Prime minister and wife
Photo: Avi Ohayon, GPO
Alon Pinkas
Photo: Michael Kramer
Report: Sara Netanyahu foiled UN ambassador appointment
Sara's confidante says she pressed husband to reject Alon Pinkas due to Newsweek article he wrote
Sara Netanyahu pressed her husband to reject the candidacy of Alon Pinkas for the position of UN ambassador due to an article he wrote in Newsweek, Yedioth Ahronoth revealed Tuesday.
An email sent by Bracha Shor, Sara Netanyahu's confidante, explains to Pinkas that the prime minister's wife had torpedoed his nomination.
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Shor says in the email that Benjamin Netanyahu had been angered by Pinkas's article, but that he had not dismissed his candidacy because of it. The root of the problem, Shor says, is Sara, and Pinkas must clarify things with her.
During a recent visit to Germany the prime minister stressed that his wife had never involved herself in political matters.
Shor and Pinkas never met, but spoke over the phone and emailed each other. "Alon, Shabbat shalom," says one email from Shor. "As I told you in the beginning the one who decides is her, and she could not back down either. I have done everything I could – maybe I can still change her mind. Bracha."
In an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth Shor, who supported Pinkas, confirmed the information and said she had sent him many emails.
However she has changed her story a number of times, at first claiming she had met with the Netanyahus regarding Pinkas's nomination, and then denying she had done so.
The Prime Minister's Office responded by rejecting the story as "a complete lie", and stating that Shor had never advised the Netanyahus on any political issues.
"The prime minister served for four years as Israel's ambassador to the UN, and certainly requires the advice of no one regarding Pinkas's suitability for this position," the statement said.
