Dermer takes Passover vacation, unlikely to return to PMO
It is widely assumed that Dermer’s job – he served a number of functions, including top foreign policy adviser and speech writer – will be divided among a number of different people.
By HERB KEINONPrime Minister's Office in Jerusalem 311 (R)(photo credit: Ronen Zvulun / Reuters)
The Ron Dermer era in the Prime Minister’s Office appears to have ended with the conclusion last week of US President Barack Obama’s visit.Dermer, a close and trusted confidant of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, left soon after Obama’s visit for a Passover vacation in the US where he spent the Seder with his family. He is not expected to return to the PMO.The PMO has not officially announced Dermer’s departure, nor has a replacement been named. An official in the PMO would not comment on the matter.It is widely assumed that Dermer’s job – he served a number of functions, including top foreign policy adviser and speech writer – will be divided among a number of different people. Among those mentioned as one of those who will move into the PMO is former ambassador to the UN Dore Gold, who has advised Netanyahu on foreign policy both in an official and in an informal capacity over the years.It is not yet clear where Dermer, 42, will go next. His name has been mentioned in the past in the context of a possible ambassador to the UN or Washington. Appointing Dermer an ambassador, however, is a political appointment that would entail political horse trading between Netanyahu and former and possibly future Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman.Dermer has also been mentioned as a candidate for the ambassadorial job in Ottawa, something considered less likely.Dermer’s decision to leave the PMO, where he served throughout Netanyahu’s second term as prime minister, is believed to have to do with the non-stop rigor of the job and a desire to spend more time with his family – he has four small sons and another child on the way – and not to any policy disagreements with the prime minister.
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