Nadav Tamir
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Nadav Tamir (; born August 27, 1961) is a former Israeli
diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...
. He is currently J Street Israel's new Executive Director and a senior advisor for governmental and international affairs in the
Peres Center for Peace The Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, located in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Jaffa, Israel, is an independent non-profit, non-governmental, and non-political organization founded in 1996 by Nobel Peace Laureate and former President of Israel Shimon Pe ...
. Tamir served as a Political Officer in the
Embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a Sovereign state, state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase ...
of
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
in the United States, as well as in major administrative duties in the
Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (; ) is one of the most important Cabinet of Israel, ministries in the Government of Israel, Israeli government. The ministry's role is to implement Israel's foreign policy, and promote economic, cultural ...
, and was the Consul General of Israel to
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, MA. Prior to his current position, he was the Policy Adviser to the then
President of the State of Israel The president of the State of Israel (, or ) is the head of state of Israel. The president is mostly, though not entirely, ceremonial; actual executive power is vested in the cabinet led by the prime minister. The incumbent president is Isa ...
,
Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...
.


Biography

Born and raised in
kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...
Manara Manara may refer to: Places * Manara, Israel, a kibbutz in Upper Gallilee adjacent to the Lebanese border * Manara, Western Beqaa, a municipality in the Beqaa Governorate, Lebanon, near the Syrian border * Manara, Beirut, a district of Beirut, Le ...
in the
Upper Galilee The Upper Galilee (, ''HaGalil Ha'Elyon''; , ''Al Jaleel Al A'alaa'') is a geographical region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Part of the larger Galilee region, it is characterized by its higher elevations and mountainous terra ...
, Israel, he volunteered for a
Service Year The Pre-Army Service Year (, ''Shnat Sherut''), abbreviated Shin-Shin (), is a one-year voluntary service program for Israeli high school graduates prior to their mandatory service in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Unlike gap years offered in o ...
, like most youngsters of the kibbutz, before enlisting to the IDF. Tamir holds a rank of a
major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
in Reserve Duty in the Armor Corps of the IDF. He fought in the
First Lebanon War The 1982 Lebanon War, also called the Second Israeli invasion of Lebanon, began on 6 June 1982, when Israel invaded southern Lebanon. The invasion followed a series of attacks and counter-attacks between the Palestine Liberation Organization ...
, and took part in the Battle of Jezzine (1982). Later on he was a trainer in the corps Officers Academy, and was a Company Commander. He was asked to stay for a career in the combat units of the military, but he preferred to retire and join the
Diplomatic service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtain diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...
.


Diplomatic service

Tamir joined the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
in 1993. He became Policy Assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1994, under ministers
Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...
,
Ehud Barak Ehud Barak ( ; born Ehud Brog; 12 February 1942) is an Israeli former general and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister from 1999 to 2001. He was leader of the Israeli Labor Party, Labor Party between 1997 and 20 ...
, and David Levy. He was praised by all three for his excellent work. In 1997 he was appointed Political Officer at the Embassy of Israel in
Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
In 2001 he returned to Israel to become adviser to the director general of the Ministry.


Consul General

In 2006 Tamir was appointed Consul General of Israel to
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
at the Consulate General of Israel in Boston, MA. He served in this position right after the
Second Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War was a 34-day armed conflict in Lebanon, fought between Hezbollah and Israel. The war started on 12 July 2006, and continued until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire went into effect in the morning on 14 August 2006, thoug ...
, the IDF operation in the Gaza Strip, and during the time of the later
Operation Cast Lead Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
. During this time, disagreements between the
Government of Israel The Cabinet of Israel (; ) is the cabinet which exercises Executive (government), executive authority in the State of Israel. It consists of Minister (government), ministers who are chosen and led by the Prime Minister of Israel, prime ministe ...
and the
Obama Administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...
have grown dramatically, regarding the freeze of the
Peace process A peace process is the set of political sociology, sociopolitical negotiations, agreements and actions that aim to solve a specific armed conflict. Definitions Prior to an armed conflict occurring, peace processes can include the prevention of ...
, and Israel's policy on settlements expansion. Tamir has worked tirelessly to explain the Israeli policy to the American public and to the Administration, although in many cases he thought that his government stance was wrong and was defeating the Israeli interest. He received vast praises from the Jewish community leaders,ynet
August 11, 2009 (Hebrew)
leading academia researchers who specialize in the
Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
, as well as top government officials. Among other activities, Tamir created good ties with
US Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
members, and helped in advancing legislation in crucial issues relating to the security of Israel, such as the
nuclear program of Iran The nuclear program of Iran is one of the most scrutinized nuclear programs in the world. The military capabilities of the program are possible through its mass enrichment activities in facilities such as Natanz and Arak. In June 2025, t ...
.


