Israel names first female ambassador to Muslim country

Carmela Shamir was named Israel’s next ambassador to Uzbekistan, the Foreign Ministry confirmed Monday, making her the first female diplomat to head an Israeli delegation in a Muslim country.

In addition, the deputy ambassador will be female: Hagit Mualem was also selected to serve in the capital city of Tashkent.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Yigal Palmor told The Times of Israel there is no reason to make a fuss over sending women as envoys to a Muslim country. Shamir “was considered to be the best” out of all those nominated for the post, he stated.

Shamir has held a number of positions in the ministry and is considered a promising diplomat. Recently, she was a department director in the ministry’s center for policy research. She is to replace Dr. Hillel Newman, who has headed the delegation since 2008.

Bordering Afghanistan and in close proximity to Iran, Uzbekistan’s population is 95 percent Muslim.

The two appointments were made by the ministerial committee and approved by the government in Tashkent, and Shamir will soon present her credentials to Islam Karimov, who has ruled the country since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990.

“Currently there are 12 women who serve as heads of Israeli missions abroad, and additional female envoys are due to begin their service abroad soon,” senior Foreign Ministry official Yossi Regev told Ynet.

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