Israel at the Crossroad of Risk and Opportunity

About

Since his appointment to the post of Israel's Ambassador to the United States in July 2002, Daniel Ayalon has been at the forefront of developing the strong relationship between the United States and Israel. He has worked extensively with the U.S administration and Congress in advancing economic, political, and diplomatic relations.

Ambassador Ayalon played a leading role in the negotiations for the Roadmap to Peace and Israel's disengagement plan, including the exchange of letters on April 14, 2004 between President Bush and Prime Minister Sharon.

As Israel's top diplomat in the United States, he travels widely outside of Washington D.C., meeting with both Christian and Jewish leaders, business executives, academics and political leaders to promote better understanding of Israel and deepen cooperation with it at all levels.

The Ambassador frequently appears in the national and international news media - both in the press and broadcast.

Ambassador Ayalon has served the last three consecutive Israeli Administrations, most recently as the Chief Foreign Policy Adviser to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. From 1997-2001, Ambassador Ayalon was the Deputy Foreign Policy Adviser to former Prime Ministers Ehud Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu, during which time he was a member of the Israeli delegations to the Sharm El-Sheikh (1997), Wye Plantation (1998) and Camp David (2000) summits.

He served in New York from 1993-1997 as the Director of the Bureau of Israel's Ambassador to the UN and as Deputy Chief of Mission in Panama from 1991-1992.

Before his entrance into Israel's Foreign Service, Ambassador Ayalon was a senior finance executive in Israel's leading international trading company.

Born in 1955, Ambassador Ayalon is a native of Tel Aviv. He is a graduate of Tel Aviv University's Economics Department and holds an MBA from the Bowling Green State University in Ohio. He is a retired captain in the Armored Corps of the Israel Defense Forces.

Ambassador Ayalon is joined in Washington by his wife Anne and their two daughters