The new Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Yoram Aridor, officially took up his post Friday, after presenting his credentials to the United Nations.
Aridor, a former Likud Cabinet minister, has spent the past six years in private legal practice. Prior to this he held a number of government post, most recently serving as finance minister under former Prime Minister Menachem Begin.
Aridor was trained as a lawyer at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and also received bachelor’s degrees in political science and economics. Married with three children, Aridor, 57, speaks fluent English and some French.
He replaces Johanan Bein, who has served as Israel’s acting ambassador to the United Nations for the past two years. Bein stepped in when former Ambassador Benjamin Netanyahu resigned in the spring of 1988, to run for the Knesset. Netanyahu is now deputy foreign minister.
Aridor comes to the United Nations at a difficult time for Israel. This month alone, the Security Council has twice adopted resolutions criticizing the Jewish state, both times with U.S. support. The issue has been Israel’s handling of the Oct. 8 riots on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and the government’s refusal to cooperate with a U.N investigation of the incident.
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