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Diplomatic chaos

July 30, 2015 10:48

As you read this, there is no Israeli Ambassador to the UK. Nor will there be for months to come. Even after Daniel Taub’s successor is appointed — whenever that is — it will take further weeks, if not months, for him or her to take up the position. It is no slur on the staff who are currently in situ at the embassy to say that this is a ridiculous state of affairs, and one that is entirely self-inflicted. The current appointments procedure is described by insiders as chaotic. Indeed, Israel does not even have a foreign minister at the moment. The problem is not merely that Israel has no senior diplomat in London — the leading global media hub and the fulcrum of much of the world’s delegitimisation efforts. It is that it reveals the deeper chaos that characterises so much of Israel’s diplomatic and PR strategy. The cause of this chaos is, of course, the coalition — or rather, the delicate balance that it depends on to survive. It is no exaggeration to say this has led to paralysis in serious diplomacy and hasbara, of which the gaping hole in London is just one example.

July 30, 2015 10:48

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