Former army medic Aviv Avni, 22, is to be Liverpool’s community emissary, filling a three-year void.

Mr Avni is due to arrive in early August for a 12-month stay with an option to extend. He will be based in a flat at the Harold House Community Centre.

The post is primarily funded by the local UJIA, whose Barry Davidson said: “This is positive news for the community and represents a significant investment by us.”

Haifa-based Mr Avni was interviewed in Israel by former Liverpool UJIA chairman Victor Huglin and his wife Linda. “Aviv was very impressive,” Mrs Huglin reported.

“He has worked at Jewish youth camps in America. He knows of the Liverpool community, and what a small community can offer in opportunities.”

Merseyside Jewry has been without an emissary since August 2006 when Galit Cohen left before completing her term. Community leaders admitted there had been “a lack of professional guidance for the emissary.