Former ambassador causes diplomatic faux pas
Naftali Tamir causes unpleasantness between Israel, Australia after helping former embassy security officer remain in the country after his work contract had expired
Efforts by the Israeli ambassador to Australia to help a former security officer extend his stay in the country in order to study apparently led to diplomatic unpleasantness between the two nations.
The security officer for the Israeli embassy in Canberra asked former ambassador Naftali Tamir to grant him permission to remain in Australia for the few months between the conclusion of his employment contract and the start of the school year of an Australian university he wished to attend, instead of having to fly to and from Israel for bureaucratic purposes.
According to sources in Jerusalem, the ambassador was meant to instruct the officer to return to Israel and handle his affairs by himself, but Tamir – who completed his tenure as ambassador to Australia three months ago – felt that he did nothing wrong in assisting an outstanding security officer.
Formally, the ministry acknowledged that the incident had caused unpleasantness between Israel and Australia. "An action was undertaken that did not conform to foreign ministry regulations, but the embassy in Canberra and the ministry in Jerusalem corresponded with the Australian foreign ministry immediately in order to rectify the situation," the ministry said in a statement.
"I recommended that the security officer return to Israel, but he decided to stay and study. He was a loyal security officer for four years and is not a foreign ministry man. He had completed his contract and did not hide his desire to study. On the contrary, he informed me and the ministry of his intensions," Tamir told Ynet.
"In my opinion, anyone who wants to study towards a degree as an independent person and has no other commitments should not be prevented from doing so. I don't see the problem in his desire to stay and study, and I am the last person who would prevent him from doing so, even if it's in a place called Australia," he said.
"The whole issue is not the business of the Israeli ambassador," sources from the foreign ministry told Ynet.
"Tamir should have told the security officer to return to Israel and, here, to deal with his personal issues as a civilian. He certainly should not have helped him. It's unacceptable that a representative of Israel gets involved in issues not related to his mission," they said.
Tamir made headlines last October after saying, in an interview with the Haaretz daily, that "Asians are basically a yellow race. Australia and Israel are not - we are basically a white race." He was condemned by the foreign ministry and his tenure was shortened.
