United States Ambassador to Israel
Encyclopedia
The United States Ambassador to Israel is the official representative of the President of the United States to the head of state
of Israel
.
Until 1948 the area that is now the state of Israel had been under British administration as part of the League of Nations/United Nations British Mandate for Palestine. On May 14, 1948, the British government unilaterally terminated the mandate. On the same day, the Jewish Agency, under future Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion
, declared independence and named the country Israel. The United States immediately recognized
the nation and moved to establish diplomatic relations. The first U.S. ambassador commissioned to Israel was James Grover McDonald
, who presented his credentials
to the government of Israel on March 28, 1949.
The embassy of the United States in Israel
is located in Tel Aviv
.
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Until 1948 the area that is now the state of Israel had been under British administration as part of the League of Nations/United Nations British Mandate for Palestine. On May 14, 1948, the British government unilaterally terminated the mandate. On the same day, the Jewish Agency, under future Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion
' was the first Prime Minister of Israel.Ben-Gurion's passion for Zionism, which began early in life, led him to become a major Zionist leader and Executive Head of the World Zionist Organization in 1946...
, declared independence and named the country Israel. The United States immediately recognized
Diplomatic recognition
Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral political act with domestic and international legal consequences, whereby a state acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state...
the nation and moved to establish diplomatic relations. The first U.S. ambassador commissioned to Israel was James Grover McDonald
James Grover McDonald
James Grover McDonald was a United States diplomat. He served as the first U.S. Ambassador to Israel.He studied at Harvard University.-Offices:*Chairman of the Board, Foreign Policy Association...
, who presented his credentials
Letter of Credence
A letter of credence is a formal letter usually sent by one head of state to another that formally grants diplomatic accreditation to a named individual to be their ambassador in the country of the head of state receiving the letter...
to the government of Israel on March 28, 1949.
The embassy of the United States in Israel
Embassy of the United States in Israel
The Embassy of the United States of America in Tel Aviv is the permanent U.S. mission to Israel and has been located at 71 Hayarkon Street in Tel Aviv since the building's completion in 1966.-History:...
is located in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
.
Ambassadors and chiefs of mission
Ref:- James Grover McDonaldJames Grover McDonaldJames Grover McDonald was a United States diplomat. He served as the first U.S. Ambassador to Israel.He studied at Harvard University.-Offices:*Chairman of the Board, Foreign Policy Association...
– Political appointee- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: March 18, 1949
- Presented credentials: March 28, 1949
- Terminated mission: Left post December 13, 1950
- Monnett Bain DavisMonnett Bain DavisMonnett Bain Davis was an American Ambassador. Born in Greencastle, Indiana, he was named for his maternal grandmother, Mary Monnett Bain, a benfactress of the Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio....
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: February 1, 1951
- Presented credentials: February 26, 1951
- Terminated mission: Died at post December 26, 1953
- Edward B. LawsonEdward B. LawsonEdward B. Lawson was a US Ambassador to Israel and Iceland . He was a World War I veteran.-Biography:...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: April 9, 1954
- Presented credentials: November 12, 1954
- Terminated mission: Left post February 17, 1959
- Ogden Rogers Reid – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: June 5, 1959
- Presented credentials: July 2, 1959
- Terminated mission: Left Israel January 19, 1961
- Walworth BarbourWalworth BarbourWalworth Barbour was United States Ambassador to Israel from 1961 to 1973.The American International School in Even Yehuda, Israel is named after him .-Positions held in the United States Diplomatic Service:...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: May 11, 1961
- Presented credentials: June 12, 1961
- Terminated mission: Left post January 19, 1973
- Kenneth B. Keating – Political appointee
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: June 22, 1973
- Presented credentials: August 28, 1973
- Terminated mission: Died in New York May 5, 1975
- Malcolm ToonMalcolm ToonMalcolm Toon was an American diplomat. He graduated from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University in 1938, and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Toon was the ambassador to Czechoslovakia from 1969–1971, Yugoslavia from 1971–1975, Israel from 1975–1976, and the Soviet...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: June 9, 1975
- Presented credentials: July 10, 1975
- Terminated mission: Left post December 27, 1976
- Samuel W. LewisSamuel W. LewisSamuel Winfield Lewis is a retired American diplomat. During his lengthy career with the United States Department of State he served as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs , U.S. ambassador to Israel and Director of Policy Planning...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: April 26, 1977
- Presented credentials: May 25, 1977
- Terminated mission: May 31, 1985
- Thomas R. PickeringThomas R. PickeringThomas Reeve "Tom" Pickering , is a retired United States ambassador. Among his many diplomatic appointments, he served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations from 1989 to 1992.-Early life:...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: July 12, 1985
- Presented credentials: August 6, 1985
- Terminated mission: Left post December 28, 1988
- William Andreas BrownWilliam Andreas BrownWilliam Andreas Brown was U.S. Ambassador to Thailand 1985–88 and U.S. Ambassador to Israel 1988-1992.-External links:* * 1882 to 2008...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: November 22, 1988
- Presented credentials: December 29, 1988
- Terminated mission: Left post January 7, 1992
- William Caldwell HarropWilliam Caldwell HarropWilliam Caldwell Harrop served as US Ambassador to Guinea , Kenya , Seychelles and Israel ....
