Sallai Meridor

Meridor was born and raised in Jerusalem.[5] He studied history, Islamic history, and the history of the Jewish people at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[6] His parents were Eliyahu Meridor, described as an Irgun leader and a founder of the Herut movement, and Ra'anana Meridor.[3] He is the younger brother of politician Dan Meridor.[7]

As of 2010, Meridor lived in Kfar Adumim with his wife, Noa, and their three daughters.[5]

Meridor began his public career in 1986 as an adviser to the minister responsible for minority affairs.[3] He subsequently served as a political adviser to Foreign Minister Moshe Arens.[3] Before his appointment to the Jewish Agency's senior leadership, he accumulated substantial organizational experience: he served as secretary of the community of Kfar Adumim, head of the World Zionist Organization's Settlement Division, treasurer of the Jewish Agency, an adviser to the minister of defense, and a political adviser to the foreign minister.[8][1]

Meridor was elected chairman of the Jewish Agency Executive in 1999, succeeding Avraham Burg, and concurrently chaired the World Zionist Organization.[9][1] His tenure lasted six years — one and a half terms — during which he led both organizations simultaneously.[2][1] The Central Zionist Archives maintains the records of his office for the period from 1999 to 2005.[10]

Under his leadership, the Jewish Agency expanded its mandate beyond facilitating aliyah to focus on building Jewish identity through education about Israel and engagement with vulnerable Jewish populations worldwide.[11] The agency's education department developed the MASA program, which offered grants of $3,000 to $5,000 for longer-term programs in Israel.[11] In the former Soviet Union, the agency shifted emphasis toward strengthening the Jewish identity of Jews who chose to remain rather than emigrate.[11]

Meridor also played a central role in the 2003 Overseas Needs Assessment and Distributions negotiations, which involved a dispute over a proposed increase in core funding to the Joint Distribution Committee that would have reduced the Jewish Agency's share under the existing 75/25 allocation formula. He worked to influence federation representatives, and by December 2003 the negotiations had retained the 75/25 split while federations agreed to raise an additional $20 million, divided equally between the JDC and the Jewish Agency.[12]

In explaining his priorities, Meridor described his work as focused on continued immigration to Israel, strengthening connections with Jewish communities abroad, and pursuing strategic reforms. He highlighted the importance of encouraging immigration by choice — particularly from the United States and France — and supporting young Jews both in the Diaspora and in development regions such as the Galilee and Negev.[13]

Meridor declined to serve a third term, citing his belief in the principle of rotation among holders of senior public positions. He said he had decided that no person should remain indefinitely in a major public post and wanted his successor to take over promptly so as to be established before the next World Zionist Congress.[2][13] He simultaneously dismissed suggestions that his departure was connected to former minister Natan Sharansky's resignation, and argued strongly against proposals to close the Jewish Agency, noting that it had brought nearly 200,000 immigrants to Israel during the preceding war period.[13] Zeev Bielski succeeded him as chairman in 2005.[9]

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni selected Meridor to succeed Danny Ayalon as Israel's ambassador in Washington; officials at the time cited his extensive connections and diplomatic experience.[8] A Congressional Research Service report noted that Meridor was appointed as the next ambassador on November 1, 2006,[14] and the U.S. Department of State's diplomatic list records that he presented his credentials on November 22, 2006, with his full title as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.[15] He served until 2009, when Michael Oren succeeded him.[16]

In his inaugural presentation at the Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum on December 5, 2006, Meridor described shared U.S.-Israeli values and interests as critical to Israel's strength and future.[17] He identified rising extremism, globalization, Sunni-Shiite tensions, and Iran's growing regional role as troubling trends. Describing Lebanon as "a microcosm of the conflict," he urged full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.[17] He characterized Iran's pursuit of nuclear-weapons capability as the greatest threat to Israel, the region, and the world.[17]

In September 2008, Meridor and Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine signed a bilateral cooperation agreement intended to strengthen private-sector industrial research and development between Israel and Virginia. Under the agreement, jointly approved projects would receive financial support from both governments, reducing costs that companies would otherwise bear by conducting research independently.[18]

Reflecting later on the ambassadorial role, Meridor described it as intensive and demanding, involving sustained engagement with the U.S. administration and Congress, monitoring of U.S. policy, and outreach to Washington media and research institutes.[19]

