Ronen Hoffman, the Israeli ambassador to Canada, said on Sunday that he would leave his position later this year owing to ideological differences with the Benjamin Netanyahu-led administration.
Between 2013 to 2015, Hoffman represented the Yesh Atid Party of opposition leader Yair Lapid in the Knesset.
“It is an honor for me to have been chosen more than a year ago by former Prime Minister @yairlapid to serve and represent the State of Israel as Ambassador to Canada. My personal and professional integrity has forced me to ask to shorten my tenure and return to Israel this summer due to the change in government and policies in Israel, Hoffman wrote in a message on Twitter.
“Until a successor is appointed later this year, I will continue to serve the State of Israel here in Canada with the same passion and pleasure.
Until then, I look forward to working with all of my coworkers and friends,” he continued.
All diplomats must abide by Israel’s Civil Service Regulations, which forbid them from publicly adopting political viewpoints or making any sort of personal political declarations.
Yael German, the former Yesh Atid politician who served as Israel’s ambassador to France, resigned last month in opposition to the Netanyahu administration.
She claimed at the time that the incoming administration’s “extreme attitudes” undermine democracy and that she is, therefore, unable “to lie to me and continue to represent policies that are so drastically different than what I believe.”
On Saturday night in Tel Aviv, tens of thousands expressed opposition to the government’s proposed judicial reform.
On Sunday, the organizers hinted that they planned to go beyond protests and that their next move would be to engage in civil disobedience.
“An escalation is imminent. We can see from this protest that there will be a breakdown in public order and closures in the economy and the private sector.
The government will receive a message that the coup will not take place on our watch through activities to disturb public order.
There will be a shutdown with a warning, the organizers announced.
With the transition to the new government and to different policy in Israel, my personal and professional integrity has compelled me to request to shorten my post and return to Israel this summer.
— Dr. Ronen Hoffman (@ronenhoffman) January 22, 2023
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