Prior to arriving to this post, Ofir Akunis served, for the second time, as the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, from December 2022 until March 2024.  He also held this position between 2015-2020.

In his first term as Minister of Science and Technology (2015-2020), he led a number of significant reforms aimed at making science, technology, robotics, and cyber accessible to all Israeli citizens, especially in the periphery.  In that role, he oversaw Israel's “Beresheet” Mission to the Moon and signed close to 30 international agreements designed to strengthen ties between Israel and other countries around the world in the field of science and technology, including new agreements with: the United States, India, China, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Greece, and Cyprus.

From 2020-2021, Ofir Akunis served as Minister of Regional Cooperation, while Israel signed the “Abraham Accords” peace treaties with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, Kosovo and Morocco. At the initiative of Akunis, the Ministry sent the first-ever municipal delegation of Jewish and Arab Israeli mayors to visit the UAE, at the invitation of Emirati Minister of International Cooperation, Reem Al Hashimy. He also hosted the first-ever Bahraini trade delegation in Israel, headed by Bahrain's Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Zayed Alzayani.

In June 2021, Akunis established the Abraham Accords Caucus in the Knesset, the first-ever caucus of its kind, which was since replicated in parliaments worldwide. The launch of the Abraham Accords Caucus in the Knesset was attended by several dignitaries, among them Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

As Minister of Labor and Social Welfare in 2020, he managed the Ministry's operations during the COVID-19 crisis. The highlight was providing over one million servings of food to the elderly population all over the country through a unique food distribution campaign called the "Food Security Project."

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unis was elected to the Knesset in 2009 and has since served as a Member of Knesset for the Likud party.

He served as Deputy Speaker of Knesset, Chair of the Knesset Economics Committee, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection. He was also in charge of the Broadcasting Authority, as Chair of the 'Computer for Every Child' project, and as a Member of the Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee. He previously served as Spokesperson and Media Advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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unis is married to Adi and is father to Yonatan and Roni. They live in Tel Aviv.

As Deputy Consul General, Tsach Saar oversees the diplomatic activity of Israel’s New York consulate. In this capacity, he builds relationships with elected officials and community leaders across the consulate’s jurisdiction: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Delaware.

New York marks Saar’s fourth foreign assignment as an Israeli diplomat. prior to this posting, beginning in August 2023, he served as Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Israel in Athens, Counselor for Culture and Science of Israel in Berlin and Deputy Ambassador of Israel in Albania. Before joining the foreign service, Saar spent four years as a parliamentary advisor at the Israeli Knesset for four years.

Born in Tel Aviv in 1984, Saar obtained his B.A. in Political Science and Communication from Tel Aviv University and earned an M.A. in Law from Bar-Ilan University. Proficient in Hebrew, English and German, he is also a skilled DJ who enjoys playing house music. He is married to Israeli lawyer Guy Arad with whom he is lovingly raising two children.​

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