Dror Eydar () was appointed Israeli Ambassador to Italy on September 2, 2019, a position which he served until September 2022.

Political views

In a live TV interview during the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, Eydar stated: "For us, there is a purpose: to destroy Gaza, to destroy the absolute evil". Later, he clarified: "I meant Gaza as the home of Hamas, as a concept, and of course not the destruction of its population. Any reasonable person would understand the difference." He then described

Palestinians Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenou ...

as "animals" and stated that anyone "who harms a Jew must die". After

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

passed away after denouncing the "deplorable humanitarian situation" caused by Israel's onslaught on Gaza and expressing his "closeness to the sufferings… of all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people" in his final address on Easter Sunday, Eydar ignited controversy by accusing the late Pope Francis of antisemitism and advising the Israeli government to abstain from participating in the pontiff's funeral.

Biography

Dror Eydar earned a Ph.D. in Hebrew and Jewish literature from

Bar Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, , ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic university institution. It has 20,000 ...

. He was a columnist and op-ed editor for

Sheldon Adelson Sheldon Gary Adelson (August 4, 1933 – January 11, 2021) was an American businessman, investor, and political donor. He was the founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which founded the Marina Bay Sa ...

's right-wing

free daily newspaper Free newspapers are distributed free of charge, often in central places in cities and towns, on public transport, with other newspapers, or separately door-to-door. The revenues of such newspapers are based on advertising. They are published at ...

Israel Hayom ''Israel Hayom'' () is an Israeli Hebrew-language free daily newspaper. Distributed for free around Israel, it is the country's most widely distributed newspaper. Owned by the family of the late Sheldon Adelson, the casino mogul and politica ...

'' while simultaneously on prime minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

’s payroll, as a speechwriter and adviser.Sheldon Adelson: The American behind Israel’s right wing
GlobalPost, 13 May 2017

Published works

*''Alterman–Baudelaire''; Paris – Tel Aviv: Urbanism and Myth in the Poetry of Nathan Alterman and Charles Baudelaire (2003) *''The Last of the Lord's Poets - Myth, Ethos, and Mysticism in the Literary Works of

Yosef Zvi Rimon Yosef Zvi Rimon (; born January 18, 1968) is an Israeli Religious Zionist rabbi, author, lecturer and Posek who serves as rabbi of the Gush Etzion Regional Council and the Ashkenazi Synagogue of Alon Shvut Darom. He is Rosh Yeshiva of the Jerusal ...

'', (2009).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eydar, Dror Ambassadors of Israel to Italy Israeli columnists Israeli newspaper editors 1967 births Living people Bar-Ilan University alumni Midrashiat Noam alumni