Ehud Avriel, Israel’s Consul General in Chicago, has denied a report in the Jerusalem Post that he will leave the foreign service to join Yigal Yadin’s Democratic Movement for Change. In a telephone interview from Chicago, the veteran Israeli diplomat told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, “I did not reach as yet a decision on this issue,” He said, however, that he told Yadin he would vote for him in the May 17 Israeli general election. “I told him that I think he is the best candidate for the Premiership,” Avriel said.
Avriel was a key figure in the pre-State arms procurement organization and has since served in numerous posts, among them Ambassador to Ivory Coast and Ambassador to Italy. He was sent to Chicago as Consul General as part of the Foreign Ministry’s drive to boost the level of Israel’s representation in the U.S. hinterland. During the 1960s, Avriel, a kibbutz member, was identified with the Rafi faction of the Labor Party then headed by former Premier David Ben Gurion.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
