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Ambassador of Israel to FSM Presents Credentials

PALIKIR, Pohnpei (FSM Information Service): January 2000 - Israeli ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia Gabby Levy presented his credentials today to FSM President Leo A. Falcam in a ceremony held in the President's Cabinet Room.

Levy said he was thrilled to be here as ambassador because FSM support & his country in the world arena is well known in Israel.

Levy went on to say that though the FSM and Israel are far apart geographically, they are close in heart because of their Judeo-Christian heritage.

Though Israel is small and limited in resources, it has gained expertise in the fields of agriculture, education, and public health, said the ambassador.

"This expertise is something we would Eke to share with friendly sister countries such as the Federated States of Micronesia," said Levy.

President Falcam in his welcoming remarks called the occasion historical in that it is important and lasting.

"What you (the Israelis) have given small, island states is something to be proud of," said the President.

The ambassador, accompanied with his wife, will call on the diplomatic corps in Pohnpei and FSM and Pohnpei State officials. He also said he would visit the Pohnpei electronic media and would tour the island before returning to Canberra, Australia, Saturday.

The ambassador became accredited to the FSM, Australia Fiji Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Palau, and the Marshall Islands in late 1999.

Levy joined the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1973. He has served in Jamaica, the United States, the Dominican Republic and the English speaking Caribbean.

The ambassador holds a BA in History, specializing in the Middle East, from the University of Tel Aviv and an MA in Diplomatic History of the Middle East from Bar Illan University.

He received education at the Israel Defense Force Military Boarding School in Haifa, Israel, and served as a major in the Israeli Defense Force.

Israel became a nation on May 15, 1948, in the partition of Palestine between Jews and Arabs as recommended in 1947 by a special committee of the United Nations.

It is located in the Middle East, along the Mediterranean Sea and shares borders with the Arab nations of Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt.

Israel's technical achievements in the agriculture and health care are world renown.

On November 23, 1988, Israel became the ninth state to establish diplomatic relations with the FSM.