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'Consider resigning.' Lieberman
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Israeli consul rebuked over memo critical of government

Foreign Ministry head reprimands consul general in Boston Tamir over 'poor judgment' in mass distribution of letter saying current conflict with Washington more harmful to Israel's image more than Gaza op

Foreign Ministry Director-General Yossi Gal on Thursday reprimanded Israel's consul general in Boston for distributing a letter in which he harshly criticized the government's policies and the damage he said it has caused to the ties with the US.

 

Gal told Nadav Tamir he had demonstrated "poor judgment," adding that he expects every Foreign Ministry employees to communicate their opinions through the "appropriate channels."

 

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Tamir is expected to return to Boston next week, despite the fact that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman hinted that diplomats who do not support the government's policies should consider resigning their posts.

 

The letter, signed by the consul general, was spread in wide circulation among Israeli delegates in the US and Foreign Ministry officials, and was also sent to Lieberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

 

The three page document read, "An image of a conflict between the Israeli government and the Obama administration is harming the support for Israel in the public opinion, much more than the criticism over the aggressiveness and harm caused to civilians during Operation Cast Lead or the battle against Hezbollah in 2006."

 

Tamir said he regretted the fact that the memo was leaked to the public and that it was intended for internal use only. He added that he understands that a public official cannot publicly censure the policies of the government that assigned him to his post.

 

Gal was quoted by Channel 10 as saying, "There was no intention for the content of the memo to go beyond the internal correspondence (between Tamir and) his superiors, and (Tamir said) that he regrets the interpretation that the incident sparked," Channel 10 quoted Gal as saying.

 


פרסום ראשון: 08.13.09, 18:14
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