Meet George Deek, Israel’s First Christian Ambassador

Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used his X platform to bring attention to a video of George Deek, Israel’s first Christian ambassador.

In the video, former Ambassador to Azerbaijan Deek walks through the streets of his home town of Jaffa, and explains why Israel is the best place for Christians and Christian communities in the Middle East.

Walking through Jaffa with Israel’s first Christian ambassador, sharing a reality rarely discussed: a historic Christian community living openly, safely, and thriving in Israel. 🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/c8NSkg0o6c

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) February 10, 2026

Others shared the video as well, such as US Ambassador Mike Huckabee.

A lot of outright falsehoods get spread about being Christian in @Israel As a Christian who lives in Israel as @USAmbIsrael Israel named a Christian as an Ambassador. How many Christians serve in that role in Muslim countries? Watch and learn something! pic.twitter.com/puNsvdAO4a

— Ambassador Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) February 11, 2026

The First Christian Ambassador

In 2018, Deek was appointed as Israel’s ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan, taking up the post in 2019 at the age of 34. This appointment made him the first Israeli Christian to hold ambassadorial rank for the State of Israel, a milestone Foreign Ministry officials described as reflecting the integration of Israelis from diverse backgrounds in the country’s diplomatic service. In Baku, Deek worked to deepen strategic ties between Israel and Azerbaijan, while also engaging with local communities and representing Israel’s interests across political, cultural and economic spheres.

During his tenure, Ambassador Deek presided over a period widely described by Israel’s Foreign Ministry as a “new era” in relations between Jerusalem and Baku. In 2020, the Chairman of the State Tourism Agency of Azerbaijan, Fuad Naghiyev, and Israel’s Minister of Tourism Yoel Razvozov signed a landmark cooperation agreement and inaugurated Azerbaijan’s tourism office in Israel, further deepening people-to-people ties.

The relationship reached a historic milestone on March 29, 2023, when Azerbaijan formally opened its first-ever embassy in Israel, more than three decades after diplomatic relations were established in 1991. Israel’s Foreign Minister at the time, Eli Cohen, called the move “further evidence of the strengthening of relations between our countries,” noting the shared strategic concerns, including the Iranian threat, and announcing expanded cooperation in economy, security, energy, and innovation.

That same week, Ambassador Mukhtar Mammadov presented his credentials to President Isaac Herzog, symbolizing what both governments described as a peak moment in bilateral ties.

Deek also played a visible role in advancing cooperation beyond security and diplomacy. Azerbaijan, recognized as a secular Shiite Muslim country and home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the Muslim world, (approximately 12,000 to 18,000 citizens who enjoy full freedom of worship) has become an increasingly open partner across education, culture, sports, and academia.

In November 2024, Ambassador Deek joined Israel’s Minister of Environmental Protection Idit Silman, and Special Envoy for Climate Change and Sustainability Ambassador Gideon Bachar in inaugurating the Israeli pavilion at the COP29 climate conference in Baku.

Together, these developments marked Deek’s ambassadorship as one characterized not only by historic diplomatic breakthroughs, but by expanding strategic, commercial, and cultural partnership between the Jewish state and a key Muslim-majority ally.

Who is George Deek?

Born around 1984 into an Eastern Orthodox Christian family in the Ajami neighborhood of Jaffa, George Deek grew up in a multi-faith environment that included Muslim, Catholic and Jewish neighbors. His family has deep roots in the city, and he has spoken publicly about how his grandparents were briefly displaced during the 1947-49 war before returning to Jaffa as citizens of the newly established State of Israel. Through his father’s side he also has Armenian heritage, including a great-grandmother who survived the Armenian Genocide.

Deek earned his law degree from Radzyner Law School at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya and won a prestigious Fulbright Fellowship to study international law at Georgetown University, after which he worked as an attorney in Israel before beginning his diplomatic career.

Deek joined Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2008 and quickly became one of its standout figures. He served as deputy chief of mission in Abuja, Nigeria from 2009 to 2012 and then as deputy ambassador in Oslo, Norway from 2012 to 2015. In Oslo he acted as the mission’s head during the 2014 Gaza conflict and managed significant official visits, including that of then-President Shimon Peres, winning praise within the Foreign Ministry. His speeches, especially one given in Oslo recounting his family’s history and Israel’s democratic values, went viral and raised his profile as a gifted communicator.

See the pivotal speech of his career:

Today, Deek serves as Head of South Europe Department in Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Ambassador in Spirit

The Torah commands, in the Book of Leviticus 19:34, “The stranger who sojourns with you shall be as a native from among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” This charge regarding the non-Jewish residents of Israel stands at the heart of the country’s covenantal ethic, a reminder that the Jewish state is rooted not only in sovereignty but in moral responsibility.

George Deek’s life and service can be seen as a reflection of that ancient mandate: a Christian citizen of Israel entrusted with representing the nation among the family of nations, doing so with dignity and devotion. Even after stepping down from his official post, he continues to honor that calling, serving as an ambassador in spirit, advocating for Israel and representing the country on the international stage. He is a living testament to the enduring biblical vision of a society strengthened, not diminished, by those who cast their lot with her.