Daniel Shapiro
Daniel ShapiroIsrael news photo: White House

U.S. President Barack Obama officially announced on Wednesday that his top aide Daniel (Dan) Shapiro will be the next U.S. ambassador to Israel.

Shapiro currently serves as senior director for the Middle East and North Africa on the National Security Council and was a key adviser on the Middle East to Obama's presidential campaign in 2008. He also played a role in Obama's outreach to the American Jewish community during the campaign.

Shapiro, who is a fluent Hebrew speaker, was born in Illinois and studied at Brandeis and Harvard universities, where he earned a master’s degree in Middle Eastern Politics. He has worked closely with Dennis Ross and U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell. He has also traveled to Syria with the objective of paving the road for a peace treaty with Damascus.

AFP noted that Shapiro’s nomination, as well as the fact that he is a senior White House appointee rather than a career diplomat, will likely lead to talk that Obama is seeking a direct line to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Prior to his work on Obama’s campaign, Shapiro was a vice president at a Washington-based marketing and communications firm and held positions on the National Security staff in the Clinton administration, as well as in the offices of Senators Dianne Feinstein of California and Bill Nelson of Florida.

Shapiro’s nomination requires confirmation by the Senate. He will replace the current Ambassador to Israel, James Cunningham, who has been in Tel Aviv since August of 2008.

The Politico website reported on the nomination several weeks ago, but it has only now become official.