As Israel’s new ambassador to Canada, Ronen Hoffman has only been in the country a few weeks. But his priority list is already long. He plans to fight antisemitism, counter the threat of global terrorism and forge new industrial and economic ties between Israel and Canada.

He steps into a post that’s been vacant for two years. Partly because of the pandemic, and partly because of the chaos that has been Israeli politics for the past two years, Canada hasn’t had an Israeli ambassador since Nimrod Barkan stepped down in 2019. Hoffman himself was appointed in the summer of 2021, but could only make it to Canada by Hanukkah.

Today, in his first interview with The CJN Daily, Hoffman joins from his office in Ottawa to discuss his goals and what makes him a perfect fit for his new job. For a longer version of the story, read our Q and A here.

What we talked about:

• Read “Ronen Hoffman, the new ambassador of Israel, was welcomed to Canada alongside new U.S. ambassador David Cohen” at thecjn.ca
• Watch Hoffman’s introductory video on Facebook
• See Hoffman’s snowball-throwing form on Twitter

Credits

The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.