Ariel Goldblatt
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The Honorable Foreign Minister Ariel Goldblatt | |
|---|---|
 TBD. | |
| Foreign Minister of Yisrael | |
| Assumed office February 3rd, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Yitzchok Katz |
| Yisraeli Ambassador to Ghant | |
| In office June 20th, 2018 – February 3rd, 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Yael Lifschitz |
| Succeeded by | Adam Zucco |
| Deputy Foreign Minister for Ghant and Northern Belisaria | |
| In office January 3rd, 2015 – June 12th, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Yonason Halutz |
| Succeeded by | Gadi Pinto (acting) |
| Chief of Staff, Office of Member of Knesset Yitzchok Katz (TA-Yerushalayim) | |
| In office January 6th, 2004 – January 3rd, 2015 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 4th, 1975 Ein Succos, Dervaylik District |
| Nationality | Yisraeli |
| Political party | Royalist Conservative Party (2019-present) Torah Achdus (1987-2019) |
| Spouse | Nechuma (née Arush) |
| Residence(s) | Yerushalayim, Yisrael |
| Alma mater | B.T.L., Mir Yeshiva; J.D., King David University School of Law |
| Profession | Lawyer, Functionary, Civil servant |
Ariel A. Goldblatt (born October 4th, 1975) is a Yisraeli lawyer, civil servant, and political functionary. He is the current Foreign Minister of Yisrael. He is formerly the Yisraeli Ambassador to Ghant (2018-2020), the former deputy Foreign Minister for Ghant and Northern Belisaria (2015-2018), as well as the former chief of staff for then-Member of Knesset (and current President) Yitzchok Katz. He is a member of the Royalist Conservative Party.
He has become well-known among the Yisraeli public and the global political-economic elite class for his role in the Midnight Affair. He is known to have a pro-Ghant foreign policy perspective, and has built years of relationships with leading Ghantish leaders and public figures.
Amid the 2019-2020 crisis in Gran Aligonia, the new Foreign Minister has warned, alongside Justice Minister David Roth, that the new United Republic regime in the GA along with Mont and Vardana were creating a "Periclean republican axis" against royalist powers in the region, notably Latium, Lihnidos, Yisrael, and others.
Early life and education
He grew up for most of his childhood in Dervaylik, in the Chareidi-dominant neighborhood of Ben HaChareidas, before his family moved to a similarly-affiliated religious neighborhood in Yerushalayim called Har Nof in 1984. In Har Nof, he became friends with Yitzchok Katz, although they were about eight years apart in age, due to their family's closeness and shared interest in politics.
Goldblatt served his national service in the Royal Yisraeli Security Service, before attending law school at King David University. In 1998, as he was finishing his legal studies, he was introduced to Nechuma Arush through friends, and they dated and were engaged in eight weeks. Three months later, they married.
Legal career
Goldblatt applied and joined the Crown Prosecution Service in the Ministry of Justice in Yerushalayim, becoming a line prosecutor.
In 2000, he made major headlines indicting and convicting the senior corporate board of Ashdod-Yushel Transport for violating the international sanctions regime against Mutul.
Between 2002 and 2003, he reconnected with Katz through shared political activities in local Torah Achdus circles, and was the campaign scheduler for Katz's first Knesset run in the 2004 elections.
Chief of staff to MK Katz (2004-2015)
Foreign Ministry official (2015-2018)
Ambassador to Ghant (2018-2020)
Foreign Minister (2020-present)
Political views
He is considered a mainstream member in the Conservative Party. He has been quoted as saying "national interests" should trump strict application of morality in Yisrael's foreign relations, a stance that has won plaudits from foreign audiences in Ghant and Latium.
Alongside Yitzchok Katz and (current Torah Achdus leader and MK) Moshe Lippman, Goldblatt was a leading member of the "New Chareidi" clique that took over the Torah Achdus leadership in 2009 and reoriented the religious third-party towards the Conservatives. After he joined Katz in a Lippman-blessed deal where Katz and Goldblatt switched parties from TA to the Blues so that Katz could run for president as Feldman's heir, he was warmly welcomed into the Conservatives, having already maintained friendly and strong ties to leading Conservative politicians and their staffs.
Although raised in the Chareidi sector (also known as the Non-Zionist Religious Right), he has described himself and by others as occupying the socio-religious role of "Chardal," in between the National Religious and Chareidi sectors.
Relationship with Yitzchok Katz
Personal life and family
Goldblatt is married to Nechuma (née Arush) since 1998. They have 5 children (by order of age): Eliezer (age 19), Sora Emunah (age 19), Moshe (age 17), Noam (age 14), and Kabi (age 9).
He learns Daf Yomi every morning, and has a local rabbi give a shiur at the Foreign Ministry to senior staff since he took over as Foreign Minister.