(ZENIT News / Rome, 08.11.2024).- On August 7th, Pope Francis received Mr. Raphael Yaakov Schutz, the Ambassador of Israel to the Holy See, in a farewell audience, marking the end of his tenure in that role.
Yaron Sideman has been appointed as the new Ambassador to the Holy See, replacing Raphael Schutz.
Yaron Sideman previously served as the Consul General of the Jewish State for the regions of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Delaware, West Virginia, Kentucky, and the southern part of New Jersey in the United States.
In one of his final public appearances, Raphael Schutz called for a «healing in dialogue,» referring to overcoming the existing issues in relations between Tel Aviv and the Vatican, some of which have persisted for decades, while others have arisen more recently due to the Palestinian attacks on October 7th and the subsequent war in Gaza.
Yaron Sideman studied Political Science, Psychology, and Philosophy at the universities of Haifa and Tel Aviv and began his career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem. He oversaw and managed relations between Israel and the U.S. Congress. He also served as the head of the North America desk in the Office for Diaspora and Interreligious Affairs, as well as the Consul for Public Affairs to the United States in New York, and worked at the Israeli embassy in Nigeria.
Israel and the Holy See established diplomatic relations in 1993. According to the outgoing ambassador to the Vatican, the «Nostra Aetate» declaration of the Second Vatican Council, a document that opened a new chapter in Jewish-Christian dialogue at all levels, could be the most appropriate «conceptual framework» for re-examining the «basic notions» in the relationship between the two countries. The new ambassador has remained silent thus far, likely waiting until he assumes office to reveal his diplomatic approach.
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