CHANCERIESTHE DIPLOMATIC ATLAS

Embassy of the State of Israel

Diplomatic history and full roster

Embassy of the State of Israel

3514 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008

Pale brick wings with semicircular windows step around a covered entrance at the first chancery completed in the International Chancery Center. The mission moved here in December 1980.

FactValueBasis and sources
Constructed1980verified; Public record or contemporary source; see Sources.
  1. www.jta.org
  2. www.jta.org
  3. www.ncpc.gov
Acquired by Israel1977 (land lease)verified; Public record or contemporary source; see Sources.
  1. jewishvirtuallibrary.org
  2. www.jta.org
NeighborhoodNorth Cleveland Parkverified; Public record or contemporary source; see Sources.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
ArchitectLouis Bernardo; Yeshayahu Mandelverified; Public record or contemporary source; see Sources.
  1. jewishvirtuallibrary.org
  2. www.jta.org
  3. www.washingtonpost.com
Rooms75–180 est.estimated; Planning estimate: rooms = building area × room-area fraction ÷ average room size. For this office property, assume 45%–65% of the recorded 68,788 sq ft is enclosed usable room area, with an average 250–400 sq ft per room. The range combines the low fraction with the larger room size and the high fraction with the smaller size, rounded outward to five rooms. Room allocation and average size are assumptions. Covers the recorded building area; the interior has not been independently measured. Estimated room range.
  1. github.com
  2. jewishvirtuallibrary.org
  3. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  4. www.washingtonpost.com
Floor area68,800 sq ftestimated; Contemporary reporting gives a 73,000 sq ft construction-stage project area; the as-built total was not independently verified. Estimate from the current ground-scaled model: four floors in the high L-shaped block, three floors in the lower wrapping wing and south projection, and one floor in the roofed entrance atrium. Add one basement with the 1,587.45 m² official roof-footprint area; the architect documents a large basement, while its full-footprint coverage is an explicit assumption. Exclude open arcades, terraces, steps and the detached lodge. Estimated main above-grade area is about 51,700 sq ft, consistent with the architect’s 50,000 sq ft office-space description; the total remains an estimate.
  1. github.com
  2. jewishvirtuallibrary.org
  3. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  4. www.washingtonpost.com
Site area51,300 sq ftverified; Parcel total: 2055/0809. DC ITSPE LANDAREA, recorded square feet. Roads and unrelated neighboring parcels excluded.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
2026 Value$32.3Mverified; Parcel total: 2055/0809. Active 2026 DC ITSPE ASSESSMENT; land plus improvements. Not proposed value, tax owed, sale price or leasehold value. The assessed parcel may be federally owned; this figure does not assert ownership by the occupying mission.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov

Complete property record

Israeli Ambassador’s Residence

3301 Fessenden Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

A limestone house built in 2019 became Israel’s ambassadorial residence after its 2023 acquisition. A separate guesthouse, pool and garden occupy the same estate.

FactValueBasis and sources
Constructed2019verified; Public record or contemporary source; see Sources.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  2. michaelrankindc.com
Acquired by Israel2023verified; Public record or contemporary source; see Sources.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  2. www.bizjournals.com
NeighborhoodForest Hillsverified; Public record or contemporary source; see Sources.
  1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
  2. www.foresthillsconnection.com
ArchitectNot Verifiedunverified; Public record or contemporary source; see Sources.
    Rooms31verified; Current DC residential CAMA ROOMS: main house 31, detached guesthouse 7. The displayed count retains the main-house scope.
    1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
    Floor area12,600 sq ftverified; Sum of the current residential CAMA GBA fields on SSL 2031/0026: main house 11,397 sq ft plus guest house 1,200 sq ft. The 5,288 sq ft basement mentioned in property marketing is not added because its overlap with CAMA gross area has not been established.
    1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
    Site area17,300 sq ftverified; Parcel total: 2031/0026. DC ITSPE LANDAREA, recorded square feet. Roads and unrelated neighboring parcels excluded.
    1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov
    2026 Value$11.9Mverified; Parcel total: 2031/0026. Active 2026 DC ITSPE ASSESSMENT; land plus improvements. Not proposed value, tax owed, sale price or leasehold value.
    1. maps2.dcgis.dc.gov

    Complete property record

    Historic Moments

    American recognition

    1948-05-14

    President Harry S. Truman recognized Israel on 14 May 1948. Eleven days later, Chaim Weizmann presented him with a Torah during a White House visit.

    Washington opposes the Suez invasion

    1956–1957

    The United States opposes the Israeli, British, and French attack on Egypt. American pressure for a ceasefire and withdrawal exposes a serious difference between Washington and Israel.

    An airlift during the October war

    1973-10-14

    American transport aircraft begin a major resupply operation for Israel during the 1973 war. The airlift accompanies urgent diplomacy over a ceasefire and draws the United States deeper into the crisis.

    The Egypt–Israel peace treaty

    1979-03-26

    Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat signed the Egypt–Israel peace treaty in Washington with Jimmy Carter as witness, following the previous year’s Camp David negotiations.

    The first American free trade agreement

    1985-04-22

    The United States and Israel sign a free trade agreement in Washington. It becomes America’s first such agreement, adding a durable commercial framework to the bilateral relationship.

    A handshake on the South Lawn

    1993-09-13

    Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat shook hands at the White House ceremony for the Israeli–Palestinian Declaration of Principles, with President Bill Clinton standing between them.

    Chiefs of Mission

    DiplomatOfficeRecorded serviceStatus
    Eliahu ElathRepresentative1948–1949Former
    Eliahu ElathAmbassador1949–1950Former
    Abba EbanAmbassador1950–1959Former
    Avraham HarmanAmbassador1959–1968Former
    Yitzhak RabinAmbassador1968–1973Former
    Simcha DinitzAmbassador1973–1979Former
    Ephraim EvronAmbassador1979–1982Former
    NehushtanChargé d’affaires1982–1982Former
    Moshe ArensAmbassador1982–1983Former
    Benjamin NetanyahuChargé d’affaires1983–1983Former
    Meir RosenneAmbassador1983–1987Former
    Moshe AradAmbassador1987–1990Former
    Zalman ShovalAmbassador1990–1993Former
    Itamar RabinovichAmbassador1993–1996Former
    Eliahu Ben-ElissarAmbassador1996–1998Former
    Zalman ShovalAmbassador1998–2000Former
    David IvryAmbassador2000–2002Former
    Daniel AyalonAmbassador2002–2006Former
    Sallai MeridorAmbassador2006–2009Former
    Michael OrenAmbassador2009–2013Former
    Ron DermerAmbassador2013–2021Former
    Gilad ErdanAmbassador2021–2021Former
    Michael HerzogAmbassador2021–2025Former
    Yechiel (Michael) LeiterAmbassador2025–presentCurrent