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Asaf Zamir, Israel’s top diplomat in NY, summoned to Jerusalem after implicitly criticizing judicial overhaul
(JTA) — Since December, Israel’s top diplomat in New York has found himself in an odd-couple relationship with the government he represents. Now, that relationship looks like it may be on the rocks after he criticized his government’s signature legislation.
Asaf Zamir, Israel’s consul general in New York, was appointed to the position in 2021 by the short-lived centrist government that had unseated longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Zamir was a former deputy mayor of the liberal city of Tel Aviv, and had previously served briefly under Netanyahu as tourism minister — before resigning in protest.
But when Netanyahu returned to power at the end of last year, leading a coalition with far-right partners, Zamir stayed in his position in New York — long thought of as a coveted seat in Israel’s foreign service. He kept serving even as other senior diplomats — such as Israel’s ambassadors to France and Canada — resigned rather than represent Netanyahu again.
Now, Zamir has clashed with Netanyahu and is heading back to Jerusalem to explain himself. The order to fly home to clarify his remarks, given by Israel’s Foreign Ministry, came after Zamir implicitly criticized Netanyahu’s planned overhaul of the country’s judiciary, which would sap the Israeli Supreme Court of much of its power and independence.
“Right now, we’re in a very dramatic period,” he said in remarks to a gala dinner in New York City on Thursday night hosted by Anu, the Museum of the Jewish People, which is located in Tel Aviv. His statement was first reported by Barak Ravid, a reporter for Israel’s Walla News and the U.S. outlet Axios.
Zamir, who was appointed to a three-year term, said being a diplomat sometimes means defending policies one doesn’t agree with but continued, “That’s not the point in the last few weeks.”
“I’m deeply concerned in the direction the country is going in right now,” he said. “If we want to have a national home and we want it to be everyone’s home, it really must be democratic.”
Zamir was alluding to the fears of an expansive range of critics — including hundreds of thousands of Israelis who have taken to the streets in frequent protests — that the judicial overhaul would threaten Israeli democracy. The legislation, which is currently advancing through Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, would allow a bare majority of parliament to override court decisions and would give the governing coalition full control over Supreme Court appointments. Its defenders say it will allow the government to enact the wishes of Israel’s right-wing majority.
Zamir isn’t the first diplomat to fret over the legislation. Last week, Simon Seroussi, the spokesman of the Israeli embassy in Paris, warned in a leaked cable that “in recent weeks, we have identified a worrying trend of French journalists, editors, academics, and commentators who are known as pro-Israel speaking critically, even very critically, about Israel” due to the legislation as well as violence by Israeli settlers, according to the Times of Israel.
Seroussi’s cable came ahead of a visit by Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who said in a private speech in Paris on Sunday night that “There’s no such thing as the Palestinian people.” according to Israeli reports.
Israeli actor and producer Noa Tishby, who was appointed last year as an unpaid envoy for Israel, has also criticized the court legislation. The government is considering cutting ties with Tishby as a result, Israeli media reported on Sunday.
Zamir’s wife, actress Maya Wertheimer, delivered her own implicit criticism of the legislation on Sunday during an appearance at the kickoff gala of Tel Aviv Fashion Week. She walked in a show that featured Ivri Lider, an Israeli singer, who was wearing a blue dress bearing the seal of the state of Israel, along with a gold crown. Stenciled on his chest were the words “free in our land,” a quote from the Israeli national anthem.
Lider wrote on Instagram that his outfit, designed by Aviad Arik Herman, was called “Dress of Democracy” and said the crown was made of gavels representing “the importance of the judicial system.” Wertheimer carried an oversized passport and plane ticket during her appearance in the show, which also featured Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai and the former head of the left-wing Meretz Party, Zehava Galon, wearing a dress emblazoned with the faces of Israeli women in politics.
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Mamdani Taps Anti-Israel Voices Ms. Rachel, Cynthia Nixon, Jewish Voice for Peace Director for Inaugural Committee
New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani attends a press conference at the Unisphere in the Queens borough of New York City, US, Nov. 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kylie Cooper
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday unveiled the members of his inaugural committee, and the list includes a slate of anti-Israel appointments, sparking renewed concerns over the incoming administration’s commitment to protecting the Jewish community.
Among the most controversial appointees are high-profile activists and cultural figures who have taken public anti-Israel positions or are affiliated with organizations sharply critical of the Jewish state, such as children’s entertainer Rachel “Ms. Rachel” Accurso and actress Cynthia Nixon. Another controversial name on the list is Beth Miller, political director at Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), an organization that rejects Zionism and has defended protests targeting Israeli institutions.
In the two years following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, assault on Israel, Accurso has used her sizeable platform to launch an unremitting barrage of condemnation toward Israel, accusing the Jewish state of committing so-called “genocide” and starving children. She sparked backlash after posting about a three-year-old Gazan girl named Rahaf, who lost her legs in an Israeli airstrike. Accurso did not contextualize the situation by acknowledging that the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas often uses children as human shields during their operations, instead framing Rahaf’s injuries as a result of Israeli military malfeasance. She has also falsely accused Israel of purposefully triggering starvation in Gaza against the civilian population.
