Meet The Diplomats

Jacob Dayan
Consul General of Israel in Los Angeles


Consul General Dayan assumed the position of Consul General of Israel in October 2007. In this role, he is the senior representative of the State of Israel in the Southwestern United States.
Before assuming his post in Los Angeles, Mr. Dayan was selected to prepare a strategic plan on the feasibility of opening negotiations with Syria. Prior to this he served as Chief of Staff to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni and former Minister of Foreign Affairs Silvan Shalom. In this position he had intimate involvement in policy formation, decision-making, and implementation. He was also responsible for Ministerial strategy development related to various diplomatic efforts and coordinated policy initiatives between Ministries. Previously he was the Policy Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, where he was responsible for the Minister's work on US, Asia, East Europe, and Middle East affairs. He managed various projects related to Ministerial activities as well as diplomatic initiatives at the United Nations General Assembly.

Mr. Dayan served in the role of Political Counselor at the Embassy of Israel in Washington D.C. where he was responsible for policy coordination with the State Department and the National Security Council. Previous to his service in Washington he held the post of Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Israel in Athens, Greece. And, he served in the Department of Palestinian Affairs in the Foreign Ministry where he participated in Israeli peace delegations and served on several working committees.

Mr. Dayan graduated Magna cum Laude from Tel Aviv University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Classics and History and has done graduate work in Historical Studies. He served in the Israel Defense Forces in a military intelligence capacity.

Mr. Dayan was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. He speaks English and French fluently.

Consul General Dayan is married to Galit, and they have three children.

Gil Artzyeli
Deputy Consul General of Israel in Los Angeles


Gil Artzyeli serves as Deputy Consul General of Israel in Los Angeles as of August 2008. The post covers southern California, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming.

He has been a member of Israel's Foreign Service since 1994. During his diplomatic career he held three overseas positions, as Deputy Head of Mission in Bogota, Colombia (1995-1998) and in Mexico (2003-2005), and as the Spokesperson of the Embassy of Israel in Madrid, Spain (1998-2000).

During his service at the headquarters of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem he was the Director of the Diplomats Cadet's Program (2001-2003) and held posts in the European Divisions and Latin America Division. He was a member of an advisory committee to the Minister of Interior on refugee issues (2006-2008).

Gil Artzyeli graduated in 1992 from the Law Faculty at Tel Aviv University. He is a lawyer, a member of the Israeli Bar since 1993, and has worked at a private office in Tel Aviv and in the Legal Division of the Israel Ministry of Defense.

He served in the Israel Defense Forces for 4 years (1983-1987) in Intelligence. He currently holds the rank of Captain (Res).

Gil Artzyeli is married to Viviana, a native of Bogota, Colombia, and is the father of Daniela and Michael, twins, born in September 2006.

He speaks Hebrew, English and Spanish.

Shahar Azani
Consul for Culture, Media and Public Diplomacy


Consul Azani has arrived in Los Angeles to assume the position of Consul for Culture, Media and Public Affairs, after serving for three years as Deputy Ambassador at the Embassy of the State of Israel in Nairobi, Kenya.

In 2005, after completing his official diplomatic training, Shahar worked in the Division for Middle Eastern Affairs of the Foreign Ministry, then proceeded to the African Division, in preparation for his role as Deputy Ambassador of Israel to Kenya. Israel's Embassy in Nairobi is also responsible for several other countries beyond Kenya, including Uganda and Tanzania. Among other duties, Consul Azani was in charge of coordinating Israel’s international aid in the fields of agriculture, health, and education. He was instrumental in promoting cultural interactions between Israel and Eastern Africa. Consul Azani was also Israel’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as well as to the UN Human Settlement Programme (UN-HABITAT), both headquartered in Nairobi. In addition, he played a part in enhancing Israel’s collaboration with the UN in Africa, focusing on benefiting developing countries.

Consul Azani began working in the Foreign Ministry in 1998-1999, where he served for a year as Assistant Spokesperson at the Embassy of Israel in London. His position included maintaining contacts with the media, with special emphasis on the Arab media. In 2002, he spent a year at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Legal Division - Department for International Agreements and Treaties – focusing on bilateral treaties.

Before joining the School of Diplomacy in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Consul Azani practiced Law at Haim Zadok and Company, one of the leading law firms in Israel, based in Tel-Aviv. Shahar has a law degree (LLB) as well as a Masters in Business Administration (MBA).

He is married to Elinor, whom he met at the Law Faculty, and they have 2 children.

Menashe Mizrahi
Consul for Consular Affairs


Menashe Mizrahi assumed the position of Consul for Consular Affairs at the Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles since September 2006.

He is in charge of all the consular aspects involving the Israeli and Jewish communities in the Southwestern United States.

Other positions held by Mr. Mizrahi served as Consul for Administrative Affairs and Consul for Consular Affairs in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Consul for Administrative and Consular Affairs in Istanbul, Turkey and Deputy Consul for Administrative Affairs in Washington D.C.

During his years in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Israel, Mr. Mizrahi held various positions, among them Director of Administration and Budget in the Formal Guests Division, Director of Overseas Division, responsible of the budgets and inspections of Consulates abroad.

Mr. Mizrahi began his career in the Israeli Foreign Ministry in 1972.

He served in the Israeli Defense Force in the Combat Engineering Division.

Mr. Mizrahi was born in Jerusalem, Israel.

He is married to Dalya, and they have three children.

Sigal Yavets
Consul for Administration Affairs

Sigal Yavets assumed the position of Consul for Administration Affairs at the Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles since August 2006.

She is responsible for the administrative issues of the consulate on all aspects of financial and human resources.

During her 12 years in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Israel since 1994, Mrs.Yavets held various positions, among them in 1995 as the assistant to the Deputy Director of Administration and Deputy of the Director General of the Foreign Ministry.

This position required coordinating with other government offices, grouping the finances of all the Foreign Ministry branches and responsible for issues connected with the issuing of diplomatic passports.

In 1994 Consul Yavets served as the assistant to the political advisor of the Foreign Minister, Mr. Avi Gil. Part of her role was engaging in the daily schedule of the minister's Bureau. In addition, during that time Mrs. Yavets was recording the minutes of the meetings during the peace talks between Jordan and Israel. Before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in 1990 Consul Yavets studied towards a diploma in general literature and Jewish general Philosophy at Tel Aviv University.

Between 1990 to 1992, Consul Yavets served as the director Bureau for the opposition leader at the parliament, Mr. Shimon Peres. Her position included responsibility for scheduling meetings and managing intensive work schedule. In 1988 Sigal Yavets served in the Israel Defense Forces as the Director Bureau for the Defense Minister, Mr. Yitzhak Rabin.

Mrs. Yavets was born in Israel and is married to Iftach.


Sigal Admony-Ravid

Consul for Economic Affairs



Eliezer Hod

Consul for Tourism

Shalom

The Consulate General of Israel in Los Angeles is one of Israel’s largest diplomatic missions in the world. It covers the entire Southwest region of the United States including Arizona, Southern California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. The Consulate is an official office of the Government of Israel.

Our many departments work hand in hand striving to provide the best of Israel and strengthen the already deep bonds between Israel and the Southwest region.