Israel’s ambassador to France resigned Thursday to protest the new Israeli government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The statements of the ministers in your government and the intentions of their legislation go against my conscience, my worldview, and the underlying promises of the declaration of independence of a Jewish and democratic state,” Yael German wrote in her resignation letter. The letter, which she posted to Twitter on Thursday, was written in Hebrew and translated by the Forward.
Netanyahu took the oath of office Thursday after winning a 63-54 vote of confidence from the Knesset. His government is considered one of the most conservative, both in terms of politics and religious issues, in Israeli history.
“I was proud and happy to represent the state and the worldview of the outgoing government, which was based on democratic values, human rights, and the rule of law that presided over the state,” German wrote, referring to the government of outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who appointed her to the ambassadorship in 2021.
Addressing Netanyahu, she added: “Unfortunately, the government that you formed with you as its head, includes representatives of parties whose extremist positions express themselves at their very core in their governance and their statements on legislation, illegal in my view, which they intend to pass.”
It’s not unusual for ambassadors to resign when government leadership changes or when conflicts arise over policies or personalities.
In 2019, the British ambassador to Washington, Kim Darroch, resigned after then-President Donald Trump called him a “pompous fool” in response to leaked memos in which Darroch described Trump’s administration as “inept.”
In 2018, John Feeley resigned from his post as ambassador to Panama under Trump. Reuters quoted Feeley’s resignation letter as stating: “I signed an oath to serve faithfully the president and his administration in an apolitical fashion, even when I might not agree with certain policies. My instructors made clear that if I believed I could not do that, I would be honor bound to resign. That time has come.”
In 2018, Nikki Haley resigned from her post as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, but her reasons for leaving were never made entirely clear.
Zach Golden contributed to this report.
The post Israel’s ambassador to France resigns to protest Netanyahu government appeared first on The Forward.
