The Daily Bulletin Archive

The President's Office welcomes Gil Lainer, consul for public affairs at the Consulate General of Israel in New York, on Thursday, October 17, for a presentation at 2:00 p.m. in E. H. Butler Library 210. This event is open to all faculty, staff, and students who are interested in exploring research, exchange, and study-abroad opportunities in Israel.

If you are interested in attending, RSVP to Michelle Eisenstein, coordinator of services in the International and Exchange Programs Office, ext. 3896, by Tuesday, October 15.

Prior to his arrival in New York, Lainer was a counselor in the Bureau for Middle East Economy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem, where he worked to establish Israel’s current policy on humanitarian aid and projects in the Gaza Strip under the direction of the MFA director general. He also served as MFA liaison to the IDF in coordinating and implementing this revised policy.

In 1998, after joining the ministry and while still a diplomatic cadet, he was posted to the Israeli Embassy in Lagos, Nigeria, as second secretary and later deputy chief of mission and chargé d'affaires. He was then appointed to the Israeli Consulate in San Francisco as deputy consul general to the Pacific Northwest. In this position he dealt extensively with media relations and public diplomacy.

From 2002 to 2004, Lainer worked at the ministry’s North American Division, where he was desk officer for Israel’s consulates in the United States.

Lainer took a leave of absence from the ministry in 2006 to serve as the Aliyah emissary (“Shaliach”) for Montreal and eastern Canada. During his time in office, more than 120 people emigrated from Montreal to Israel. On the last day of the Second Lebanon War, Lainer was privileged to lead a special Aliyah flight, organized by the Jewish Agency for Israel and Nefesh B’Nefesh, with more than 200 new Canadian immigrants to Israel.

Before beginning his diplomatic career, Lainer worked in the private sector as an account executive for a Tel Aviv public relations firm, representing primarily high-tech companies. Prior to that, he was a reporter, producer, and editor in chief in the news section at Israel’s largest commercial radio station, 103 FM Tel Aviv.

Lainer served in the military intelligence apparatus of the Israel Defense Forces, and holds a bachelor of arts in media studies and management from the School of Media Studies at the College of Management in Tel Aviv. He resides in Givatayim, a suburb of Tel Aviv. He is married to Sharon, also a career diplomat. They have two children, Ori and Noam.