Yediot: Dershowitz rejected Bibi’s offer to serve as Israel’s Ambassador to UN
Note that a Israel Hayom report from April 22 2010 favored Dore Gold for the position.
UN Ambassador? No, thank you
Netanyahu offered Dershowitz the UN ambassador position; he and Lieberman tried to convince, but the famous Jewish-American lawyer decided to decline
Itamar Eichner, Yediot, May 4 2010 [page 11; Hebrew original here and at bottom of post]
He is considered one of the world’s most famous lawyers. He was the one who got OJ Simpson acquitted from charges of murdering his ex-wife. He is an ardent supporter of Israel. Now it turns out that Netanyahu and Lieberman courted him enthusiastically, offering him the position of Israel’s UN ambassador.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman have been searching for the right candidate for quite a long time after the appointment of Alon Pinkas, a Lieberman candidate, was taken off the agenda. The foreign minister mentioned top Jewish-American lawyer Alan Dershowitz (72) as a potential candidate, and Netanyahu loved the idea. The two sent an envoy to examine his position. If he accepted, he should have made Aliya (immigrated to Israel) and received an Israeli citizenship. Netanyahu counted on his persuasive skills, having done that before when he convinced Stanley Fischer to become Bank of Israel governor, and Fischer indeed immigrated to Israel in 2005. Yet, despite their efforts, Dershowitz declined the offer.
Dershowitz is presently Israel’s most prominent advocate when it comes to war against terror. He believes that Israel is one of the most moral states in the world and that its war against terror is, in many respects, even more moral than the US antiterror efforts.
The prime minister’s bureau responded: “We do not comment on internal discussions concerning positions on the Israeli Foreign Service.” The foreign minister’s bureau refused in principle to confirm or deny candidates’ names before a decision is made. Officials associated with the two leaders, however, confirmed the report.
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This is good news. He’s an embarrassment, but I’m glad he made a sensible decision.