After leaving the Jewish Agency chairmanship, Meridor worked at the Begin Heritage Foundation and the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute.[3] In 2010, shortly after the end of his ambassadorship, he took on the chairmanship of the Jerusalem Foundation on a pro-bono basis.[5] The Foundation, established in 1966 by Jerusalem mayor Teddy Kollek, had by that point undertaken more than 2,000 projects and invested over $100 million in the city.[5] The Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research's 2017 annual report listed Meridor as chairman of the Jerusalem Foundation's board.[20]

In 2011, Meridor became a founding partner of Glilot Capital Partners.[4] He also serves as a member of the board of directors of the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research.[21]

In 2022, the National Library of Israel's board of directors chose Meridor as its chairman.[4][22] His appointment was approved by the National Library Council and the Senior Appointments Advisory Committee, following a recommendation from a search committee led by Prof. David Harel.[22] The board cited his familiarity with Israel's diverse communities and with Jewish communities globally as particularly relevant to the Library's mission.[22]

On taking the role, Meridor described the institution as "the home of the book for the people of the book, the center of Jewish and Israeli culture, creativity and heritage." He said the Library's move to a new building, combined with investment in digitization, offered a historic opportunity to serve future generations and to become "a global source of inspiration."[22]

As chairman, Meridor spoke publicly about the Library's digital outreach efforts, noting that cooperation with technology initiatives and support from Yad Hanadiv would help make millions of collection items — including photographs, texts, music, newspapers, and posters — available to local and global audiences through digital platforms.[23] In April 2024, under his chairmanship, the personal archive of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks was transferred to the Library, comprising approximately 50 cartons of material including files, notes, sermons, lectures, correspondence, and books.[24]

Meridor also used his position to defend the Library's institutional independence. He publicly opposed a proposed fundamental change to the National Library Law, warning that it threatened the continued existence of the institution. He argued that the Library's greatest asset was public trust — which enables private individuals and families to deposit works and collections for the benefit of the public and future generations — and that damage to that trust could jeopardize further deposits of national treasures.[25]

Meridor's institutional record links Zionist organizational leadership, diplomacy, Jerusalem civic work, technology investment, and cultural stewardship. At the Jewish Agency, he helped move the organization's work beyond aliyah toward Jewish identity and Israel education, while continuing to emphasize immigration and ties with Diaspora communities.[11][13]

His later roles extended that institutional focus to Jerusalem: he chaired the Jerusalem Foundation and served on the board of the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research.[20][21] At the National Library of Israel, he emphasized digitization and wider global access to Jewish and Israeli cultural heritage.[22][23]

Meridor's public positions addressed politically contested questions concerning disengagement, demographics, negotiations, Iran, and U.S. policy.[26][1]

Speaking at the Washington Institute's Weinberg Founders Conference in September 2005, shortly after the Gaza disengagement, he argued that maintaining Israel as both Jewish and democratic required preserving a large Jewish majority. He stated that this demographic concern was, in his words, "the one, sole argument" that led him, despite the pain it caused, to support disengagement.[26]

He described Israeli reactions to disengagement as mixed: relief that the withdrawal had occurred without bloodshed and satisfaction over international recognition and improving economic conditions, alongside serious concern about Palestinian conduct and continued terrorism. He argued that negotiations could not succeed while terrorism persisted or while no central Palestinian authority existed that could deliver on commitments.[26] A lasting agreement, he said, would require both sides to relinquish maximalist visions — "Greater Israel" and "Greater Palestine" alike — with each side's right of return limited to the territory of its future state.[26]

Meridor also proposed a concrete mechanism for implementation: an international fund, to be created and financed before any agreement was signed, that could serve both as an incentive and as a ready instrument for immediate implementation once an agreement was reached.[26] He stressed the indispensability of U.S. leadership and engagement throughout the process.[26]

In a contribution to an INSS publication assessing regional challenges following the transition to the Obama administration, Meridor argued that the new U.S. administration would be centrally tested by the Iran question. He assessed that a U.S. policy disposition oriented toward departing from Bush-era approaches had contributed to the absence of an active Israeli-Palestinian political process. He also argued that Israeli policy choices had not won international support and had increased Israel's isolation to some extent.[1]

Meridor recommended preventing renewed violence, continuing Palestinian institution-building and improvements in quality of life, and renewing negotiations. He favored secret rather than public talks, reasoning that both sides would find it difficult to openly discuss the concessions each would need to make. He also recommended preparing alternatives if negotiations failed and considering parallel negotiations with Syria.[1]