The Critical Memo incident

Tamir became known to the public following a three-page memo, which he wrote for the eyes of Foreign Ministry officials only. In this letter, Tamir criticized the handling of the relations with the US administration. Later on, it appeared that this was just a pioneering letter, followed by other such documents written by Israeli ambassadors to leading western countries. Tamir wrote the letter in the end of his third year as consul. He did this after he realized, as he said, of the negative atmosphere towards Israel in the Administration, which was the result of mistaken and un-diplomatic handling of the interactions between the governments. Tamir claimed that it was his duty, as official Israeli representative, to be the messenger of such phenomena which he thought were causing severe damage to Israel's foreign relations, so that the
Israeli cabinet The Cabinet of Israel (; ) is the cabinet which exercises Executive (government), executive authority in the State of Israel. It consists of Minister (government), ministers who are chosen and led by the Prime Minister of Israel, prime ministe ...
would be aware of some results of its policy and actions. He said that it was not his intention to criticize the policy itself of the Israeli government, but the way it was communicated. The letter was leaked (not by Tamir) and was made public on August 6, 2010, in Israel's Channel 10 Television. The publication stirred harsh criticism, and some called to recall Tamir. On order from the Minister,
Avigdor Lieberman Avigdor Lieberman (, ; born 5 June 1958) is a Soviet-born Israeli politician who served as Ministry of Finance (Israel), Minister of Finance between 2021 and 2022, having previously served twice as Deputy Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to ...
, Tamir was called in for a clarification meeting with the Ministry's director general, Yossi Gal. Tamir claimed in the meeting that the intent of the letter was to point out a problematic situation with the Administration, which could be better handled. He did not intend to make it public, he claimed. To the point of the matter, Tamir thought that the manner by which the relations were handled could jeopardize the intimacy of relations which had been built in a course of many years; and defeat the principal of leaving the Israel topic outside and above the US policies, which would also diminish the relation of the
American Jewry American Jews (; ) or Jewish Americans are Americans, American citizens who are Jews, Jewish, whether by Jewish culture, culture, ethnicity, or Judaism, religion. According to a 2020 poll conducted by Pew Research, approximately two thirds of Am ...
with the State of Israel. Some people familiar with the field expressed the opinion, that those processes have actually occurred. The Prime Minister's office officially stated that "The letter is not worth a response"; However, a top official of the office said, off the record, that the letter was written with negligence, that it expressed a private political opinion by the writer, whose intention was to hurt the State of Israel, and that it was a shame that it had been written. The leaders of the Jewish communities in the New England area published letters supporting Tamir, and asked that he retain his position. US government officials also supported Tamir. Indeed, Tamir fulfilled his term as consul general.


Relations with the Jewish community

Tamir has acted to strengthen ties between Israel and the local Jewry. He initiated a new approach for connecting the two bodies, through out-of-politics channels, around what Tamir called "Jewish Peopleness", and the image of "The Big Tent" which contains all community members, including those who have conflicts with the Israeli government. Some of the community leaders stated that Tamir made the Consulate a central factor in advancing economic activities between Israel and the New England states, which are national leaders in Life Sciences and Hi-Tech industries.


Adviser to the President

After completing his duty as consul, Tamir joined the Policy Planning unit of the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem. Today Tamir is known as one of the top experts in Israel on
Israel–United States relations Since the 1960s, the relationship between Israel and the United States has grown into a close alliance in economic, strategic and military aspects. The U.S. has provided strong support for Israel and has played a key role in the promotion of g ...
. In his position as the President's adviser, Tamir was responsible for the diplomatic meetings of the President in Israel and abroad, and he advised the President on topics related to foreign policy, and relations between Israel and Jewish communities around the world.


Latest career

In 2014, after the retirement of Shimon Peres from the presidential office, Tamir joined Peres & Associates, as the director of international affairs of the firm. Incorporated July 2014. The firm is using the retired president’s contacts around the world to benefit Israeli companies which are active in global markets, with the aim to promote peace-related initiatives. The profits of the firm are used for funding peace projects at
Peres Center for Peace The Peres Center for Peace and Innovation, located in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Jaffa, Israel, is an independent non-profit, non-governmental, and non-political organization founded in 1996 by Nobel Peace Laureate and former President of Israel Shimon Pe ...
. Today Nadav Tamir represents the Israeli chapter of J Street.


Education

Tamir earned his B.A. degree in
Philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
and
Political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
from the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...
, ''
magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
''. In 2004, he received his
Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
in
Public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...
from
John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...
at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
, through the Wexner Foundation program. As of 2015, Tamir is the chairman of the alumni council of the Wexner Israel Fellowship program.


Public activity

Tamir voluntarily serves in a number of public position: * In 2003, Tamir was chosen as a Wexner Israel Fellow and earned his master's degree in Public Administration from the
Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...
at
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
in 2004. As of 2015, Tamir serves as the Chairman of the alumni council of the Wexner Foundation program. * In 2015 Tamir joined the executive team of the Israeli-Palestinian Business Council.UNISPAL web page
in the UN web site
* Member, executive committee of
Mitvim Mitvim – The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies is a think tank based in Israel. Mitvim's goals are to develop and promote a new, progressive foreign policy paradigm for Israel; to promote Israel's belonging in the region and to re ...
- The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies * Member, Steering Committee of the
Geneva Initiative The Geneva Initiative, also known as the Geneva Accord, is a draft ''Permanent Status Agreement'' to end the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, based on previous official negotiations, international resolutions, the Quartet Roadmap, the Clinton P ...
Tamir is married to Ronit, a Ph.D. in dance education, and he has two daughters and a son: Maya, Ido, and Naama.


References


External links


A lecture
by Tamir at The
Watson Institute for International Studies Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) is an ultraviolet Raman spectrometer that uses fine-scale imaging and an ultraviolet (UV) laser to determine fine-scale mineralogy, and detect org ...
at
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

Bio
at the Jewish Federations of North America web site {{DEFAULTSORT:Tamir, Nadav 1961 births Living people Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Social Sciences alumni Consuls for Israel Israeli military officers Harvard Kennedy School alumni