'Lebanon war upgraded Foreign Ministry's status'
Ministry director-general tells employees in letter, 'We are now increasingly involved in diplomatic-security decision making processes'
"Following the Foreign Ministry's activity during the Second Lebanon War, the conclusions of the Winograd Commission and the Shahak Committee, and particularly in light of the quality of the ministry's products, the ministry is now increasingly involved in the diplomatic-security decision making processes," Abramaovich said.
"The ministry is involved in this process since the stage of the preparations for cabinet discussions, the preparation of position papers, discussions at the National Security Council, and taking an active part in the cabinet meetings. Our contribution has also grown significantly in terms of implementing the decisions.
"The work of the center for diplomatic research was realized in the preparations ahead of the cabinet meeting and in our active participation in these meeting. The center has started receiving more information of higher quality than in the past, and these tools allow the entire office to be a more active partner in the decision making processes.
"The strategic affairs unit takes an active part and leads a series of extremely important discussion on the Iranian issue, while the foreign minister leads the diplomatic negotiations with the Palestinians, with the ministry's help."
Abramovich noted that according to Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's decision, the political appointments in the ministry were significantly reduced and that over the past year only two such appointments were made – the Israeli ambassador in Washington and the consul-general in New York.
An improvement has also been noted in terms of advancing women. "The number of women serving as deputy director-generals was doubled. During this period, five women were appointed ambassadors and envoys," the letter said.
Addressing the 2008 State Budget, Abramovich said that in spite of the budget cuts, the Foreign Ministry would receive a significant addition amounting to NIS 150,000 (about $37,248).
Some Foreign Ministry workers, however, did not rush top embrace Abramovich's letter.
"Ambramovich is priding himself with achievements which never existed. He is being inaccurate and preparing the ground for the next steps," sources in the ministry said.
