David Govrin
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David Govrin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 23 August 1963 |
| Occupation | Diplomat |
| Years active | 1989—present |
| Known for | The Journey to The Arab Spring: The Ideological Roots of the Middle East Upheaval in Arab Liberal Thought (2016) |
| Father | Yosef Govrin |
David Govrin (born 1963)[1] is an Israeli writer, lecturer and former diplomat, served as an Israeli ambassador to Egypt and Morocco.[2][3][4] Since 2025 he serves as a lecturer at the Reichman University and at Ariel University on Diplomacy and Middle East[5].
Govrin has served as an Israeli diplomat since 1989. He served as the First Secretary at the Israeli Embassy in Egypt (1994–1997) and as a Political Counselor in the Permanent Mission of Israel to the UN. In addition, he has served in a variety of positions in the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including that of Head of the Jordanian Department and Head of department in the Ministry's Planning Bureau. He speaks fluent Arabic, and served as Israel's ambassador to Egypt from 2016 to 2020.[6]
In January 2021, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs nominated Govrin as Israel's permanent ambassador to Morocco after the two countries agreed to normalize ties in a US-brokered agreement in December 2020.[7][8][9][10]
On September 5, 2022, it was announced that Govrin was suspected, following a report by one of the employees,[11] of financial irregularities at the Israeli Mission in Morocco and sexual harassment[12][13][14] As a result, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to return him to Israel for inquiry. After the conclusion of the inquiry, Govrin's name was cleared and he resumed his diplomatic duty in Morocco on July 9, 2023.[15][16] Following this publication, Govrin filed a defamation lawsuit in the amount of 2.5 Million NIS against Michael Shemesh and the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation. As part of a settlement agreement, Shemesh and the Corporation deleted twenty-four publications on the matter and committed to refrain from reporting on Govrin's case in the future.[17]
In March 2026, the President of the Jerusalem District Labour Court, Judge Sarah Breuiner, ruled in favor of Govrin in a lawsuit filed against the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding his recall from Morocco. The court ordered the state to compensate Govrin in the amount of several tens of thousands of shekels.[18]
In 2023, Govrin published his 2nd book Partnership in the Shadow of Rivalry. The book presents and analyzes the relations between Egypt and Israel through Egyptian eyes.[19]
Education
Govrin holds a PhD from the Department of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and was a research fellow at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace until 2016.[20]
