Knesset Member urges pause on London ambassador role amid police investigation
Naama Lazimi writes to UK Jewish leaders as Israelis in London also warn over proposed appointment
An Israeli MK has called for the proposed appointment of Israel’s next ambassador to London to be urgently reconsidered, citing an ongoing police investigation and concerns over public trust.
Naama Lazimi, a member of the Knesset, wrote on 11 January to senior civil service and foreign ministry officials in Israel, following what she described as “grave developments in the ‘Qatar-gate’ affair”, saying that this “necessitate[s] a re-examination of Mr. Tzachi Braverman’s appointment as Israel’s Ambassador in London,”
The politician, formerly of the Israeli Labor Party, which has now combined with Meretz to form The Democrats, said that on 23 December she had approached Israel’s Attorney General and Military Advocate General with a demand to open a criminal investigation into Braverman, citing “heavy suspicion of his involvement” in the affair.
Lazimi added that it had since been reported that Braverman was detained for questioning by Israel Police’s Lahav 433 unit, which investigates major corruption cases, on suspicion of “obstructing an investigation and breach of trust within the framework of the ‘classified documents’ affair”.
“Qatar-gate” is an ongoing scandal in Israel, based on the allegation that officials close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were paid millions by representatives of the Qatari government. Braverman, Netanyahu’s Chief of Staff, was arrested earlier this month after being accused of trying to block an investigation into the leak of secret military documents from the Prime Minister’s office.
In her letter, Lazimi pointed to civil service procedures requiring a review of appointments where an investigation is ongoing, including consideration of “actions that raise doubt regarding the candidate’s integrity”.
“The post of Ambassador in London is one of the State of Israel’s most important and sensitive diplomatic roles, requiring an exceptionally high level of public trust and moral integrity,” she wrote.
In a second letter dated 20 January, Lazimi contacted Labour Friends of Israel, the Jewish Leadership Council and the Board of Deputies of British Jews to alert them to the situation.
“As you may be aware, Mr. Braverman is currently the subject of grave legal concerns,” she wrote, again referencing his questioning by Lahav 433 “on suspicion of obstructing an investigation and breach of trust”.
Separately, a letter sent the same day to Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper was signed by Israeli citizens living in the UK, many of them holding dual British-Israeli nationality.
“We are writing as Israeli citizens residing in the United Kingdom, many of us holding dual British-Israeli nationality, to express serious concern regarding the proposed appointment of Mr Yitzhak (‘Tzachi’) Braverman as Israel’s Ambassador to the Court of St James’s”, the letter states.
The signatories said Braverman’s questioning formed part of “an ongoing police investigation into alleged misconduct connected to the handling and dissemination of classified information from the Prime Minister’s Office”, adding that he was released “subject to restrictions, including a temporary travel ban”.
They warned that appointing an ambassador under active investigation risked “undermining the integrity of Israel’s diplomatic representation and placing additional strain on UK-Israel relations at an already sensitive time”.
No indictment has been announced, and the investigation remains ongoing.
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