Comptroller due to report on Foreign Ministry appointment procedures.
By JPOST.COM STAFF
In two weeks, nearly a third of Israel's consulates throughout the world will be left unstaffed as 23 consuls end their terms and make their way back home. Cities that will be left without Israeli government representation include Moscow, Dublin, Boston, Atlanta, Rome, Athens, Beijing, Prague, and Oslo.
In addition to the impending consular exodus, Israel currently has no ambassador in either France or Jordan.
The appointments committee of the Foreign Ministry is expected to meet within the next five days to replace the returning consuls, many of whom, a foreign ministry official told Israel Radio, have yet to be appointed to new positions.
The official said that the ministry faces a choice between leaving the consular positions unfilled until new consuls can be appointed, trained, and make arrangements to leave, or packing off ill-prepared appointees to represent Israel abroad.
Foreign Ministry appointment and promotion procedures are the subject of scrutiny in a report due to be published on Monday by State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss.