Joel Lion

• File:Joel and FM Steimeier.jpg

Joel Lion is an Israeli diplomat serving as the Spokesperson and Consul for Media Affairs at the Consulate General of Israel in New York. assumed this post in August 2009, and has since been responsible for maintaining direct contact with America’s national and local media in the tri-state area. Elisabeth Solomont from the Jerusalem Post wrote about him: New NY consul: 'Israel is inventive, moving and spiritual' . Joel Lion joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1993

Biography

Joel Lion was born in 1964 in France and raised in Esch-sur-Alzette in Luxembourg.Mr. Lion is married to Rebeca, and is the proud father of eight children. Prior to joining the Consulate in New York, he served as Deputy Director for the Western European Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem, and was responsible for political relations with Germany. Previously,he was Counselor, Head of the Public Affairs Department at Israel’s Embassy in Berlin. He also served as Deputy Chief of Mission Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania at the Israeli Embassy in Riga and was Charge D'Affaires for Slovakia at the Israeli Embassy in Vienna. Before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Joel Lion has worked for the JNF-KKL in Jerusalem, as well as the Ministry of Religious Affairs. Lion served in the Israel Defense Forces and attained the rank of Sergeant-Major in the Artillery Corps.

Special Missions

In 1999, Consul Lion became the first Israeli official to partake in the mission of election monitoring with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. At the start of the second Intifada in 2001, Mr. Lion operated as Spokesman with the MFA special team in Bethlehem. During operation “Cast Lead”, he worked as director in charge of the MFA Press Center in Sderot.

Education

In addition to his diplomatic career, Joel Lion has an extensive academic background. He earned his B.A. in Political Sciences from Hebrew University in 1988, and received his M.A. in History from the University of Latvia in 1998. He is an Ordinate Orthodox Rabbi by Pirchei Shoshanim In 1995, he completed the International Training Course in Security Policy of the Federal Military Department of Switzerland, in Geneva. He is fluent in Hebrew, English, French, German, Luxemburgish, Yiddish and basic Russian.

Publications

• The Trees Sing, A Sourcebook for Tu Bi-Shevat, selected by Rabbi Moshe Edelman, edited by Joel Lion, published by the Jewish National Fund 1992
• 'What is really on trial in the Goldstone Report':http://jta.org/news/article/2009/10/18/1008571/op-ed-whats-really-on-trial-in-the-goldstone-report
• 'Israel wants peace with its neighbours': http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=879968&category=OPINION
• 'About Turkey - Israel relations':http://jta.org/news/article/2010/01/14/1010191/op-ed-hoping-for-a-reconciliation-between-friends

External links

• [1]