Israel’s government approved the appointment of Amira Oron as the country’s new ambassador to Egypt on June 7, the first woman to ever serve in the position. Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi congratulated Oron, hailing a competent and highly skilled diplomat. Ashkenazi stated he was sure that Oron would effectively promote bilateral relations.
The Foreign Ministry’s appointment committee selected Oron for the ambassadorship in October 2018, but her candidature was not brought for cabinet approval until today. The long delay was caused by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was then serving also as foreign minister and had hoped to appoint Likud lawmaker Ayoud Kara instead. Ranked 39th spot on the Likud list for the 2018 elections, Kara did not make it into the Knesset. The next year, Netanyahu moved to compensate him by appointing him to the embassy in Cairo.