Arthur Lenk

Infobox Politician


name = Arthur Lenk
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term_start = 2005
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predecessor = Eitan Naeh
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birth_date = 1964
birth_place = Flagicon|USA Paterson, NJ, U.S.
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religion = Judaism


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Arthur Lenk ( _he. ארתור לנק, born in 1964 in New Jersey, U.S.) is currently the fourth ambassador of the State of Israel to the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Biography

Arthur Lenk was born in 1964 in New Jersey in the U.S. and attended the Frisch School in Paramus, New Jersey. He made Aliyah, emigrating to Israel in 1983. Lenk is a member of bar in Israel (1991) and New York (1992) and is fully fluent in English and Hebrew.

Lenk served as a medic in the Israel Defense Forces and first aid instructor at the IDF's officer training school between 1984 and 1986. Lenk holds two law degrees from the Faculty of Law, at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, an LL.M. in International Law (2003) and an LL.B. (1990)). Between 1992 and 1996, Lenk served as Chairman of the Israel Softball Association. He was named to the organization's Hall of Fame in July 2005. [http://www.israelsoftball.org/ Israel Softball Association website] ] Lenk is married to Ruth with three daughters – Margalit (14), Ilana (12) and Aiden (9).

Career

Arthur Lenk was appointed as Israel's fourth Ambassador to Azerbaijan by the Israeli Government on 3 April 2005 [http://www.pmo.gov.il/PMO/Archive/Decisions/2005/04/des3499.htm Cabinet Communique] , Prime Ministers Office, 3 April 2005 he icon] . He submitted his credentials to the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on 13 September 2005.

Lenk's tenure in Azerbaijan has coincided with a siginificant development of the relations between the two countries. A number of key visits took place including visits to Baku of Israel's Minister of Agriculture Shalom Simhon in May 2008, Deputy Prime Minister Avigdor Lieberman in August 2007 and two visits of the Minister of National Infrastructures Binyamin Ben-Eliezer in June 2006 and June 2008 and visits of Azerbaijan's Ministers of Economic Development (February 2007), Emergency Situations (March 2007), Transportation (June 2007) and Ecology and Natural Resources (October 2007) to Israel. Additionally, an association of Azerbaijani immigrants to Israel, AZIS, was formed in April 2007, to serve as a bridge between the societies and promote relations. Trade ties have also increased with Israel significantly increasing its energy purchases from Azerbaijan and developing investment and exports in a number of sectors including agriculture, infrastructure and telecommunications. According to figures published by Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, Israeli exports to Azerbaijan went from $5.4 million in 2005 to $28 million in 2006 to over $80 million in 2007. [http://www1.cbs.gov.il/reader/?MIval=cw_usr_view_SHTML&ID=461 Israel's foreign trade figures from website of Central Bureau of Statisitics] ]

Lenk joined the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a foreign service cadet and participated in the Foreign Officer Training Program in 1994. Prior to joining the Israel foreign service, he worked as a lawyer in Jerusalem. In 1996, he was sent to the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi, India where he served as Second Secretary for Cultural and Academic Affairs. In 1998, he transferred to the Consulate General of Israel to the Southwestern United States, Los Angeles, California where he served as Consul for Communications and Public Affairs until 2000.

Following this post, Lenk worked as an attorney in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem. In 2000-01 Lenk took part in Israel's interaction with the Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee ("The Mitchell Committee") which examined reasons for the start of violence in the region beginning in the autumn of 2000. [http://www.state.gov/p/nea/rls/rpt/3060.htm Report of the Sharm el-Sheikh Fact-Finding Committee] , 30 April 2001, State Department Website ] His primary responsibility was giving legal advice on United Nations related issues. He also acted as Israel's representative to the United Nations General Assembly's Legal Committee in 2001 and 2004. Furthermore, Lenk worked as part of the Israel Government's legal team on Israel's position regarding the Israel barrier case before the International Court of Justice in 2003 and 2004.

Between 2002 and 2005 Lenk also served as an Israeli Government spokesman and a lecturer on foreign affairs and diplomacy, briefing and appearing on a range of international media sources including CNN, BBC [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2062943.stm TV Interview] , "The way the Palestinians can help their people is to stop the violence", "BBC News", 24 June 2002, see video of interview in Real Media, upper right box.] , Le Monde [http://www.france-mail-forum.de/fmf35/pol/35paris.htm Interview] , "Le droit humanitaire est trop politique", "Le Monde", 29 June 2004 fr icon] and NPR. In the fall semester of 2003, he also taught a graduate seminar in “Foreign Policy, International Law and the Arab-Israel Conflict”, at the Herzog Center for Middle East Studies and Diplomacy, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, in Be’er Sheva.

