Dore Gold, a former senior Israeli diplomat and adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, died on Monday at age 71.

Gold, originally from the US, held key positions in Israeli diplomacy, including as director general of the Foreign Ministry from 2015 to 2016 and UN ambassador from 1997 to 1999.

Netanyahu expressed sorrow over Gold’s passing, calling him “a prolific scholar, an outstanding diplomat, and a close personal friend. For over three decades, Dore accompanied me as an exceptionally devoted public servant… His passionate Zionist vision and sharp analytical skills bore fruit for Israel on the international stage.”

Gold was Netanyahu’s foreign policy adviser during his first term as prime minister in the 1990s and again from 2013 to 2015.

He headed the think tank Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA), formerly the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, from 2000 until his death.

According to Netanyahu, one of Gold’s most significant achievements was his “contributions toward achieving the Abraham Accords,” the historic normalization agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and other Arab nations, which Gold called “a turning point in the Middle East” in a 2020 article.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called Gold “an exemplar of diplomacy,” saying “He paved new paths for Israel’s relations with countries around the world, particularly in the Arab sphere…His contributions to Israel’s foreign relations were extensive and significant.”

Born and raised in........

© The Times of Israel