Blue and White No. 2 Yair Lapid issues harsh criticism of Ron Dermer, Israel’s ambassador to the US, after Prime Minister Netanyahu said he is extending the envoy’s term for another year, despite reported opposition from the Civil Service Commissioner.
“There has never been an ambassador who caused more damage to Israel-US ties than Ron Dermer,” Lapid tweets.
He also issues a statement saying few in Washington besides Republicans want anything to do with Dermer, a former Republican operative.
“This man made it so the Democratic Party doesn’t want to talk with them, US Jews don’t want to talk him. Besides the Republicans, no one wants to talk with him,” he adds.
Lapid calls on Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit not to allow Dermer’s term to be extended, noting the current government is a caretaker one, and says the ambassador will be out of a job if Blue and White defeats Netanyahu’s Likud in September’s Knesset elections.
He also accuses Netanyahu of destroying Israel’s ties with the Democrats and US Jews, while saying the prime minister no longer understands the United States.
“We’ll get along with Trump no less than you,” Lapid writes on Twitter.
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