Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, has announced his resignation from the post, the Prime Minister’s Office said late Friday.
The statement said Erdan “intends to continue harnessing his vast experience and skills to strengthen the State of Israel in the future.”
In the statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the Ambassador “for his impressive work and his firm stand in the face of the many challenges” at the United Nations — challenges Netanyahu knows first-hand, having faced similar difficulties when he served in the same role.
“Ambassador Erdan represented Israel with respect, determination and firmness and I thank him for that,” the prime minister said.
Erdan, 53, said he will resign his post at the end of his appointed term, set to expire July 1, and will return to Israel “due to family considerations,” Erdan said.
Two of Erdan’s four children are set to begin mandated service in the Israel Defense Forces in the coming year.
Erdan was offered a one-year extension as well as a return to his prior role as Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, but turned down the offer.
The term of the current US Ambassador, Michael Herzog, is set to expire in November. Herzog, brother of Israeli President Isaac Herzog, was appointed by then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in 2021 and stayed on to serve the full three-year term when Netanyahu became prime minister.
Erdan briefly served concurrently in both posts in 2021 prior to Herzog’s appointment.
