BREAKING NEWS

'Anti-Danon bill' aims to curb cronyism in Israel's diplomatic corps

Political appointments for diplomats proposed by the foreign minister would require the approval of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, according to a bill proposed over the weekend by Zionist Union MK Yoel Hasson.
Hasson proposed the legislation a week after the controversial appointment of Science, Technology and Space Minister Danny Danon as the next ambassador to the United Nations by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his capacity of foreign minister.
Other recent political appointments by Netanyahu include journalist Fiama Nirenstein as ambassador to Italy, former Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria chairman Danny Dayan as ambassador to Brazil, and ambassador to the US Ron Dermer, who was Netanyahu's foreign policy adviser.
Hasson said the appointments like that of Danon prove that the system for political appointments must be changed.