Source: Dermer to have informal but central role like Kushner

Israeli envoy in DC to take on larger role as Dermer set to step down as minister — sources

Dermer to remain active as PM’s special envoy tasked with expanding Abraham Accords, while Yechiel Leiter to be given more responsibility for ties with Trump administration

By Jacob Magid

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6 November 2025, 2:31 am

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Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) meets with US special envoy Steve Witkoff (3rd R) and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz (3rd L) , accompanied by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer (2nd R), National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi (2nd L), Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter (R), and Chief of Staff Tzachi Braverman (L) and military secretary Roman Gofman (bottom C) in Washington on February 4, 2025. (Avi Ohayon/GPO)

Ron Dermer is slated to step down from his position as strategic affairs minister next week, handing over some of his responsibilities to Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, an Israeli official and a second source familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel on Wednesday.

The US-born Dermer is seen as Netanyahu’s closest adviser and has been handling a wide range of diplomatic issues, including ties with the US, the hostage negotiations during the Gaza war, and Israel’s relations with its Arab neighbors.

While stepping down from the government, Dermer will remain involved on certain issues, such as efforts to expand the Abraham Accords, and he will operate as a special envoy for Netanyahu, according to the source familiar with the matter.

However, additional responsibilities regarding ties with the Trump administration will be transferred to Leiter, who will stay on as ambassador in Washington.

The source familiar with the matter likened Dermer’s new role to the one held by Jared Kushner, who did not formally rejoin the government for US President Donald Trump’s second term, but has played a central role in the brokering and implementation of the ceasefire in Gaza on behalf of the American administration.

The Israeli Embassy in Washington and Dermer’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

US President Donald Trump, accompanied by (L-R) Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on February 4, 2025 in Washington, DC, as Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter looks on. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images via AFP)

Netanyahu told cabinet members on October 30 that Dermer would soon wrap up his tenure as minister, while remaining involved in several unspecified matters.

In addition to being the lead Israeli negotiator in the hostage talks, Dermer has also been negotiating a security arrangement with Syria, after the 1974 disengagement deal inked at the end of the Yom Kippur war collapsed when the Assad regime was overthrown in December.

He was Israel’s ambassador to the US from 2013 to 2021 and was a key negotiator of the Abraham Accords, which saw the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco normalize relations with Israel in 2020.

In August, the Israel Hayom daily reported Dermer has been discussing his retirement since Israel’s 12-day war in June that targeted Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missiles program.