Edelstein, Herzog, Lapid all go to bat for Dani Dayan’s appointment to Brazil

Dayan, who lives in Samaria, is a former head of the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip.

By HERB KEINON
Dani Dayan. (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Dani Dayan.
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Just as Brazil never boycotted Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein even though he lives beyond the Green Line, so too it should not scuttle the appointment of Dani Dayan as Israel’s envoy to Brazil because of where he lives, Edelstein’s diplomatic adviser told the Brazil ambassador on Tuesday.
Edelstein’s message, delivered by Oden Ben-Hur, came after three former Israeli diplomats – including former Foreign Ministry director-general Alon Liel – worked behind the scenes and lobbied Brazil to oppose the appointment of Dayan, saying his appointment would be seen as legitimizing the settlement enterprise.
Dayan, who lives in Samaria, is a former head of the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip.
The message from Edelstein said that Dayan was a very suitable candidate for ambassador, and slammed the attempts by the former diplomats to torpedo the move.
Zionist Union and Yesh Atid leaders Isaac Herzog and Yair Lapid also spoke to the Brazilian envoy urging Brasila accept Dayan’s appointment.
Herzog said that Dayan is a respected public figure and should be welcomed in Brazil, and Lapid said on Twitter that while he does not agree with Dayan on many issues, he would make a “terrific ambassador.”
Regarding the efforts of the three former diplomats to scuttle the move, Lapid wrote, “I don’t accept it that Israelis are trying to use influence abroad to overturn an elected government’s decisions.”
Gil Hoffman contributed to this report.


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