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Barry Shaw made Aliyah from England in the 1970s, is manager of Netanya Real Estate, and founder of the Netanya Terror Victims Fund. He is the author of "The View from Here" series of commentaries from Israel.
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By Barry Shaw
January 7, 2004
Zvi Hefetz is Israel's choice to be its next Ambassador to Great Britain and Northern Ireland. He will be our leading advocate, our face, our voice, to make Israel's case to an increasing antagonistic British public.
His candidacy was overwhelmingly approved all the way from the Foreign Office to the office of the Prime Minister.
One Foreign Office official on the selection board said, "I came away with no reservations about him. We were impressed by his CV and by his appearance before our panel. He will be successful as our ambassador to Britain."
Fine words, indeed. Words that display full confidence in a candidate selected after a lengthy process by our top officials and politicians.
There is only one small matter that seems to have been overlooked.
THE NEW AMBASSADOR TO BRITAIN CANNOT SPEAK ENGLISH!
Is this a New Years joke being pulled by Jerusalem? It should certainly give our enemies in our hasbara war a good belly laugh.
Putting aside the irrelevant fact that he cannot speak English, he also has absolutely no ambassadorial experience.
The best we can say about him is that he served for one month in Moscow as an emissary for Nativ, and that he is a pal of Omri Sharon.
Is this the way that the Israeli Government choose its leading advocates?
Is this the very best candidate we can find to champion our cause in the corridors of Whitehall and Westminster?
Is this the right man to influence British public opinion?
Is he the proper person to listen to and understand the feelings and fears of the local Jewish community?
This is, literally, decision making at the highest level of incompetence!
Those of us who deeply care and are active in Israel's image abroad appeal to you to join our campaign to have this appointment retracted.
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
 
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