Avi Pazner

Avi Pazner is an Israeli government spokesman. On 29 July 2006 during the Israel-Lebanon conflict he told reporters that Israel rejects a temporary cease-fire for getting civilians out of southern Lebanon . "There is no need for a 72-hour temporary cease-fire because Israel has opened a humanitarian corridor to and from Lebanon." See also: Timeline of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict Amb. Born in Danzig (Gdansk), Avi Pazner spent the Second World War years in Switzerland, and immigrated to Israel with his family at the age of 16. He completed his high-school studies in Jerusalem, and served in the Israeli Army, Armored Corps Division until 1959. After graduating from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem with a degree in Political Science and Economics, he began his career in the Foreign Ministry in 1965. He served in Africa until 1971, and was appointed Spokesman for the Israeli Delegation to the Geneva Peace Conference in 1973-74, the first of several appointments as Official Israeli Government Spokesman, a natural role for one, who is fluent in six languages: Hebrew, French, English, Spanish, Italian and German. Pazner headed the Foreign Ministry’s Press Division and served as Ministry Spokesman from 1981 to 1986, when he was appointed Senior Advisor to Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir. He served in this capacity during the Gulf War and helped prepare the Madrid Peace Conference. In 1991, he was appointed as Israel’s Ambassador to Italy, as well as non-resident Ambassador to Malta, and later became the first non-resident Ambassador of Israel to Albania. At the same time, he headed the negotiations with the Vatican, which resulted in the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between Israel and the Holy See. In 1995, he was appointed Ambassador to France, where he served until September 1998. He was decorated by President Chirac as Commandeur of the French Légion d’Honneur. Pazner was elected World Chairman of Keren Hayesod-UIA. Since the beginning of the Intifada in October 2000, he has been one of the Official Spokesmen for the Government of Israel. He is the author of the book "The Secrets of a Diplomat" written in French (Editions du Rocher, 2005). Avi Pazner is married, is the father of three children and has six grandchildren.¹