Israeli Ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon is navigating a complex political landscape as he seeks to strengthen ties with Australia amidst escalating tensions in the Middle East.
Amir Maimon is no stranger to diplomatic challenges. Israel ’s ambassador to Australia began his foreign service career in Ethiopia in the early 1990s, when the sitting government in Addis Ababa was on the verge of being toppled by a coalition of left-wing rebel groups. Maimon, a retired lieutenant colonel who served for 14 years in the Israel i military’s paratrooper unit, used his experience to co-ordinate the daring airlift of 14,325 Ethiopian Jews to Israel in less than two days.
The secret mission, known as Operation Solomon, involved cramming more than 1000 people onto a single aeroplane with its seats removed, a world record that remains intact today. Maimon went on to hold senior diplomatic postings in London, Canada, Turkey and Washington before serving as Israel’s first ambassador to Lithuania.He arrived in Canberra as Israeli ambassador in January 2022 on a mission to refocus the relationship from the conflict with Palestine towards trade, defence and technological co-operation.The following October, Hamas militants stormed across the border from Gaza, killing an estimated 1200 Israelis and taking about 250 people hostage. As Israel launched a ferocious campaign to dismantle Hamas’ military capability – at a devastating cost to civilians in Gaza – the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was again dominating global headlines.Maimon spoke to the National Press Club after the October 7 attacks, but he has maintained a low public profile, granting only occasional interviews and preferring to engage directly through meetings with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Foreign Minister Penny Wong and other senior government figures. However, with a year remaining of his posting in Canberra, Maimon knows he must do more to tell Israel’s side of the story to the Australian public and stop a once-close bilateral relationship from spinning out of contro
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