Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Hotovely “for years of dedicated work in the Knesset and the cabinet.
By LAHAV HARKOVTZIPI HOTOVELY: People should also feel proud to be Jewish.(photo credit: OLIVIER FITOUSSI/FLASH90)
The cabinet on Sunday approved Tzipi Hotovely as ambassador to the United Kingdom.Hotovely, who was settlement affairs minister until the cabinet vote, a Likud MK since 2009 and also served as deputy foreign minister, is expected to head to London later this month.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Hotovely “for years of dedicated work in the Knesset and the cabinet.”“I was impressed by your dedicated work, your willingness to learn and… stand up for our rights here to our land, stand up for justice in international struggles,” he said. “I am sure these characteristics and experience will be expressed in ways that are important for Israel in the important place you are going to, to England. We know that there are complex challenges there and you have a lot of work.“I’m sure you’ll succeed,” Netanyahu added.Tzachi Hanegbi (Likud) took Hotovely’s place as settlement affairs minister. Hotovely and Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan are two Likud ministers who took positions abroad, as there were fewer cabinet posts available than MKs from the party who had been ministers before.When she accepted the offer from Netanyahu in June, Hotovely said: “It is undoubtedly one of the most senior positions in the foreign service. Britain is very important within Europe and very friendly [to Israel], certainly under [Prime Minister Boris] Johnson’s government, and that is something that must be leveraged with important diplomatic work.”Soon after, a fringe left-wing Jewish group in the UK petitioned for Hotovely to be declared persona non grata, citing her ardent support for extending Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.However, pro-Israel groups rallied behind her.Israeli and British diplomatic sources said Hotovely would most likely be accepted, pointing out that the UK very rarely rejects ambassadors and that its current government is very friendly to Israel.
Hotovely replaces Mark Regev, who was ambassador to the UK for five years and returned to Israel last month.The cabinet also approved six more ambassadors and consuls, including Ambassador to China Irit Ben-Aba, Ambassador to Russia Alexander Ben-Zvi, Ambassador to Belarus Alex Goldman-Scheinman, Consul-General in Shanghai Edward Shapira and Consul-General in Bangalore Yonatan Tzedaka.Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi called these appointments “an important milestone, after a long period in which some of the positions were not filled…These appointments are essential to continuing to strengthen the Foreign Ministry as an influential and leading factor in Israel’s diplomatic decision-making process.”