“We must not let one more baby or child die of starvation. This isn’t about politics, it’s about basic humanity,” she posted on Instagram.
Nixon has repeatedly lambasted Israel and signed a petition supporting South Africa’s genocide case against the Jewish state at the International Court of Justice.
Miller helps lead one of the most vocal anti-Israel organizations in the country. She recently shared a post on X which read that Israel has “starved, abducted, and displaced Palestinian children every day in 2025.” She also shared another post which characterized Israel’s military operations as “unfathomably evil” and wrote that Israel is “actively carrying out a genocide,” citing allegations from “Palestinian, Israeli, and international human rights organizations.” She even condemned outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams for visiting Israel, saying he “continues to demonstrate what it looks like to truly not give one single flying f–k about New Yorkers.”
Despite JVP’s name, a poll released earlier this year found that the vast majority of American Jews believe that anti-Zionist movements and anti-Israel university protests are antisemitic. The findings also showed that Jews across the US overwhelmingly oppose the views and tactics of JVP.
Meanwhile, StandWithUs (SWU), an organization which promotes a mission of “supporting Israel and fighting antisemitism,” released a report in January examining how the far-left JVP organization “promotes antisemitic conspiracy theories” and even partners with terrorist organizations to achieve its “primary goal” of “dismantling the State of Israel.”
According to the report, JVP weaponizes the plight of Palestinians to advance an “extremist” agenda which promotes the destruction of Israel and whitewashes terrorism, receiving money from organizations that have ties to Middle Eastern countries such as Iran.
JVP, which has repeatedly defended the Hamas-led Oct. 7 massacre, argued in a recently resurfaced 2021 booklet that Jews should not write Hebrew liturgy because hearing the language would be “deeply traumatizing” to Palestinians.
Critics of the organization often point out that many JVP chapters do not have a single person of Jewish faith. The organization does not require a Jewish person to found a chapter and has even helped orchestrate anti-Israel demonstrations in front of synagogues.
The new appointments cast doubt over whether the Mamdani administration will protect the city’s Jewish population amid a record wave of antisemitic attacks in the city. The mayor-elect has vowed to defend Jewish New Yorkers and attempted to mend relations with outreach to Jewish leaders. He has also expressed public grief over the recent Bondi Beach massacre targeting a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia.
Mamdani, a far-left democratic socialist and anti-Zionist, is an avid supporter of boycotting all Israeli-tied entities who has been widely accused of promoting antisemitic rhetoric. He has repeatedly accused Israel of “apartheid” and “genocide”; refused to recognize the country’s right to exist as a Jewish state; and refused to explicitly condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which has been associated with calls for violence against Jews and Israelis worldwide.
Leading members of the Jewish community in New York have expressed alarm about Mamdani’s victory, fearing what may come in a city already experiencing a surge in antisemitic hate crimes.
A Sienna Research Institute poll released in early November revealed that a whopping 72 percent of Jewish New Yorkers believe that Mamdani will be “bad” for the city. A mere 18 percent hold a favorable view of Mamdani, according to the results, while 67 percent view him unfavorably.
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Melbourne Firebombing Suspect Identified as Jewish Community Calls for Federal Royal Commission
People walk at the scene of a shooting incident at Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia, Dec. 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Kirsty Needham
Australian police have identified a person of interest in a Christmas morning arson attack on a vehicle with Hanukkah decorations, marking the latest antisemitic incident in Australia as the local Jewish community continues to face a growing climate of hostility.
On Thursday, a local rabbi’s car in Melbourne, decorated with a “Happy Chanukah” sign, was firebombed by an unknown individual, forcing his family to flee their home.
Shortly after the incident, Melbourne police launched an investigation into the firebombing, treating it as an antisemitic and targeted attack.
Authorities have now identified a 47-year-old man as their main suspect, who also has an outstanding arrest warrant for allegedly using a stolen credit card, but he has not yet been charged in connection with the firebombing.
Speaking at a press conference, Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Chris Gilbert said, “The most important thing” was to understand the motive behind the attack and to “make sure the community doesn’t live in fear as a result of this incident.”
This latest attack has sparked outrage within the local Jewish community, drawing condemnation from both Jewish leaders and government officials, as the country continues to mourn the deadly Hanukkah attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, which killed 15 people and injured at least 40 others.
According to Israel’s Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Ministry, antisemitic incidents in Australia surged by 600 percent following the Bondi Beach massacre, with data showing a sharp spike in verbal and physical attacks against Jews in public in the two days after the attack.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the latest incident, calling it a disturbing act of hatred and emphasizing the need for stronger measures to protect the Jewish community.
“The firebombing of a car in Melbourne is another terrible act of suspected antisemitism,” Albanese wrote in a post on X. “There is no place in Australia for this kind of hatred, and it has to stop.”
Australia’s Jewish community is in mourning after the Bondi terrorist attack.
