Public diplomacy czar fires ministry head attacked as ‘leftist’

Israel’s minister in charge of selling the embattled country to the world has fired her top official, even as the nation’s reputation takes hits from even some of its formerly closest friends.

Public Diplomacy Minister Galit Distal Atbaryan announces that she has dismissed Gali Sambira over “dissatisfaction with her professional work.”

Sambira had come under fire from members of the government, who urged Distal Atbaryan to fire her due to her supposed “leftist” political views, the Ynet news site reports.

According to Walla, Sambira, a feminist activist, had asked to leave the post several weeks ago once it became clear she couldn’t do her work, but Distal Atbaryan denied the report at the time.

Sambira had been one of only two ministry directors still left in place from the last government, according to the news site, amid concerns that positions once filled by technocrats are instead being politicized.

The move comes hours after the cabinet okayed the appointment of an official to head the public diplomacy office within the Prime Minister’s Office.

Israel invests vast efforts on public diplomacy, also called hasbara, aimed at battling bad press about the state and boosting its image abroad. Critics say the government’s judicial overhaul, and its tacit support for violent settler activity, have turned the nation into a veritable pariah abroad.