A Senior Israeli Diplomat In Hot Water For Leaked Memo

Nadav Tamir, consul-general in Boston, will travel to Jerusalem next week to give "clarification" to the ministry.

Tamir had written an inside three-page document, entitled "Sad thoughts on Israel-US relations", where he criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin NetanyahuBenjamin Netanyahu about his decision to not adhere to President Obama’s request to stop construction on the Israeli settlements.

BBC News reported that all settlements are illegal under international law, though Israel does disputes the legality. More than 450,000 Israelis live in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Netanyahu refused to bring halt to the development of the settlements, calling them “natural growth”.

The memo written by Tamir was only meant to be read by Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor LiebermanAvigdor Lieberman, the leader of a right-wing party in the coalition government who has been highly critical of Palestinians, but somehow was leaked to Israel’s Channel 10.

In the memo Tamir said that that the current relationship with the United States is causing strategic damage to Israel. According to Tamir, Israel was now being seen in the US as a disobedient country, similar to Iran and North Korea, which Washington had to deal with.

He also criticized the fact that the Netanyahu-Obama spat was made public.

"The Americans are trying to limit the publicity of disagreements, while we are the source of making these differences public," Tamir was quoted as writing.

Netanyahu's office said the letter was "not worthy of a response," but many are expecting Tamir’s job to be on the line.

The Boston Globe reported that many leaders from the Boston Jewish community have come out in support of Navad Tamir.

“He is thoughtful, fair, and insightful. I have found him really to be the best Israeli diplomat I have worked with in my 19 years here,’’ said Nancy Kaufman, executive director of the Jewish community Relations Council since 1990. “We have found him to be an amazing partner when it comes to creating and mobilizing support in greater Boston.’’

Steve Grossman, a longtime advocate for Israel and a former president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, also spoke highly of Tamir, “I’ve known Israeli consuls general for the last 30 years or so. And I don’t think Israel has had a more effective leader in New England in that time than Nadav Tamir.’’

A letter from the Boston Russian Jewish Community accuses Navad Tamir of being unprofessional and out of touch with the political reality on the ground. They in turn call Obama’s demands of settlement expansions to halt as a “haughty, inflexible, demeaning, and partisan attitude toward the democratically elected government of Israel.”

In Israel, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has reportedly demanded to know how Tamir's letter was leaked to the media and is asking for his resignation.

BBC News reported that Tamir said in his memo that narrow political considerations were contributing to the deterioration of bilateral ties.

"There are people in US and Israeli politics who ideologically oppose Obama, and are willing to sacrifice the special relationship between the two countries in order to advance their political agenda."

The "atmosphere of confrontation", he warned, was alienating the US public and putting the Jewish community in a difficult position. "Many of them are distancing themselves from the state of Israel because of this conflict," he wrote.

In the aforementioned Boston Globe article it mentioned that the president of the American Jewish Committee chapter, Ken Levine, said he has worked closely with Tamir for his three years in Boston. “He’s a very thoughtful, reasoned voice, very articulate.”

“I think he’s been a great spokesman for the Israeli government in presenting Israel’s case to the non-Jewish community here in Boston.’’

“So this whole thing feels a little out of left field,’’ Levine said. “But we have no idea what the politics are and what’s really going on.’’

Grossman, a longtime Democratic Party activist as well as Israel advocate, said Boston is the sixth-largest Jewish community in North America, and an important base for Israel. He said the relationships Tamir has built here ensure Israel strong support whenever conflict arises, and that he was especially effective in arguing earlier this year that Israel had no option but to launch a military incursion into Gaza to halt Palestinian rocket fire on civilian areas.

In the memo, Grossman said, “Clearly, to use the cliché, he called it the way he saw it. And I would hope that this government is open enough to the candid assessments of its diplomats so that it can take into account their testimony.’’

Here is a link to the type of situation that Obama spoke on about Israeli Settlements http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/3864307-palestinians-set-fire-to-shack-at-illegal-outpost