Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Thursday he had fired Consul General in New York Asaf Zamir, days after the Israeli diplomat said he was quitting over concerns about the far-right government's judicial reform
TEL AVIV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th March, 2023) Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Thursday he had fired Consul General in New York Asaf Zamir, days after the Israeli diplomat said he was quitting over concerns about the far-right government's judicial reform.
Zamir published a letter of resignation online on Sunday, saying he could no longer represent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government as it plowed ahead with a controversial judicial overhaul, which seeks to curtail the Supreme Court's powers.
"Asaf Zamir announced his resignation ... but wanted to continue in the position for an unspecified period of time. I decided to fire him immediately. A diplomat who takes a political side cannot represent the State of Israel for even one day," Cohen said on social media.
Almost immediately, Zamir replied with a post that read "I've been in Israel since yesterday." It featured a selfie of him against a backdrop of what Israeli media reported was unmistakably Israel.
Zamir is the latest Israeli diplomat to stand down in protest against the new government's reforms after the Israeli ambassadors to France and Canada handed in their resignations in winter. The three were appointed by the previous government led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid.