Lenk was awarded an "outstanding diplomat" citation by Ministry of Foreign Affairs for his role within a group that coordinated Israel's initiative for the January 2005 United Nations Special Session commemorating the Sixtieth Anniversary of the freeing of Europe's Concentration Camps [http://www.un.org/ga/28special/ Website] , United Nations Special Session commemorating the Sixtieth Anniversary of the freeing of Europe's Concentration Camps] .

Publications

"Hateful words...and an opportunity" [http://baku.mfa.gov.il/mfm/Data/137783.doc English translation of oped] , in Azerbaijani from [http://www.525.az/new/2008/09/26/read=34655 525] , 26 September 2008. "525" published a response from the Iranian Embassy on 3 October 2008.] , "525" (Azerbaijani), "Echo" (Russian), 26 September 2008.

"Israel at 60: Azerbaijan is a key in our looking forward", "Yeni Azerbaijan" (Azerbaijani) [http://baku.mfa.gov.il/mfm/Data/147391.doc English translation of oped] , 8 May 2008.] , "Express" (Azerbaijani), "Zerkalo" (Russian), 8 May 2008.

"A New Beginning for Peace in the Middle East", "Yeni Azerbaijan" (Azerbaijani) [http://baku.mfa.gov.il/mfm/Data/126696.doc English translation of oped] , 27 November 2007.] , "525" (Azerbaijani), "Echo" (Russian), 27 November 2007.

"Iran's regional threat", "Yeni Azerbaijan" (Azerbaijani), "Ayna"(Azerbaijani) [http://baku.mfa.gov.il/mfm/Data/117868.doc English translation of oped] , 29 June 2007. On 7 July 2007, Majid Feyzullahi, Press Officer of the Iranian Embassy in Baku published a response to this article in Yeni Azerbaijan entitled "Who is a regional threat – Iran or the Zionist regime?"] , "Zerkalo" (Russian), 29 June 2007.

"Iran's extreme leaders reject history", "Echo" (Russian), "Ekspress" [http://www.cerclemartinbuber.org/documents/Iranoped181206.doc English language version] , published in Azerbaijani and Russian on 20-21 December 2006. ] (Azerbaijani), 20 and 21 December, 2006.

“Hizbullah must be stopped”, "Yeni Azerbaycan", (Azerbaijani), "Kaspiy" (Russian), "Kaspy" (Azerbaijani), 25 July 2006

“Israel and Azerbaijan: Cooperation serves the interests of our countries”, "Ekspress" (Azerbaijani), "Kaspiy" [http://www.kaspiy.az/rubrics.php?code=4834 Oped] , from Kaspiy, 3 May 2006, ru icon] (Russian), 3 May 2006.

“The Iranian threat to destroy Israel”, "Zerkalo" (Russian) 1 November 2005

“My tale of two courts”, The Guardian [http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,3604,1261590,00.html Oped] , from The Guardian 15 July 2004] 15 July 2004

“Political Misuses of International Law: The Development of the ‘Crime’ of Population Transfer”, 1 "Eyes on the ICC" 71 (2004).

“Prime Minister Sharon and the Belgian ‘Tool’ of Law”, The Forward [http://www.forward.com/article/prime-minister-sharon-and-the-belgian-tool-of-law/ Oped] , from The Forward 28 February 2003] , 28 February 2003.

“Fact-finding as a Tool in Peace Negotiation – The Mitchell Report and the Israel-Palestinian Peace Process”, 24 "Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review" [http://ilr.lls.edu/ Website of Loyola of Los Angeles International and Comparative Law Review] , ] 289 (2002).

External links

* [http://baku.mfa.gov.il Embassy of Israel, Baku, Azerbaijan]
* [http://www.israel-un.org/committees/sixth/59ga/alenk19oct04.htm Speech at United Nations Sixth Committee on International Terrorism] , 19 October 2004
* [http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-236/0612231098190109.htm Response of Embassy of Iran in Azerbaijan] to article written by Lenk about Tehran Holocaust Denial Conference, 23 December 2006. [http://www.cerclemartinbuber.org/documents/Iranoped181206.doc Arthur Lenk's original article] is an English translation of the article, "Iran's extreme leaders reject history", published in Echo and Ekspress newspapers, 20-21 December 2006.
* [http://www.middleeastinfo.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=10919 Interview with Azerbaijani "Trend" news service] , 25 August 2006. [http://en.apa.az/news.php?id=88888 Interview with Azerbaijani "APA" news service] , 18 September 2008.

ee also

* List of Israeli ambassadors to Azerbaijan
* Ambassadors of Israel
* Israel-Azerbaijan relations

References

Persondata
NAME=Lenk, Arthur
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Artur; Artie
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Israeli diplomat
DATE OF BIRTH=10 February 1964
PLACE OF BIRTH=Paterson, New Jersey