The firebombing of a car in Melbourne is another terrible act of suspected antisemitism. Federal authorities stand ready to assist.
There is no place in Australia for this kind of hatred and it has to…
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) December 25, 2025
As the local Jewish community continues to grapple with a shocking surge in violence and targeted attacks, Australia’s rabbis urged Albanese in a letter to establish a federal Royal Commission into antisemitism — a formal public inquiry empowered to investigate, make recommendations, and propose legislative measures to address the issue.
“We have sat with grieving families. We have visited the injured. We have stood with children who no longer feel safe walking to school. We have watched members of our communities withdraw from public spaces, universities, and civic life out of fear,” the letter reads.
“We are demanding nothing less than the banning of [anti-Israel] marches and demonstrations, and the criminalization of the phrases ‘death to the IDF,’ ‘globalize the intifada,’ and ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.’ This is not an abstract concern. It is a lived reality,” it continues, referencing three popular chants among anti-Israel activists that have been widely interpreted as a call for violence against both Jews and Israelis.
BREAKING – Australia’s Rabbis have written to the Prime Minister calling for a Royal Commission pic.twitter.com/gCpuhdszZS
— Australian Jewish Association (@AustralianJA) December 25, 2025
Amid this increasingly hostile climate, the Australian government has been pursuing a series of firearm reforms, including a national gun buyback and limits on the number of firearms an individual can own.
On Wednesday, New South Wales passed its own legislation further restricting firearm ownership. Police will also be granted more powers to impose restrictions on protests for up to three months after a declared terrorist, and public display of flags and symbols of designated terrorist organizations has been outlawed.
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Israel Becomes First Country to Recognize Somaliland, Establishing Diplomatic Ties Amid Regional Security Concerns
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signs the joint declaration of mutual recognition with Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi, officially establishing full diplomatic relations between the two nations. Photo: Screenshot
Israel on Friday became the first country to officially recognize the Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state, in a move expected to reshape regional power dynamics as the two governments expand political, security, and economic cooperation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, alongside Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi, signed a joint declaration of mutual recognition, formally establishing full diplomatic relations between the two sides.
Somaliland is an unrecognized state in the Horn of Africa, situated on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden and bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Ethiopia to the south and west, and Somalia to the east.
In a statement on the newly signed agreement, Netanyahu praised Abdi for “his leadership and commitment to promoting stability and peace” in the region, while also inviting him to make an official visit to Israel.
“The State of Israel plans to immediately expand its relations with the Republic of Somaliland through extensive cooperation in the fields of agriculture, health, technology, and economy,” the Israeli leader wrote in a post on X.
I announced today the official recognition of the Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state.
Together with Foreign Minister Sa’ar and the President of the Republic of Somaliland, we signed a joint and mutual declaration.
This declaration is in the spirit of… pic.twitter.com/WlZuN1HB5z
— Benjamin Netanyahu – בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) December 26, 2025
With the newly signed agreement, Saar said plans would also move forward for the appointment of ambassadors and the opening of embassies.
“We will work together to promote the relations between our countries and nations, regional stability, and economic prosperity,” the top Israeli diplomat said.
For his part, Abdi announced that Somaliland would also join the Abraham Accords, calling it a “step toward regional and global peace” and affirming his government’s commitment to building partnerships, boosting mutual prosperity, and promoting stability across the Middle East and Africa.
Although no other country has formally recognized Somaliland, several — including the United Kingdom, Ethiopia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Denmark, Kenya, and Taiwan — have maintained liaison offices, allowing them to engage diplomatically and conduct trade and consular activities without full formal recognition.
Israel’s move has provoked outrage among several regional powers, with the foreign ministers of Somalia, Egypt, Turkey, and Djibouti condemning its recognition of Somaliland as undermining Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
According to experts, the growing Israel-Somaliland partnership could be a “game changer” for Israel, boosting the Jewish state’s ability to counter the Yemen-based Houthi terrorist group while offering strategic and geographic advantages amid shifting regional power dynamics.
Unlike most other states in the region, Somaliland has relative security, regular elections, and a degree of political stability — qualities that make it a valuable partner for international allies and a key player in regional cooperation.
Last month, the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), a prominent Israeli think tank, released a new report arguing that Somaliland’s strategic position along the Red Sea, its closeness to Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, and its willingness to work with pro-Western states make it a key ally for Israel, benefiting both sides amid rising regional volatility.
“Somaliland’s significance lies in its geostrategic location and in its willingness — as a stable, moderate, and reliable state in a volatile region — to work closely with Western countries,” the INSS report said.
“Somaliland’s territory could serve as a forward base for multiple missions: intelligence monitoring of the Houthis and their armament efforts; logistical support for Yemen’s legitimate government in its war against them; and a platform for direct operations against the Houthis,” it continued.
This strategic partnership comes at a critical moment, as Israeli and US officials have warned of rising Islamist terrorist threats across Sub-Saharan Africa, placing the region at the forefront of global concern over jihadist activity.