Foreign Minister Yair Lapid on Tuesday appointed former tourism minister Asaf Zamir as Israel’s new consul general in New York.

The position has been vacant since Dani Dayan ended his five-year term almost a year ago, with Israel Nitzan serving as acting consul general in the interim.

Zamir, 40, who joined Blue and White in 2019, resigned from the government last October, saying he will no longer serve under then-prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Congratulations @asafzamir on your appointment as the new Consul General of @IsraelinNewYork. Our Consulate is like no other. We are eager to have you join us and know we'll accomplish amazing things together! pic.twitter.com/mQV3dCMtgV

— Israel Nitzan🇮🇱 (@IsraelNitzan) June 22, 2021

Zamir lived in the US as a child for a few years and had US citizenship, which he had to renounce when he entered Israeli politics.

Prior to joining Blue and White, he served as deputy mayor of Tel Aviv from 2008 to 2018.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)