Noa Tishby booted as volunteer antisemitism envoy after criticizing overhaul
Actress and pro-Israel activist says disapproval of legislation likely behind ouster; Foreign Ministry declines to comment
Israel’s antisemitism envoy said Sunday that she was fired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, citing her criticism of its planned judicial overhaul as a possible cause.
Noa Tishby, a pro-Israel activist and actress, was appointed to the volunteer role to combat antisemitism last year by then-foreign minister Yair Lapid.
Tishby wrote on Twitter that “it is not possible for me to know if their decision was driven by my publicly stated concerns about this government’s ‘judicial reform policy.'”
“But given the reality that antisemitism continues its dangerous rise globally, and the threat to Israel’s existence through delegitimization policies has not slowed, it is difficult to come to any other reasonable conclusion,” she Tishby.
“I am disappointed by their decision, but remain steadfast in my commitment to fighting antisemitism and the delegitimization of Israel on the global stage,” she added.
She attached a copy of a letter from the Foreign Ministry dated Sunday, which said that her official term lasted through 2022, and while at the start of the year, they had discussed extending the relationship, “under current circumstances, the ministry does not intend to renew the relationship.”
Dear Friends,
It is with disappointment and sadness, but an enduring determination, that I can confirm that the current Israeli government has dismissed me as Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism and the Delegitimization of Israel.
It is not possible for me to know if their… pic.twitter.com/Yt4c7v5str
— Noa Tishby (@noatishby) April 2, 2023
The letter instructed her to stop using the title “special envoy for combating antisemitism” moving forward.
Last month, Tishby published a column on the Hebrew-language news site Ynet critical of the government’s proposed legislation, calling it an attempted “coup.”
The Foreign Ministry declined to answer questions about Tishby’s dismissal but issued a statement wishing her luck.
Netanyahu announced last week that he would pause the planned overhaul of the country’s judiciary. The government’s proposed defanging of the Supreme Court has divided the country and drawn weekly mass protests.
Another diplomatic appointment by the prior government, Asaf Zamir, Israel’s Consul General in New York, resigned last week in protest.
