Ofer Bavly

Ofer Bavly (born in Switzerland, 1965) is Israel’s first third-generation diplomat, the son and grandson of Israeli Ambassadors. Mr. Bavly grew up in diplomatic postings in Geneva, Yaoundé, Paris, Boston and Rome, and then served for four years in the Israel Defense Forces, where he reached the rank of Captain in the Military Intelligence Branch. Mr. Bavly earned dual B.A. degrees from Hebrew University, in International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies. He joined the Israeli Foreign Service in 1991 and served at Israel’s Embassies in Madrid and in Rome.

In the years 2005-2006, Mr. Bavly served as Policy Advisor to two Israeli Foreign Ministers. From 2007 to 2011 he served as Consul General of Israel to Florida and Puerto Rico. Mr. Bavly is a Vice President of JUF and Director General of its Israel office since 2012. Mr. Bavly serves on the  Board of Trustees of the Lewinsky-Wingate Academic College, on the Advisory Board of SAHI and on the Board of the Jewish Agency’s JReady.

Mr. Bavly is a photographer who has presented three exhibits of his works in Jerusalem and in Miami, benefiting different non-profit organizations. He speaks fluent Hebrew, English, French, Spanish and Italian as well as basic German and Arabic. He lives in Jerusalem with his wife Ayala and they have three adult children.