The Foreign Ministry officially canceled the appointment of former Ma'ale Adumim mayor Benny Kashriel as ambassador to Italy following the Italians' refusal to approve the appointment. Instead, the Foreign Ministry will switch Kashrie's appointment to Italy with the designated ambassador to Hungary. It is estimated that Hungary, one of Israel's allies in the European Union, will also be the only country willing to approve his appointment.
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In switching Kashriel's diplomatic appointment to Hungary, the ministry needed to find another position for senior diplomat Jonathan Peled, whose appointment as ambassador to Hungary was already approved by the government in December. One of the possible outcomes will be to appoint Peled as the Israeli ambassador to Rome.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella refused to approve Kashriel's appointment. The Foreign Ministry also sought the intervention of President Isaac Herzog with the Italians, but they stood their ground. The incident caused embarrassment and threatened to harm Kashriel's reputation, who, based on the promise to receive the appointment to Italy, withdrew his candidacy from the municipal elections and essentially remained empty-handed.
Former Foreign Minister Eli Cohen appointed Kashriel and the current Foreign Minister Israel Katz is attempting to fix the crisis through the switch with the designated ambassador to Hungary.
This affair reminds Israel of a similar incident from eight years ago, when Brazil refused the appointment of Dani Dayan as ambassador due to his residence in the West Bank along with his past as head of the Yesha Council.