Ambassador to Brazil allegedly tries to sabotage Ya'alon
Yossi Shelly, the Israeli ambassador to Brazil, is allegedly attempting to sabotage an event due to former Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon's participation, over Ya'alon's rift with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—a close associate of Shelly's.
Sources in Brazil's Jewish community stated that Israeli Ambassador to Brazil Yossi Shelly, a close associate of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is acting out of political motivations to sabotage former defense minister Moshe Ya'alon's participation in a public event in Brazil.
Ya'alon, who is seemingly planning to return to politics, left on Saturday for a visit in the Jewish communities in America and will visit, among other places, Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he was invited by Keren Hayesod (the official fundraising organization for Israel) and a local Jewish organization to deliver a speech to the Jewish community.
Sources in Sao Paulo's Jewish community and sources close to Ya'alon accused Shelly of obstructing Ya'alon's visit, saying that Shelly went as far as telling members of the local Jewish community that whoever attends the event is "a traitor to the State of Israel."
Organizers of the event invited both Shelly and the Consul General of Israel in Sao Paulo Dori Goren to the event. Shelly immediately announced that he would not arrive, and according to the allegations, Goren was under heavy pressure to do the same. Goren allegedly eventually informed the organizers that he unfortunately could not attend.
A short time later, the consul received a directive from the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Jerusalem, informing him that he would attend the event, apparently after senior officials at the ministry realized that it was inconceivable for representatives of the state to boycott a visit of a former defense minister and IDF chief of staff.
Sources close to Ya'alon commented on the affair, calling it a "Scandal."
"The prime minister, who also serves as the minister of foreign affairs, is trying to sabotage (Ya'alon's—ed) visit, purely over a political dispute. This is a shameful abuse of power.
"Everyone knows there is no opposition or coalition in the diaspora, and that Ya'alon presents a bipartisan position when abroad."
A spokesperson for Ya'alon's stated that "as in all his conferences, in Israel and abroad, Ya'alon represents Israel and its national interests.
"The State of Israel is blessed with a responsible, experienced leadership such as Ya'alon, who is doing a very important national service in public relations, improving our image and promoting our national interests.
"It is regrettable and shameful that officials who should have the best interests of the state in mind are using diplomatic tools to interfere with this, due to extraneous considerations."
The Foreign Ministry responded by saying that "after examining the matter with the ambassador and the consul in Sao Paulo, it turns out that there is no basis to the alleged 'boycott' (Amb. Shelly had been accused of orchestrating).
"The State of Israel shall be represented by the Consul-General. We regret the baseless attempt to harm the good name of the Israeli ambassador."
The conflict between Netanyahu and Ya'alon broke out following the Elor Azaria affair. Ya'alon, who was the defense minister at the time, denounced Azaria, while Netanyahu expressed his support of the soldier.
Amid such growing tensions and opposing positions, Netanyahu eventually replaced Ya'alon as defense minister, handing the ministry to Avigdor Lieberman in a move that solidified his coalition. Ya'alon announced his resignation from the government and the Knesset, and explained it in his lack of trust in Netanyahu.
Since then, there have been several conflicts between the two. Recently, Ya'alon accused Netanyahu of corruption in the submarine affair and called on him to resign.
Yossi Shelly is very close to Netanyahu, and in 2005 worked to help him win the Likud primaries.
In 2013, Netanyahu asked to appoint him as the Likud general manager, but the appointment was denied over Shelly's 2008 indictment for presenting false affidavits when he asked to be appointed director-general of the Israeli Post Office. In 2012, a deal was signed in which Shelly pleaded guilty to the offense of violating a statutory duty without being convicted of committing it.
