Zionist Union MK calls on Netanyahu to fire envoy to US
As US pressure to dismiss Ron Dermer reportedly mounts, Erel Margalit says ambassador’s ouster needed to help rebuild ties
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A Zionist Union MK called on Prime Minister Netanyahu to fire ambassador to the US Ron Dermer as a “necessary first step” in efforts to rehabilitate fractured Israel-US relations.
Dermer is a close confidant of Netanyahu, but has raised hackles in Washington for helping engineer the prime minister’s controversial address to Congress earlier this month, which was not coordinated with the White House.
In a letter sent to Netanyahu Wednesday, MK Erel Margalit said the Obama administration has been giving Israel the cold shoulder since Dermer arranged the speech along with Speaker of the House John Boehner.
According to Margalit, Dermer’s current persona non grata status in Washington is endangering Israel, and Netanyahu must dismiss him in order to show serious efforts are being taken to “rebuild trust with Israel’s best and most important ally.”
“It is no secret that the American administration is displeased with ambassador Dermer’s involvement in inviting the Prime Minister to speak before Congress,” Margalit wrote in the letter.
He further stated that Dermer’s “obvious” involvement in the incident “severely hampered” his ability to serve any longer as ambassador.
“The US administration no longer trusts Dermer, and does not consider him a partner,” he wrote.
The letter came as some US officials and members of Congress have said in closed discussions that Dermer’s standing has been so severely hurt that he can longer serve effectively as ambassador, according to a New York Times report.
Dermer adamantly rejected the calls to step down, stating in an interview with NBC’s Meet The Press on Sunday that he will remain in his post as long as Netanyahu wants him to.
Officials in the Prime Minister’s Office have said Dermer’s job is secure. However, reports have indicated that Netanyahu may resort to firing the ambassador should pressure continue to mount.
In the letter, Margalit called on Netanyahu to replace Dermer with someone accepted by the White House, someone with “enough integrity to fill the position without taking sides.”
The Times of Israel Community.