Israel’s current ambassador to the European Union and NATO, Yaacov Hadas-Handelsman, is to become the next ambassador in Germany.
The decision was made by the Israeli foreign ministry’s appointment committee. He will replace Yoram Ben-Zeev who left Berlin last summer.
The appointment has to be formally confirmed by the Israeli cabinet.
According to The Jerusalem Post, the move is somewhat unusual, since Hadas-Handelsman took up the post as Israel’s envoy to the EU in Brussels just six months ago.
The diplomat, who speaks fluently German, was apparently considered the best candidate for the Berlin post which is seen in Jerusalem as one of the most important in the foreign service.
Germany is among Israel’s best allies within the European Union but although Chancellor Angela Merkel is considered pro-Israeli, relations between the two countries have been marked over the last few months by some tension over the issue of Israeli construction over the Green Line.
A career diplomat, Hadas-Handelsman started in the foreign service in 1983 after serving eight years in the Israeli army.
Before being appointed in Brussels, he was the foreign ministry’s deputy director- general for the Middle East and the peace process.
In the years 2003 to 2006 he was ambassador to Jordan. In his diplomatic career, he also had positions in Qatar, the United Kingdom, Austria and Turkey held.
He speaks Arabic and Turkish.
He received his B.A. in International Relations and Middle East Studies at Tel Aviv University and his MA Middle East studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.