US President Barack Obama has chosen Daniel Shapiro as the United States ambassador to Israel

US President Barack Obama has chosen Daniel Shapiro, a senior adviser who has helped shape the United States' response to the Middle East upheaval, as the United States ambassador to Israel, the White House said on Wednesday.

Shapiro, Obama’s aide who served as a senior policy adviser on Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, is currently Senior Director for the Middle East and North Africa on the White House National Security Council. He has held this position since January of 2009.

From 2007 to 2008, Shapiro was Vice President of Timmons and Company, and from 2001 to 2007, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Legislative Director for U.S. Senator Bill Nelson.

During the Clinton administration, Shapiro served as Director for Legislative Affairs at the National Security Council. From 1995 to 1999, he was a legislative assistant for U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, and from 1993 to 1995, he served as a professional staff member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.