Noam Shapira has been appointed director of Israel’s National Public Diplomacy Staff, Israeli National Public Diplomacy Directorate head Tzipi Hotovely announced on Tuesday, following unanimous approval by a selection committee.
He takes over a position that has been vacant since January 2023. Until recently, several key positions in the National Public Diplomacy Directorate—the Prime Minister’s Office body responsible for coordinating Israel’s global messaging—remained unfilled.
Shapira, 44, married and the father of five, lives with his family in Kibbutz Merav in northern Israel. A lieutenant colonel in the reserves, he is a veteran of the IDF General Staff Reconnaissance Unit and has held a variety of command and management positions throughout his career.
In recent years, he has worked extensively on strengthening Israeli public diplomacy and strategic messaging across multiple arenas. As part of the Operations Staff, he led numerous international public diplomacy efforts, leveraging strategic partnerships for Israel and helping establish the IDF’s freedom of action during the War of Redemption.
“Noam brings with him management capabilities, strategic thinking and a deep understanding of the world of public diplomacy after many years in the IDF,” said Hotovely, Israel’s PR czar, who addressed the JNS International Policy Summit on Monday.
“The role of director of the Public Diplomacy Staff is a key position within the organization, and I am confident that together we can work to strengthen the State of Israel and meet the challenges facing us,” the statement continued.
In May 2026, the Jerusalem-based Sella Meir book publishing company published Noam Shapira’s autobiographical account of raising his eldest son, who was born with a rare genetic syndrome, and the lessons it taught him about fatherhood, resilience and masculinity. The book in Hebrew, titled Boaz’s Father Learns to Walk, traces a deeply personal journey from therapy rooms and bureaucratic struggles in Israel to a transformative trek to the summit of Annapurna.
