Dore Gold, former UN ambassador and Netanyahu confidant, dies at 71
US-born diplomat served as Foreign Ministry director general, adviser to prime ministers, and president of a Jerusalem think tank
Nava Freiberg is The Times of Israel's deputy diplomatic correspondent.
Dore Gold, a former senior Israeli diplomat and adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, died on Monday at age 71.
Gold, originally from the US, held key positions in Israeli diplomacy, including as director general of the Foreign Ministry from 2015 to 2016 and UN ambassador from 1997 to 1999.
Netanyahu expressed sorrow over Gold’s passing, calling him “a prolific scholar, an outstanding diplomat, and a close personal friend. For over three decades, Dore accompanied me as an exceptionally devoted public servant… His passionate Zionist vision and sharp analytical skills bore fruit for Israel on the international stage.”
Gold was Netanyahu’s foreign policy adviser during his first term as prime minister in the 1990s and again from 2013 to 2015.
He headed the think tank Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA), formerly the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, from 2000 until his death.
According to Netanyahu, one of Gold’s most significant achievements was his “contributions toward achieving the Abraham Accords,” the historic normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and other Arab nations, which Gold called “a turning point in the Middle East” in a 2020 article.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called Gold “an exemplar of diplomacy,” saying “He paved new paths for Israel’s relations with countries around the world, particularly in the Arab sphere…His contributions to Israel’s foreign relations were extensive and significant.”
Born and raised in a Conservative Jewish home in Hartford, Connecticut, Gold immigrated to Israel in 1980. He earned his PhD in political science and Middle Eastern studies from Columbia University, focusing his research on the Arab world and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In the mid-1980s, he served as a senior research associate at Tel Aviv University’s Moshe Dayan Center for Near East Studies. He later became director of the US Foreign and Defense Policy Project at the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies.
In 1991, Gold was an adviser to the Israeli delegation at the Madrid Peace Conference, whose subsequent bilateral negotiations were superseded by the process that led to the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993.
Gold then served as Israel’s UN ambassador from 1997 to 1999, before assuming his role as president of JCFA, a policy institute focused on Israeli security and diplomacy.
From 2001 to 2003, Gold advised then-prime minister Ariel Sharon and represented Israel at the Aqaba Summit with US president George W. Bush. During this period, he frequently appeared on major American news programs, advocating for Israel’s policies. In July 2003, he testified before the US Senate on Saudi Arabia’s alleged support for terrorism.
Gold also spearheaded international efforts to hold Iran’s then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accountable for incitement to genocide, citing his threats against Israel. In 2006, he led a campaign urging UN member states to take legal action, organizing a major conference in New York with prominent figures like Alan Dershowitz and former US ambassador John Bolton. This effort continued with a 2007 conference at the British House of Commons, where over 60 MPs called for Ahmadinejad’s indictment.
In 2008, Gold co-organized a Washington, DC, event with the International Association of Genocide Scholars, with ambassador Richard Holbrooke and Sudanese human rights advocate Salih Mahmoud Osman in attendance.
In December 2013, Gold resumed his position as adviser to Netanyahu, focusing on issues relating to the Iranian nuclear program, Israel’s diplomatic activity at the UN, and Israel-US relations.
In 2015, Netanyahu appointed Gold director general of the Foreign Ministry. In this capacity, Gold prioritized strengthening Israel’s diplomatic ties in the Arab world and Africa. On October 13, 2016, he stepped down from the position for personal reasons.
Gold’s academic research on Saudi Arabia contributed to his 2003 New York Times bestseller, “Hatred’s Kingdom: How Saudi Arabia Supports the New Global Terrorism,” in which he argued that Saudi Arabia actively funds terrorism by supporting US enemies. His book “The Fight for Jerusalem: Radical Islam, the West, and the Future of the Holy City,” which advocates that the Old City of Jerusalem remain undivided under Israeli sovereignty, also gained international recognition.
Senior Israeli officials took to social media to express their sorrow at Gold’s passing, including top Netanyahu adviser Minister Ron Dermer, who said he “always valued his prodigious knowledge, sharp mind and diplomatic creativity. Above all, I admired his life-long dedication to securing the future of the Jewish state. The Jewish people owe Dore Gold a debt of gratitude.”
Dan Diker, current president of the JCFA, said Gold “left a unique and significant mark on the Jerusalem Center, the State of Israel, and the Jewish people, and the international community as a whole. His legacy of moral integrity and unwavering commitment to defending Israel and the Jewish people will forever be remembered by all who had the privilege of working with him.”
Gold is survived by his wife, Ofra, and their children. His funeral was set to be held in Jerusalem on Monday afternoon.
The Times of Israel Community.