Netanyahu’s Consul General Pick Raises Concerns Over Israel-Diaspora Ties
Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is reportedly pushing for the appointment of May Golan, a far-right lawmaker with a history of off-color remarks, to serve as Israel’s consul general in New York. Golan had been promised a ministerial-level position in charge of advancing the status of women in society, but the vote to confirm her appointment to the cabinet was dropped at the last minute. Several Hebrew-language media reports suggest that Netanyahu is pressuring Golan to instead become Israel’s next consul general in New York.
Netanyahu allegedly wants Golan to get the plum New York job so he can avoid including her in his cabinet, where he is already dealing with several far-right troublemakers in ministerial positions. The practice of appointing politicians to diplomatic positions in order to sideline them or remove them from the political arena is not uncommon in Israeli politics. For example, in February 2022, then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid made a similar move when they appointed Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi, a Meretz lawmaker, as consul general in Shanghai. Zoabi’s appointment was delayed and she ended up leaving the coalition over policy differences, an act that helped bring down the government and ultimately returned Netanyahu to the Prime Minister’s Office.
The possibility of Golan serving in New York has raised concerns about potential damage to Israel-Diaspora ties as she would likely be the most right-wing lawmaker to take a diplomatic position. Golan has campaigned for the expulsion of African asylum-seekers and made controversial statements in the past. The New York consulate is responsible for managing ties over a four-state geographic area that is home to the largest Jewish community in the world outside Israel.
