Arbell, a scholar-in-residence at the Center for Israeli Studies at AU, is a 25 year-veteran of the Israeli Foreign Service, serving in senior posts overseas in the UN, the US and Japan, and holding senior positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Headquarters in Jerusalem. Most recently he was Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Israel in Washington D.C and worked as Ambassador Michael Oren's second in command for nearly 3 years (2009-2012).