Naor Gilon (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: נאור גילאון) is Israel's ambassador to India and non resident ambassador to Sri Lanka and Bhutan. He was ambassador of Israel to the Netherlands (2019-2021),

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

(Feb 2012 – Aug 2016).

Biography

Naor Gilon was born in Israel. His father was from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and was a

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...

. Gilon received his BA in political science at

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

and his Master's degree

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

in international relations at

Corvinus University of Budapest Corvinus University of Budapest ( hu, Budapesti Corvinus Egyetem) is a university in Budapest, Hungary. The university currently has an enrolment of approximately 9,600 students, with a primary focus on business administration, economics, and so ...

. He is married with four children.

Diplomatic career

Gilon joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1989 and served as the deputy chief of missions at the Embassy of Israel in Hungary (1990–1995), deputy foreign policy advisor to the prime minister (1995–1997), counselor for political affairs at the permanent mission to the United Nations (1997–2000), and as director of the Division for Strategic and Military Affairs in the Center for Policy Research in Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2000–2002). As a minister-counselor for political affairs at the Embassy of Israel in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, he was the subject of

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

investigations into the

Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal The Lawrence Franklin espionage scandal involved Lawrence Franklin passing classified documents regarding United States policy towards Iran to Israel. Franklin, a former United States Department of Defense employee, pleaded guilty to several espi ...

, which involved the leaking of classified information by an employee at the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

. According to Israeli journalist

Shmuel Rosner Shmuel Rosner ( he, שמואל רוזנר) is an Israeli columnist, editor, and researcher. He is a contributing opinion writer for the ''International New York Times''. He is the political editor of the ''The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles ...

, Gilon's return to the U.S. in late 2005 was an indication that "no serious allegations concerning Israel's involvement in the

American Israel Public Affairs Committee The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC ) is a lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel policies to the legislative and executive branches of the United States. One of several pro-Israel lobbying organizations in the United Stat ...

(AIPAC) affair still exist." In 2009, he served as the chief of staff to

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

Avigdor Lieberman Avigdor Lieberman (, ; russian: Эве́т Льво́вич Ли́берман, Evet Lvovich Liberman, ; born 5 June 1958) is a Soviet-born Israeli politician serving as Minister of Finance since 2021, having previously served twice as Deputy ...

and as the deputy director general for Western Europe division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2009 to 2011 In 2021, it was announced that he would be the new ambassador of Israel to India. On October 27, he presented his credentials to

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

Ram Nath Kovind Ram Nath Kovind (; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician who served as the 14th President of India from 2017 to 2022. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the second person after K. R. Narayanan, from the Dalit community ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilon, Naor 1964 births Living people Israeli Jews Tel Aviv University alumni Corvinus University of Budapest alumni Ambassadors of Israel to Italy Ambassadors of Israel to the Netherlands Ambassadors of Israel to India Ambassadors of Israel to Sri Lanka Ambassadors to Bhutan Israeli people of German-Jewish descent