The retired Israeli diplomat Avi Primor,74, has been elected new president of the Israel Council on Foreign Relations (ICFR). Primor succeeds David Kimche (1928–2010), the founding president of the leading think tank, who died earlier this month. Primor, the head of the IDC Herzliya Center for European Studies, is a forty-year veteran of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He served as Israeli ambassador to Germany and to the European Union, respectively.
"As a disciple of David, dating back to my days as a diplomat in Africa at the beginning of the 1960s, I am very honored to play a role in continuing the activity of the council, which constituted such an important part of his life's work," Primor stated. "Ambassador Primor, who was a colleague and close friend of Dr Kimche, is especially qualified to carry on his legacy and to ensure the continued vitality of the ICFR and its journal," said Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, under whose auspices the ICFR operates.
The Jerusalem-based Israel Council on Foreign Relations is a non-partisan and multidisciplinary institution. Established in 1989 it was modeled on the New York Council on Foreign Relations and the British Chatham House. The ICFR is a favored platform for foreign visitors who wish to present their views in a non-governmental setting and it is devoted to the study and debate of foreign policy, with special emphasis on Israeli and Jewish concerns.
The ICFR functions under the auspices of the World Jewish Congress Research Institute, and since its inception has hosted numerous heads of state, prime ministers, foreign ministers, and other outstanding guests from abroad, as well as prominent Israelis. The council publishes the ‘Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs’, which appears three times per year.
