JERUSALEM — The cabinet Sunday approved the appointment of Kiryat Yam Mayor Shmuel Siso as Israel’s consul-general in New York, despite questions about whether his English is fluent enough.
Industry and Trade Minister Natan Sharansky abstained in the vote. A cabinet colleague accused Sharansky of showing racism when he tried to object to Siso’s appointment on procedural grounds.
Confirmation of Siso, Foreign Minister David Levy’s choice for the post, was held up since his nomination in March amid criticism that the super-sensitive New York post requires a candidate with a better knowledge of English. But that issue was not addressed during the cabinet session, sources said.
Sharansky contended that while he has nothing against Siso, he believes the cabinet violated protocol by failing to present his nomination for ministerial consideration at the previous week’s cabinet session.
Attorney-General Elyakim Rubinstein disagreed, arguing that Siso’s name was under consideration for much longer than one week.
Science Minister Silvan Shalom said these objections to Siso smacked of racism, and “there are those who do not give Sephardim a chance.”
The sources who quoted Shalom said that Levy, a Moroccan Jew, expressed the same opinion.
Also leaping to Siso’s defense was Finance Minister Ya’acov Ne’eman, who said that the consul-general designate speaks fluent English.
Without referring to Siso personally, one of the Foreign Ministry’s former directors-general, Hebrew University Prof. Shlomo Avineri, said the consul-general in New York is one of the five most prominent positions in the diplomatic service.
“Considering the nature of New York’s population and the concentration of mass media there, shortcomings in linguistic capability are a major handicap,” Avineri said.
Yisrael Peleg, a former consul-general in Philadelphia, said that language is an important tool for hasbara (public relations).
Uri Bar-Ner, a former consul-general in Chicago, said that a command of English is essential for reaching the local Jewish community as well as its academics, clerics and politicians.
“In all this, inadequate language ability is a tremendous shortcoming,” he said.