Arye Mekel has been appointed spokesman for Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mekel most recently served three years as the consul general in New York. At the foreign ministry he replaces Mark Regev, who was named recently as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s foreign press and public affairs adviser.
Along with his three-year stint as consul general, Mekel has held positions as the deputy permanent representative of Israel to the United Nations, director general of the Israel Broadcasting Authority and foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir.
Mekel was succeeded by Asaf Shariv, the former director of media and public affairs to Prime Ministers Ehud Olmert and Ariel Sharon. Shariv, 35, is the youngest diplomat ever named consul general to New York.
