Joshua Laurent Zarka

Joshua Laurent Zarka (born 1964) is an Israeli diplomat known for his extensive diplomatic service and his role in fostering Israel's relations with various nations, including the United States, Russia and China. He is currently the Israeli ambassador to France. He previously served as the Deputy Director General for Strategic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel.

Early life and education

Joshua Zarka is born in Paris in 1964 from a family of Tunisian immigrants. They immigrated to Israel (Jerusalem) in 1975. He then pursued higher education, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and History from the Hebrew University and a master's degree in political science from the University of Haifa. Zarka is also a graduate of the Israeli National Defense College.

Career

Zarka started his career as an economist at the Israeli Ministry of Finance before starting his diplomatic career.

Zarka has participated in high-level exchanges with multiple countries, emphasizing arms control and non-proliferation: In Russia, he was involved in consultations on security matters with Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov In China, he co-held a consultation on arms control and nonproliferation with Director-General Fu Cong of the Foreign Ministry's Department of Arms Control As a key Israeli representative, Zarka hosted the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) outreach visit in Israel in November 2019, focusing on the export controls for conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies

As an expert on Iranian nuclear issues,

In 2023 Zarka was nominated to be Israel's ambassador to France. He assumed the position in May 2024. With the 2024 Olympics happening in Paris, Zarka spoke at a memorial honoring the Israeli athletes killed at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

In 2015, U.S. Representative Mark Meadows formally recognized Joshua Zarka's work as the Minister for Congressional Affairs at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C. As Deputy Director General of the Foreign Ministry, Head of Strategic Affairs, Zarka met number of foreign delegations or represented Israel overseas.

Personal life

Fluent in Hebrew, English, and French, Zarka is a father to four children.