Dore Gold, a longtime confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has stepped down as director general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry.
Gold, an American-born former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, cited “personal reasons” in the Oct. 13 announcement, which came as a surprise. He served in the position for 16 months.
Reports have said that Gold, 63, had a falling-out with Netanyahu and that he was unhappy the prime minister excluded him from a tighter circle of personal advisers. Gold had twice served as a foreign policy adviser to Netanyahu before becoming the country’s chief diplomat.
He formerly ran the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, a conservative think tank, a job that he reportedly will return to. — jta