Meeting Israel's emissary to the US. Ambassador Herzog

• Author: STEVE LINDE
• Published date: 27 September 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Herzog, 59, sat at a table on the university lawn with his wife, attorney Shirin Herzog, and their son and daughter, surrounded by colleagues and friends, for the event moderated by JPPI's Maj. (Res.) Dan Feferman. The younger brother of President Isaac Herzog, Mike is the son of the late Chaim Herzog, the eloquent sixth president of Israel, and Aura Herzog, 96, who founded the Council for a Beautiful Israel.

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Mike was heaped with praise and advice from former prime ministers Ehud Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu, JPPI co-chairs Ambassadors Dennis Ross and Stuart Eizenstat, former envoys Sallai Meridor and Danny Dayan, retired Supreme Court President Miriam Naor and Hussein Agha, a member of the Palestinian team that negotiated the Oslo Accords.

Agha said succinctly, "Mike is a natural diplomat... It's in his DNA."

Barak, who appointed Herzog as his chief of staff when he served as defense minister, said this new position is a perfect fit.

"The special triangular relationship between Israel, the United States and the American Jewish community is an asset," Barak said. "It is essential to renew the mutual respect and intimate discourse at the top."

Netanyahu congratulated Herzog, saying, "I know Mike.... He has all the necessary skills to be a loyal and excellent representative of the State of Israel."

In his first public comments since being appointed to the post by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Herzog apologized in English for addressing the small gathering in Hebrew and said he believed people entering office should say less and do more.

"I strongly believe in the Israeli-American alliance," he said. "I believe in the values on which it is founded. I believe in its future, and I believe that it should be turned into a two-way partnership."

He paused...