Brazil rejects new Israeli envoy for being settler leader

In a landmark test case for Israel, the appointment of Dayan as its next ambassador to Brazil is suddenly in trouble due to his ties to the West Bank settlement movement.

But more than 40 Brazilian social movements, including some of Rousseff’s supporters, have signed a petition calling on the government to reject Dayan’s appointment over his “acts in clear violation of global laws and the basic rights of the Palestinian people”.

In a New York Times editorial from July 2012, Dayan described the two-state solution as a “failed formula” and insisted that the presence of settlers in “all of Judea and Samaria – not just in the so-called settlement blocs – is an irreversible fact”.

From 2007 to 2013, Dayan was the chairman of the Yesha Council, the umbrella organization of settlement councils in the Occupied West Bank.

Liel is also a former Foreign Ministry director-general and was responsible for the Israeli Embassy in Turkey. It is rare for a head of state to voice their disapproval of the nominated individual, with diplomatic spats such as this usually taking place behind closed doors.

The Israeli website said that if Dayan’s “nomination in the end receives an official refusal; this could cause a crisis in Israel’s relations with Brazil”. Ynet reported that Netanyahu’s advisers hope that Rousseff can be persuaded to withdraw her objections. In a confrontational move, which some view as a diplomatic embarrassment for Israel, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is unwilling to accept the appointment. Based on diplomatic protocols, once Dayan’s appointment is officially confirmed by Israel, the Brazilian government will be sent a request to endorse the decision.

Ynet reported this week that Roussef, under pressure from Palestinian groups and figures in her country to reject Dayan, has privately expressed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government her unhappiness with the selection. Nirenstein’s appointment led to concerns in the Italian Jewish community that this will bring accusations of dual loyalties.