Israel Diamond Exchange (IDE) announced appointing a new board and officers. The new board and officers include: Mr. Shmuel Schnitzer, President; Mr. Jacob Korn, Deputy and Vice-President; Mr. Jacob Kattan, Senior Vice-President; Mr. Arnon Yuval, Vice-President; Mr.Yehezkel (Hezi) Blum, Vice-President & Chairman of the Finance Committee; Mr. Ben Zion Shashu, Vice-President; Mr. Jacob Haron Shelly, Vice-President; Mr. Mordechai (Moti) Fluk, Treasurer; Mr. Meir Dalumi, Chairman, Judicial Committee; Mr. Yoram Dvash, Honorary Secretary; Mr. Shlomo (Shizo) Shimshowitz, Honorary Secretary; Mr. Shalom Papir, Member of the Presidium. The following are board members Mr. Loni Grinker, Mr. Yosef Ben Zion, Mr. Amotz Raz, Ms. Emma Yanover and Mr. Muni Bachar.
Recently, prior to the appointment of the new board, Shmuel Schnitzer was elected as the new president of the IDE. Schnitzer said that he was glad he would be working with such a good team of board members. "As a cross section of our very diverse and large membership, this board will represent each and every one of our 3,500-member exchange. There is a large amount of work to do, and many goals to achieve”.
Upon his election, Schnitzer received a letter of congratulations from Israel's Prime Minister, Benyamin Netanyahu, which mentioned "Your talents, professionalism and your many years of experience in diamond exports will contribute significantly toward restoring the Israel diamond industry's standing. I am sure that during your new term you will act to advance the Israel diamond industry and trade, and broaden its activities in the international markets.” Netanyahu further added a hand-written remark, referring to Shmuel Schnitzer's father, Moshe, who was the IDE's longest serving president (1967-1993): "Your father Moshe surely would be proud of you as you continue his life's work," Netanyahu wrote. Moshe Schnitzer was awarded the Israel Prize in 2004, the highest civilian award given by Israel.