Elections could leave Israel without ambassadors in key spots
The prime minister, who is also foreign minister, cannot appoint heads of diplomatic missions during an election campaign, potentially depriving the state of envoys at the UN and a host of major capital cities
The government’s decision to call snap elections in April 2019 might leave Israel without official representation at the United Nations and key countries around the world. This is because the prime minister, who at the moment is also the foreign minister, cannot make political appointments during an election campaign period.
The Civil Service Commission says that under normal circumstances, such predicaments are solved by appointing candidates from the existing Foreign Ministry staff. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to appoint specific people to the embassies he considers important, which could leave those missions without representation not only throughout the elections campaign but also during the upcoming summer.
Among the most significant Israeli embassies that could remain without an ambassador are those in Paris, Moscow, Vienna, Ottawa and the Hague.
Also at the beginning of the week, Netanyahu announced that he had a candidate to replace Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, who is about the finish his three-year term. However, the name of the candidate couldn’t be revealed as it coincided with the elections announcement. Danon is expected to return to Israel at the start of 2019, to run in the Likud party primaries.
The prime minister will most likely tap Danon's deputy, Noa Furman, to run things temporarily until the official replacement is named.
Assuming that the next coalition government is not formed before May, the process of appointing a new UN ambassador might only be completed in October 2019, thanks to various bureaucratic procedures.
