confidence that Shmuel ben-Shmuel will continue the exceptional work which is being undertaken by Yuval Rotem, in his very successful term as Israel’s Ambassador to Australia.”