On the eve of Israel’s 73rd Independence Day, join us for a lively conversation between executive director Gordon Gladstone and Matan Zamir, deputy consul general of Israel to the Pacific Northwest. Find out what’s going on in Israel regarding everything from politics to culture to responding to the pandemic response.

Matan Zamir is Israel’s Deputy Consul General to the Pacific North West. He has been a member of Israel’s Foreign Service since 2011, previously serving as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Israeli Consulates to Mumbai (2013-2015) and to New England (2015-2018). Zamir led a decorated career in the Israeli Defense Forces. He served in the IDF from 2000-2003 and retired as a lieutenant. During his service he trained over 1,000 cadets.  In 2003, Zamir was honored for his service and received the President’s medal of excellence for Israel's 55th Independence Day. Before joining the Foreign Service, Zamir was an International Business Manager at a private Israeli Telecom Company, and the Director of the Training Department of the Israeli Supreme Court, a position that was part of Israel’s Center for Citizenship and Democracy. Zamir grew up in Jerusalem where his family has lived for nine generations. He is a lawyer; he received his L.L.B. from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 2008 and like any passionate Israeli, Matan enjoys his basketball, and upon moving to San Francisco he became a proud Golden State fan.

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