The Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles comes under fire after sexual harassment claims.
Photo: Google Street View
Israeli LA consulate under investigation over sexual harassment claims
Worker targeted with claims of sexual harassment threatens to sue Israel for firing him because he has HIV.
The Israel Consulate in Los Angeles has come under investigation after a complaint of sexual harassment led to a series of complaints ranging from mistreatment of local workers to human relations issues.
The Inspector General of the Foreign Ministry, Jacob Keidar, along with employees of the audit department of the Interior Ministry, has conducted an investigation into the operation of the Israel Consulate in Los Angeles for the past two months.
The location of the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles. (Photo: Google Street View)
The investigation revolves around claims of sexual harassment, irregularities, mistreatment of local workers and human relations issues.
After the investigation began, the Foreign Ministry requested that the consulate fire the local worker who had been accused of sexual harassment by a female worker at the consulate. As a result, the worker threatened to sue the State of Israel, claiming that he was being fired because he has HIV.
The investigation into the consulate began after a female worker reported being sexually harassed by a local worker, an American citizen, who holds a central position at the consulate as a foreign domestic worker.
Following the complaint, an investigation into the entire consulate in Los Angeles began. Once the investigation began, however, the same female who had complained of sexual harassment took back her complaint - although the investigation unveiled several difficult complaints of misconduct and irregular behavior by the foreign domestic worker who has worked at the consulate for several years.
After a report was compiled by the Foreign Ministry's General Inspector, the Foreign Ministry decided to begin the process to fire the said worker. Yet, when the worker was told he would be let go, he allegedly threatened he would file a law suit against the State of Israel for being fired for having HIV, as he had openly announced he had the virus in the past.
After the threat was made, the Foreign Ministry allegedly decided to stop the process of firing the worker after consulting with lawyers who informed them that the US courts would likely side with an HIV stricken individual and that Israel could lose millions of dollars in such a lawsuit. In the meantime, the Foreign Ministry allegedly intends to hold negotiations with the worker in order to agree on the terms for him to conclude his work at the consulate.
The investigation by the Inspector General of the Foreign Ministry unveiled several other issues revolving the consulate.
Workers complained that one of the diplomats at the consulate would scream and treat workers in an abusive manner – one consulate worker reportedly quit her job as a result of a confrontation with the problematic diplomatic. In addition, a high-ranking consular worker allegedly left the consulate after internal confrontations.
Sources within the Foreign Ministry said that the investigation also revealed many complaints of management by Consul-General David Siegal. Consulate workers said that Siegal had lost control of his workers, enabling the misbehavior within the consulate.
The many layers of dysfunctional behavior resulted in a scathing report by the Foreign Ministry of the operation of the Israel Consulate in Los Angeles.
The Foreign Ministry responded to the incident and said, "The suspicions of irregularities at the consulate are being investigated by the Inspector General." Furthermore, the Foreign Ministry has said that it did not know of any claims regarding the management of Consul-General Siegal.
