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Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s two foreign visits will be coordinated by a private company for the first time in Israel’s history, according to a report on Wednesday.
Lapid’s planned visit to Berlin and New York next month, where he will address the United Nations General Assembly, will be organized by Amsalem Tours, Net News reported.
The Ministry of External Affairs is responsible for organizing the Prime Minister’s overseas relations. However, the Prime Minister’s Office sought an alternative option amid the ongoing wage dispute between Foreign Ministry staff and the government, including the threat of a strike.
Amisam Tours, which focuses on business travel, is headquartered in the northern city of Tiberias, but operates branches throughout the country and overseas.
The company is said to be tasked with providing hotels and cars for the prime minister and his entourage, as well as organizing various events that Lapid – the foreign minister – is scheduled to attend.
An unnamed government source told the Internet that Lapid “reconciled himself with the Foreign Ministry and his staff.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, right, and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid speak to the media after their talks in Ankara, Turkey, June 23, 2022. (AP/Burhan Ozbilici)
“In practice, he has completely cut ties with the ministry, and all arrangements for his visits have fallen to the National Security Council, which now has to deal with political issues beyond his role,” he said.
The trade union representing Foreign Ministry workers criticized the move, accusing Lapid of hiring “diplomatic contract workers” to avoid negotiations.
“All this [comes] “At a critical time that calls for diplomatic activities in world capitals to seek support for Israel’s policies regarding Iran,” he said.
The union called on the government to “avoid the waste of public resources and sit down with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to resolve the crisis”.
Illustrated: Overview of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters, 21 September 2016. (AP/Jason DeCrow)
“The Prime Minister’s visits to Berlin and the United Nations are of the utmost importance to Israel’s national security and will continue as planned,” an unnamed government source said in the report.
Last week, union officials threatened to disrupt Lapid’s visit to Germany and the US over the protracted wage dispute.
Some consular services have run out of passports after ministry staff refused to refill their overseas representatives in a dispute.
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