Boaz Moda'i
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His Excellency, Boaz Moda'i |
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|---|---|
| Israeli Ambassador to Ireland | |
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In office September 2010 – September 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Zion Evrony |
| Succeeded by | Zeev Boker |
| Personal details | |
| Spouse(s) | Nurit Tinari Modai |
| Profession | Diplomat |
Boaz Moda'i (also Boaz Modai, Hebrew: בועז מודעי) is an Israeli diplomat, who was Israel's ambassador to Ireland from 2010 to 2015. He announced in August 2015 that his tenure and that of his wife Nurit, as his deputy, would end that September. He is the son of Yitzhak Moda'i and Michal Har'el Moda'i (née Herison). Modai joined Israel's foreign ministry in 1988.
Modai is the son of prominent parents. His father, Yitzhak Moda'i, was an Israeli politician. His mother, Michal Har'el, was the second Miss Israel, crowned in 1951, who later became one of three honorary life presidents of the Women's International Zionist Organization.
Modai joined Israel's foreign ministry in 1988. He has served in Israeli embassies in Guatemala, Honduras, Thailand, and London. He served as first counselor of Israel's Embassy to the Holy See. In that role he acted as political co-ordinator for the visit of Pope John Paul II to Israel in 2000. Before moving to Dublin, he spent six years in the Training Bureau of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem.
After becoming ambassador to Ireland, he was joined in his work by his wife, Nurit Tinari-Modai (Nurit Tinari Modai), who as of February 2012 serves as Deputy Head of Mission. Under their leadership the Israeli Embassy in Dublin received repeated criticism for diplomatic faux pas committed on its social media accounts. Modai and Tinari-Modai have adopted a "provocative" approach to diplomacy that at times has been embarrassing to the embassy.
The embassy won an award for its online hasbara from the Comper Center for the Study of Antisemitism and Racism at University of Haifa. On Dec 31, 2013, the university's website noted: "The annual appreciation for extraordinary hasbara activity was granted today … to Israel's ambassador to Ireland, Boaz Modai, and his deputy, Nurit Tinari-Modai, by the unique academic program 'Ambassadors Online,' which trains students for pro-Israel hasbara activity online." It lauded them for "activity in the struggle against those who promote the economic-cultural boycott of Israel and against anti-Semitic agents," and credited them with "exposing Israeli culture and the variety of Israel's tourist locations and technological achievements to the residents of Ireland." On the other hand, critics have decried the husband and wife duo for their hasbara approach. "Israel's embassy in Dublin has been in the headlines many times over the last few years, not only because of the tense relations between Jerusalem and Dublin, but also because of embarrassing provocations by Israel's envoys at the mission, who try to think creatively when it comes to public relations (hasbara)," wrote Haaretz's diplomatic correspondent, Barak Ravid, "The person who leads this provocative line in the embassy in Dublin is not only Ambassador Boaz Modai, but also his wife, Nurit Tinari Modai, who serves as deputy head of mission."
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