Israel’s designated ambassador to the United States is a leading expert on the intricacies of all aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Brig. Gen. (res.) Michael Herzog is an Israeli officer who made his mark in the military’s intelligence and planning divisions and subsequently served as chief-of-staff and military aide to several defense ministers. He monitored, planned and saw up close the developments that shaped Israel’s defense posture, the capabilities of its various agencies and preparations for the diverse challenges thrown up by the complex Middle East arena. Herzog is also the only Israeli official to have participated in all diplomatic negotiations between Israel and Arab states over the past two decades. He has represented Israeli prime ministers of all stripes, including Benjamin Netanyahu.

Despite his somewhat subdued appearance and introverted character, Herzog is as close to Israeli nobility as it gets. His younger brother Isaac Herzog is the new president of Israel, his father was President Chaim Herzog, his grandfather Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog was Israel’s first Ashkenazi chief rabbi and his uncle was the celebrated Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban.

The designated ambassador is not expected to spend much time mingling at Washington cocktail parties. He is not a socialite and his small talk is limited. He is serious, well versed in details, an in-depth thinker, highly discreet and trustworthy. He has yet to prove his ability to forge a stable, credible diplomatic channel with the White House, but should he succeed, this channel would undoubtedly be effective and discreet. The fact that both Israel’s prime ministers — the incumbent Naftali Bennett and his alternate Yair Lapid scheduled to succeed him in two years — have signed off on Herzog’s appointment will surely work in his favor.

In November 2020, immediately after Joe Biden won the US presidential elections, Herzog was the guest of Al-Monitor’s “On Israel” podcast, displaying expertise in analyzing the positions of the incoming administration. Most of his forecasts have borne out. “Biden is not Obama,” Herzog said, and spelled out the differences between the two Democratic administrations. Biden himself and Vice President Kamala Harris, said Herzog, “Have a very special feeling toward Israel, which is emotional. It doesn’t only come from a logical analysis,” as was the case with President Barack Obama, he said, adding, “They have consistently resisted pressures from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party to condition military aid to Israel on Israel’s policies.”