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: November 21, 1991
- Presented credentials: January 21, 1992
- Terminated mission: Left post May 7, 1993
- Edward DjerejianEdward DjerejianEdward Peter Djerejian is a former United States diplomat who served in eight Administrations from John F. Kennedy to William J. Clinton He served as the United States Ambassador to Syria and Israel. He is the Founding Director of the James A...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: November 22, 1993
- Presented credentials: January 13, 1994
- Terminated mission: Left post August 9, 1994
- Martin IndykMartin IndykMartin Sean Indyk is Vice President and Director for Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. Indyk served as United States ambassador to Israel and Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs during the Clinton Administration. He is known as the framer of the U.S...
– Political appointee- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: March 4, 1995
- Presented credentials: April 10, 1995
- Terminated mission: September 27, 1997
- Edward S. Walker, Jr.Edward S. Walker, Jr.Edward S. Walker was born in Abington, Pennsylvania. He is a former U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Egypt, and the UAE and is a Middle East specialist....
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: November 10, 1997
- Presented credentials: December 24, 1997
- Terminated mission: Left post January 23, 2000
- Martin IndykMartin IndykMartin Sean Indyk is Vice President and Director for Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. Indyk served as United States ambassador to Israel and Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs during the Clinton Administration. He is known as the framer of the U.S...
– Political appointee- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: November 16, 1999
- Presented credentials: January 25, 2000
- Terminated mission: Left post July 13, 2001
- Daniel C. KurtzerDaniel C. KurtzerDaniel Charles Kurtzer served as the United States ambassador to Israel from 2001 to 2005. He had been serving as U.S. ambassador to Egypt, to which post he had been appointed by Bill Clinton, when he was tapped for the Israel posting by George W. Bush.-Biography:Kurtzer's parents are Nathan and...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: July 12, 2001
- Presented credentials: July 18, 2001
- Terminated mission: Left post July 17, 2005
- Richard Henry Jones – Career FSO
- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: August 2, 2005
- Presented credentials: September 26, 2005
- Terminated mission: Left post April 27, 2008
- James B. CunninghamJames B. CunninghamAmbassador James Blair Cunningham is an American diplomat. Having served as the acting United States Ambassador to the United Nations , and Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations , Cunningham served as the Consul General of the United States of...
– Career FSO- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: June 30, 2008
- Presented credentials: September 17, 2008
- Terminated mission:
- Daniel B. ShapiroDaniel B. ShapiroDaniel B. Shapiro is the 19th United States Ambassador to Israel. He was nominated by President Obama on March 29, 2011, and confirmed by the Senate on May 29. He was sworn in as ambassador by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on July 8, 2011....
– Political appointee- Title: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- Appointed: July 8, 2011
- Presented credentials: August 3, 2011
- Terminated mission: Incumbent
See also
- Israel - United States relations
- Foreign relations of IsraelForeign relations of IsraelThe foreign relations of Israel refers to diplomatic relations and international agreements between the State of Israel and other countries around the world. Israel joined the United Nations on May 11, 1949. Israel has diplomatic relations with 157 states...
- Ambassadors of the United States