Amb. Ron Dermer
Ambassador Ron Dermer is a Distinguished Fellow at JINSA.
From 2013 to 2021, Amb. Dermer served as Israel’s ambassador to the United States and was widely seen as one of the most consequential ambassadors ever in that role, as well as one of the most creative and influential ambassadors from any country during his tenure in Washington. One of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s closest advisers, he was a driving force behind many of the era’s most important diplomatic developments, working in close partnership with U.S. counterparts on securing long-term military assistance and missile defense funding for Israel, moving the American embassy to Jerusalem, attaining U.S. recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, implementing the maximum pressure campaign against Iran, and achieving the historic breakthrough that led to the Abraham Accords and the normalization of Israel’s relations with several Arab nations. Throughout his tenure, he also remained a fixture in the media as a powerful voice defending the Jewish State.
Between 2021 and 2022, Amb. Dermer was a JINSA Distinguished Fellow before returning to government service.
From 2022 to 2025, Amb. Dermer was Israel’s Minister of Strategic Affairs, helping steer Israel’s strategic policymaking on consequential matters like the U.S.-Israel bilateral relationship, expansion of the Abraham Accords, and the post-10/7 conflict against the Iranian terror axis. Following his tenure as Minister of Strategic Affairs, Amb. Dermer again joined JINSA as Distinguished Fellow in July 2026, and is helping advance the policy and research work of JINSA’s Gemunder Center for Defense and Strategy.
Amb. Dermer is widely recognized as one of the world’s foremost authorities on the bilateral relationship between Washington and Jerusalem, and the central role it should play in securing the vital interests of the democratic West in the 21st century.
A native of Miami Beach, Fl., Amb. Dermer earned a degree in Finance and Management from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) from Oxford University. He is a former columnist for The Jerusalem Post, is the co-author of the best-selling book, The Case For Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny and Terror, and has previously served as Senior Advisor to Prime Minister Netanyahu.
