The Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday confirmed a Channel 10 report that Netanyahu will bring a motion to the cabinet on Sunday extending Dermer's tenure by another year.
By HERB KEINONBenjamin Netanyahu at a weekly cabinet meeting, June 3, 2018(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants his close advisor Ron Dermer to stay for a sixth year as Israel's ambassador to the UN.The Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday confirmed a Channel 10 report that Netanyahu will bring a motion to the cabinet on Sunday extending Dermer's tenure by another year.If, as expected, the cabinet approves the motion, it will make Dermer the longest serving ambassador in the US since Simcha Dinitz completed a six year term in 1979. Only Avraham Harman and Abba Eban had a longer tenure, with both men serving for nine years – Eban from 1950-1959, and Harman from 1959 – 1968.Netanyahu's interest in Dermer staying on on in Washington comes despite Dermer having indicated that he was interested in returning to Israel this summer.Dermer took up his position in October 2013, during a tense time in relations between Netanyahu and then president Barack Obama. Dermer was a frequent target of criticism from senior administration officials and US Jews opposed to Netanyahu's policies – especially the battle with Obama over the Iran deal.Today, by contrast, Dermer is believed to have very strong ties with the Trump administration and Jared Kushner, the president's senior advisor and son-in-law.
