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Friday, April 17, 2026
Tzipi Hotovely, former envoy to the UK, to be tapped to head PM’s public diplomacy office
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Tzipi Hotovely, the former Israeli ambassador to the UK, will be tapped as the head of the National Public Diplomacy Directorate in the Prime Minister’s Office, filling a position that has been vacant for some two years.
The last head of the directorate, Moshik Aviv, resigned in May 2024 and has yet to be replaced, even as Israel has fought wars on several fronts and faced severe and mounting global criticism among both allies and adversaries.
Her appointment is expected to be brought before the cabinet for approval in the coming week, according to Hebrew media reports.
Hotovely, a member of Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud Party and former deputy foreign minister, has drawn backlash for her remarks over the years, including for saying in 2017 that American Jews “never send their children to fight for their country,” a statement for which she later apologized.
Hotovely served as Israel’s ambassador in London from 2020 to 2025. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff, Tzachi Braverman, is slated to take over the UK posting but was prevented from doing so because he is under investigation in connection with a probe into a classified document leak.
The restrictive conditions on Braverman were lifted last month, allowing him to soon take up the post.
The Times of Israel Community.