Rafael Harpaz

Harpaz worked as a counselor at the Education Center of the Youth and Hechalutz Department of the World Zionist Organization and a counselor at the Year Course program of the Young Judaea movement in the United States. In addition, Harpaz worked as a counselor at Jewish summer camps in Toronto, Canada and in Hartford Connecticut, United States.

In 1987, he served as the assistant to the Chairman of the Jerusalem Trade Association.

From 1987 to 1989, he participated in the Bank Hapoalim management training course.

In 1989, he was admitted to the Foreign Ministry cadet course and, upon completion, joined the Foreign Service.

He served as the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Israeli Embassy in Abidjan, Ivory Coast (1991-1993).

Harpaz served as the Deputy Chief of Mission in Bern, Switzerland (1993-1997).

He coordinated the efforts of the Embassy regarding the assets held by Swiss banks that belonged to Holocaust victims as well as the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the First Zionist Congress in Basel (1997).

Harpaz also coordinated the efforts of the Israeli government to obtain from the Swiss National Archive the names of Jewish refugees whose entry into the country was denied during WWII.

Harpaz served as the Deputy Chief of Mission in Stockholm, Sweden (1999-2003).

He coordinated Prime Minister Ehud Barak's visit to Sweden (January 2000) for the first meeting of the International Holocaust Forum. It was the first visit of an Israeli Prime Minister to Sweden in 38 years.

In December 2002, as the chargé d'affaires of the Israeli Embassy while in Sweden, Harpaz served as the official escort at the Nobel Price ceremony of Israeli-American Professor and Nobel Prize laureate for Economy Daniel Kahneman. The ceremony took place in the Stockholm City Hall.

Harpaz served at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. as the Minister for public diplomacy and was in charge of the bilateral relations between Israel and the states of Maryland and Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia (2005-2009).

He coordinated Israel's 60th Independence Day Celebration (2008), the highlight of which was the event at Washington National Mall attended by approximately 70,000 people.[1]

From 2012-2015, Harpaz served as the Israeli Ambassador to Azerbaijan.

He presented his credentials to the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on September 5, 2012.[2]

In 2013, he accompanied Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov on a visit to Israel. This was the first official visit of an Azerbaijaini Foreign Minister to Israel since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1993.

In September 2013, Harpaz signed an agreement on health cooperation between Azerbaijan and Israel's International Development Cooperation Agency MASHAV.[3]

In 2014, he coordinated the visit of Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to Baku. In media interviews, Harpaz defined Israel-Azerbaijan relations as "strategic relations", with cooperation in many areas.[4]

In September 2014, Harpaz coordinated the visit of Israeli Defense Minister Mosha Ya’Alon to Azerbaijan, the first such visit ever.

At the end of September 2014, Harpaz toured the U.S. accompanied by Azerbaijan's Ambassador to the U.S. Elin Suleymanov. The tour included meetings and lectures with government officials, members of Congress, organizations, media, and Jewish communities in Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and New York.

The joint tour of the two ambassadors was coordinated by the American Jewish Community (AJC).[5]

In December 2014, Harpaz signed the visa waiver agreement for holders of official passports between the two countries.[6]

In November 2017, Harpaz was appointed as the Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines.

He presented his credentials to the President of the Philippines, Rodrigo Roa Duterte, on August 31, 2018.[7]

Immediately after the credentials ceremony, he accompanied President Duterte during his September 2018 visit to Israel. It was the first visit by a sitting Filipino President to Israel. During the visit, Harpaz accompanied President Duterte in his meetings with President Reuben Rivlin and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In July 2019, Harpaz signed a framework agreement of cooperation between the Department of Agriculture of the Philippines and Israel's International Development Cooperation Agency MASHAV.[8]

On August 19, 2019, Harpaz was the keynote speaker at the annual celebration of former President Manuel Quezon's birthday.[9] President Quezon is known as the one who opened the doors of the Philippines to Jewish refugees during the Holocaust. Approximately 1,300 Jews took refuge in the Philippines during World War II. During the war, President Quezon opened his house in the city of Marikina to the Jewish refugees who came to the Philippines. In recognition of this, Harpaz, together with Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro, planted six trees at the site of President Quezon's home on September 25, 2019, to commemorate the six million Holocaust victims.[10]

On June 2, 2020, Harpaz delivered an Israeli donation of medical supplies to the Philippine government to help combat the coronavirus. An official turnover ceremony was held at the Philippine Air Force headquarters attended by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.[11]