Daniel Ayalon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Daniel "Danny" Ayalon (born in 1955) is the current Israeli Ambassador to the United States. He was appointed to the position in 2002 by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Before taking on this responsibility, Ayalon had served as Deputy Foreign Policy Adviser to two previous Prime Ministers.

In 2001, Ayalon was a tough defender of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Disengagement plan, which withdrew all Israelis from the Gaza Strip. [1]

Ambassador Ayalon lives in Washington, DC. He is married to Anne Ayalon, whom he met as a graduate student at Bowling Green State University. They have two children.

United States President George Bush was informed on Tuesday of an initiative to establish a center under his name in Israel, as a sign of gratitude for his support for the country and its security.

Outgoing Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Daniel Ayalon asked Bush for the go-ahead to establish such a center during a farewell meeting with the president and his deputy, Dick Cheney.

Bush told Ayalon that "freedom" would be a worthy subject for the center to focus on.

Ayalon has yet to approach donors with a request to finance the establishment of the " Bush Center" in Israel, but does not expect to encounter difficulties when it comes to raising the funds.

The outgoing ambassador will continue to work on the matter with White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten