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US President Barack Obama
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Obama selects close aide Shapiro as Israel ambassador

Hebrew-speaking Harvard graduate worked closely with Mitchell on effort to revive peace talks between Israel, Palestinians. American Jewish leader: He's a genuine mensch

WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama has chosen Daniel Shapiro, a senior adviser who has helped shape the response to the Middle East upheaval, as ambassador to Israel, the White House said on Wednesday.

 

Shapiro, a trusted aide who served on Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, is a senior director for the Middle East and North Africa at the White House National Security Council.

 

The ambassador position requires confirmation by the Senate.

 

Shapiro, who speaks Hebrew and gave his children Israeli names, regularly attends a conservative temple.

 

Shapiro has worked closely with US Middle East envoy George Mitchell on the effort to revive peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. He will replace James Cunningham, who has served as ambassador in Tel Aviv for the past three years.

 

Direct peace talks resumed briefly last year but broke down over Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank.

 

As ambassador, Shapiro would help push any new diplomatic initiative.

 

Earlier this week, senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett reaffirmed the Obama administration's commitment to getting the peace process back on track.

 

"We know that as the status quo in the Arab world is not sustainable, and neither is the status quo in the search for Middle East peace," Jarrett told a conference of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.

 

"We need to find a way to ensure direct negotiations have credibility and purpose, because that is the only way to resolve the conflict."

 

About two years ago Shapiro visited Syria in his capacity as head of the Middle East and North Africa desk. While in Damascus he met Foreign Minister Walid Moallem. Shapiro called the visit "positive. In 2007 he accompanied Obama on his visit to Israel.

 

After graduating from Harvard University in 1993, Shapiro served as a staff member on the US House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe and the Middle East, under Chairman Lee Hamilton. From 1995 to 1999 he served as a legislative assistant and senior foreign policy adviser to Senator Dianne Feinstein.

 

As popular revolts toppled leaders in Egypt and Tunisia and spread to Libya and other countries, Shapiro has been part of a small group of advisers crafting a policy that seeks to protect US interests in the region while also supporting democratic aspirations.

 

National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) President and CEO David A. Harris applauded Shapiro's appointment as the next United States Ambassador to Israel: "From his efforts advising the President during the campaign, through his crucial, top-level work at the National Security Council, we have known Dan to be a wise and trusted advisor—trusted by the president and members of Congress, trusted by Israel’s top leaders, and trusted by the American Jewish community. All of these skills and assets will serve him extremely well in his new capacity.

 

"Most of all, anybody who has known and worked with Dan knows him as a genuine mensch, a trait which is quickly seen by those who come into contact with him. We know that as the people of Israel see more of Dan and everything he will bring to his position, the US-Israel relationship will only be further strengthened," the NJDC chief said.

  

Reuters contributed to the report

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 03.10.11, 08:42
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