Israel’s ambassador to Washington is being summoned residence on the directions of a authorities disciplinary physique to debate feedback he made in a podcast interview, the international ministry mentioned Sunday.Ambassador Yechiel Leiter had made an look on a podcast run by the right-wing US on-line media platform PragerU, through which he accused opponents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of levelling “blood libels” on the Israeli chief.“The Director Common of the Ministry of Overseas Affairs, Eden Bar-Tal, will summon the ambassador in Washington, Dr Yechiel Leiter, for a listening to concerning statements he made throughout a media interview,” a ministry spokesman mentioned in a press release. The spokesman mentioned the summons was “in accordance with the directions of the Self-discipline Division on the Civil Service Fee”.Though the function of Israeli ambassador to the US is a political appointment and Leiter was chosen by Netanyahu, Israeli diplomats are sometimes anticipated to chorus from making political statements.Within the interview with PragerU, Leiter accused “extremists on the left” and the Israeli media of attempting to topple Netanyahu’s authorities.“It is the extremists, and there may be nothing they will not do to carry Netanyahu down, and it is a calumny that must be known as out,” he mentioned, accusing Netanyahu’s detractors of levelling “blood libels in opposition to your individual PM”.Leiter additionally dismissed as “madness” claims that the premier was prolonging the struggle in Gaza to stay in energy, including: “How dare they are saying one thing as malicious as that?”A ballot printed by Israel’s Channel 12 Information on Saturday confirmed that 55 p.c of the general public believes Netanyahu is extra interested by remaining in energy than ending the struggle or liberating the hostages nonetheless held in Gaza.A former adviser to Netanyahu, Leiter is initially from the US and lived in a settlement within the occupied West Financial institution.His son, Moshe Leiter, was killed in fight in November 2023 within the Gaza Strip.
