David Saranga ( he, דוד סרנגה) (born February 18, 1964) is Israel's ambassador in Romania. He served as the Senior Foreign Affairs Advisor to the President of the State of Israel, Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin, and former Head of European Parliament Liaison Department at the Israeli embassy in Brussels. Prior to that he served as Consul for Media and Public Affairs of Israel in the United States. Saranga was responsible for Israel's image in the United States and was the liaison person of Israel to the American media. ''

The Jewish Chronicle ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

'' described him as "The man whose campaigns are rebranding Israel." Saranga's initiative to invite ''

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment * ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...

'' magazine to Israel generated debate about the definition of

public diplomacy In international relations, public diplomacy or people's diplomacy, broadly speaking, is any of the various government-sponsored efforts aimed at communicating directly with foreign publics to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influen ...

. Prof. John H. Brown of

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

described this initiative as the first event in a new branch of Public Diplomacy.Public Diplomacy Goes 'Pubic'
, John H. Brown,

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

public diplomacy site, July 11, 2007. Saranga was the first diplomat who implemented

Web 2.0 Web 2.0 (also known as participative (or participatory) web and social web) refers to websites that emphasize user-generated content, ease of use, participatory culture and interoperability (i.e., compatibility with other products, systems, and ...

governmental initiatives, including the first official

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

of a country,Israel Video Blog aims to show the world 'the beautiful face of real Israel'
Ynet, February 24, 2008. a MySpace page,Israel seeks friends through MySpace page
Bobby Johnson, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', March 23, 2007.

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel,

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

pageIsrael's New York Consulate launches Facebook page
Ynet, December 14, 2007. and a political

.Latest PR venture of Israel's diplomatic mission in New York attracts large Arab audience
Ynet, June 21, 2007. Saranga fielded questions on behalf of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in what was the first government worldwide press conference via

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

to take questions from the public about the December 2008 war with Hamas.Battlefront Twitter
, HAVIV RETTIG GUR, ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...

'', December 30, 2008. In March 2008, former Time Out Tel Aviv editor

David Kaufman David Kaufman or Kaufmann may refer to: * David S. Kaufman (1813–1851), American politician * David Kaufman (actor) (born 1961), American actor and voice actor * David Kaufman (author), theater critic and author of biographies of Charles Ludlam ...

wrote a feature story about Israel's branding project, where he profiled the wide range of initiatives Saranga launched during his tenure in New York.Best Face Forward
By David Kaufman, AdWeek, Published March 17, 2008.

Biography

Saranga was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. Prior to joining the Consulate in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Consul Saranga served as Deputy Spokesperson at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, and was responsible for all contacts with the foreign media based in Israel. During this period he was responsible for Israel's PR campaign around the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

hearing in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

, regarding the

Israeli West Bank barrier The Israeli West Bank barrier, comprising the West Bank Wall and the West Bank fence, is a separation barrier built by Israel along the Green Line and inside parts of the West Bank. It is a contentious element of the Israeli–Palestinian c ...

, and also was the person who coordinated and executed

Christopher Reeve Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, best known for playing the title character in the film ''Superman'' (1978) and three sequels. Born in New York City and raised in Princeton, New Jersey, ...

's visit to Israel in 2003. Saranga has also served as the First Secretary for Media and Public Affairs at the Israel Embassy in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and as deputy ambassador at the Israel Embassy in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. He prepared for public service in the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he studied Diplomacy and Political Economy. Saranga earned his B.A. degree from the

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

Department of Social Sciences (1990), and he received his MBA degree from the Hebrew University Business School in 1993.

2008 Israeli war with Hamas

Saranga had a high profile during the Israeli

airstrikes An airstrike, air strike or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighters, heavy bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters and drones. The offici ...

against

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...

. Particularly making headlines was Saranga's announcement that Israel would be the first government to hold a worldwide press conference via

.Israel's Online Ammo: YouTube, Facebook, Twitter
, Sean Hennessey,

WCBS-TV WCBS-TV (channel 2) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–licensed independent station WL ...

, December 30, 2008; accessed December 30, 2008. In what ''

'' called "Battlefront Twitter", Saranga answered questions from the public about the war with Hamas. After recording artist

Yusuf Islam Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; ), commonly known by his stage names Cat Stevens, Yusuf, and Yusuf / Cat Stevens, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His musical style consists of folk, pop, rock, and, later i ...

, formerly Cat Stevens, dedicated a song to the children of Gaza, Saranga criticized that the song was not dedicated to all the children of the region, including Israeli children who are victims of the violence.Israeli Official Blasts Cat Stevens' Song for Gaza Children
Joshua Rhett Miller,

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...

, January 26, 2009.

Publications

Essay: If dialogue is a crime, we are all guilty
''Jerusalem Post'', Published April 16, 2009.

''New York Daily News'', Published January 9, 2009.

''The Jewish Week'', Published December 17, 2008.

''Ynet News'', Published September 22, 2008.

''The Jewish Week'', Published July 9, 2008.

Embajada de Israel, March 2002.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saranga, David Israeli consuls Living people 1964 births People from Tel Aviv