Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed U.S.-born official Yechel Light, a former Treasury chief of staff, as Israel’s next ambassador to the United States.
Netanyahu said in a statement: “Jechel Wright is an extremely capable diplomat, an eloquent speaker and has a deep understanding of American culture and politics.”
His appointment was also welcomed by Yisrael Ganz, chairman of the Yesha Council, an umbrella organization representing Jewish settlement committees in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a territory that Palestinians hope to make part of a future state.
Gantz said Wright, who lives in the settlement of Gush Etzion, was “an important partner in the English-language propaganda of Judea and Samaria,” the name many Israelis use to refer to the West Bank, which Israel established in the Middle East in 1967 occupied the West Bank during the war.
Wright’s appointment comes three days after Donald Trump was re-elected as U.S. president, with many Israelis celebrating for his outpouring of support for their country.
In addition to his time at the Treasury Department, Wright serves as deputy education minister and acting chairman of the Israel Ports Company.
His son was killed last year in the Gaza war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas while serving in the Israeli army.
