Jacob Walles (born 1957) is an American retired diplomat who spent much of his career addressing the

Arab-Israeli conflict The Arab citizens of Israel form the country's largest ethnic minority. Their community mainly consists of former Mandatory Palestine citizens (and their descendants) who continued to inhabit the territory that was acknowledged as Israeli by ...

. He was the U.S. Ambassador to the

Republic of Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

from July 24, 2012 to September 2, 2015. He also served as Senior Advisor on Foreign Fighters in the Bureau of Counterterrorism in the Department of State from September 2015 to January 2017. From 2017 to 2024 he was a nonresident Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. On December 14, 2011, President Obama nominated Walles to be U.S. Ambassador to the Tunisian Republic. Walles was sworn in as Ambassador to Tunisia by Secretary of State

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

on June 21, 2012, and he presented his credentials to Tunisian President Marzouki on July 24, 2012. He was the Ambassador in

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

when the U.S. Embassy was attacked on September 14, 2012, in the wake of the ''

Innocence of Muslims ''Innocence of Muslims'' is a 2012 anti-Islamic short film that was written and produced by Nakoula Basseley Nakoula. Two versions of the 14-minute video were uploaded to YouTube in July 2012, under the titles "The Real Life of Muhammad" and "M ...

'' controversy. President Beji Caid Essebsi decorated Walles as "Grand Officier de l'Ordre de la République" in August 2015 in recognition of his work to promote relations between the United States and Tunisia. From 2009 to 2010, he was the Cyrus Vance fellow for diplomatic studies at the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

. From June 2010 to April 2012, he was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs. Walles was U.S. consul general and chief of mission in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

from July 2005 to August 2009. In that capacity, Walles was instructed to inform Palestinian President

Mahmoud Abbas Mahmoud Abbas (; born 15 November 1935), also known by the Kunya (Arabic), kunya Abu Mazen (, ), is a Palestinian politician who has been serving as the second president of Palestine and the President of the Palestinian National Authority, P ...

that the

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

government was unacceptable. Walles's talking points said, "If you act along these lines, we'll support you both materially and politically".Paul McGeough, ''Kill Khalid: Mossad’s Failed Hit…and the Rise of Hamas'' (Crows Nest, NSW, Australia: Allen & Unwin, 2009), p. 356. Walles also served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Athens from 2003 to 2005, as Deputy Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem from 1996 to 1998, as Economic Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv from 1988 to 1991, and as Vice Consul in Amsterdam from 1982 to 1984. He was born in Wilmington,

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

. Walles is a graduate of

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

and the

School of Advanced International Studies The School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a graduate school of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C. The school also maintains campuses in Bologna, Italy and Nanjing, China. The school is devoted to the study of int ...

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

. He is a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy.

References

External links

* , - 1957 births Consuls for the United States Date of birth missing (living people) Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni Living people Wesleyan University alumni 21st-century American diplomats Ambassadors of the United States to Tunisia Consuls-general for the United States in Jerusalem {{US-diplomat-stub