Achieving the ‘difficult’ clearance for diamond exports from Marange, just on the brink of his term completion as Chair of Kimberley Process for 2010 on behalf of Israel, Boaz Hirsch, has been awarded honorary membership to the Israel Diamond Exchange. His term as Chair serves as an example for the industry, especially since he holds not past record of work in the diamond industry, and to have affected a major move as the clearance was something praised by industry stalwarts. Shlomo Eshed, president of Israel’s Precious Stones and Diamonds Exchange, Shmuel Mordechai, Israel’s diamond controller, Shmuel Schnitzer, honorary life-president of the World Federation of Diamond Bourses appreciated Hirsch’s traits which helped lead the KP further, which also placed the spotlight on Israel and its contributions to the diamond industry.

Hirsch, Deputy Director General for Foreign Trade in Israel’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor, was presented with a tag, certificate and a gift from the industry. Recollecting his work as Chair, he described the issue on Zimbabwe’s diamond exports in the Kimberley Process in 2010 as an ‘experience’, and praised Avi Paz’s recent actions on diamonds smuggled from Zimbabwe.

Avi Paz, president of the Israel Diamond Exchange and the World Federation of Diamond Bourses said “we frequently feared that the Kimberley Process would break down, but Boaz played an exemplary role in leading the process forward.”.