Mark Sofer (born 1954) is an Israeli diplomat.

Early life and education

Sofer was born in London in 1954, the son of

Victor Hochhauser Victor Hochhauser (27 March 1923 – 22 March 2019) was a British music promoter. Early life Hochhauser was born on 27 March 1923 in Košice, Czechoslovakia, the son of David Hochhauser, an industrialist. His grandfather and great-grandfather ...

and Lilian Hochhauser (née Shields). He holds a B.Sc. in economics and international relations from the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, and an MA in international relations 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 ...

Career

In 1981 Sofer joined the Israeli Foreign Ministry. He has held diplomatic positions in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He served as ambassador to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

from 1999-2002. He was policy adviser to Foreign Minister

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...

in the early 1990s. In 2008 Sofer became the Israeli ambassador to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and concurrently, Non-Resident Ambassador to the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. Following his tenure in India, in 2017 Sofer took up the top diplomatic role in Australia.

Ambassadorial tenure in India

Under Sofer's tenure as ambassador of India, the ties between India and Israel improved further. According to BS Brar, professor of political theory and international relations at Punjab University, Chandigarh, "With regard to foreign relations, our approach was rather ideological a few decades ago, so we kept a distance from countries like Israel. But gradually, India's approach is getting more pragmatic in nature, and so we have opened up to Israel, and that's a good sign." Sofer is credited with pioneering efforts to reach out Muslims in India. On September 3, 2008, he offered a chaddar at the dargah of Khwaja Moinuddhin Chisthi at Ajmer. The visit of the ambassador was the first visit by any official of Israel to dargah in history. Talking to media persons, he said that only Sufism can help to solve problems and which can help us to grow together. "Judaism and Islam are basically sister religions and both teach us love and peace. The sufi is found in both religions and even the kabbalah system is found in Judaism," he said. He also referred to some Muslim countries, which have recognised Israel and have established diplomatic relations with Jerusalem. As regards to Israel entering into diplomatic ties with Pakistan, Sofer said that 'the day Pakistan says it wants closer relations with Israel we will be ready to respond. Our close relationship with India is a fact and it is on the table. We will not compromise this relationship for anyone else. These relations are not aimed against any third country.'

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sofer, Mark Ambassadors of Israel to India Ambassadors of Israel to Ireland Living people 1954 births Alumni of the London School of Economics Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Social Sciences alumni Ambassadors of Israel to Australia Ambassadors of Israel to Sri Lanka Israeli people of Slovak-Jewish descent Israeli people of Russian-Jewish descent British people of Slovak-Jewish descent British people of Russian-Jewish descent