Europhiles and Americanists do battle for Foreign Ministry top spot

The Foreign Ministry will pick its next deputy director general next week, a position hotly contested by four diplomats - two long-time European veterans and two younger men with experience in the United States.

Next Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry's appointments committee will convene to make the choice, but the proceedings may only be just beginning. Members of the so-called European camp are threatening to take legal action if neither of their candidates is awarded the position, claiming that diplomats who have served in the United States are unfairly promoted over others.

The holder of the much sought-after position organizes much of the Foreign Ministry's diplomatic activities abroad. It is considered the highest possible achievement for a professional diplomat because the director general is often a political appointee.

The so-called U.S. camp consists of Rafi Barak and Jeremy Issacharoff, considered part of the younger generation of Israeli diplomats. Barak is currently deputy director general of Israel's West European operations. He has served as the deputy ambassador in Washington and is said to be highly regarded. Issacharoff is the current deputy ambassador in Washington and was once the ministry's deputy director general for strategic affairs.

The European camp consists of Victor Harel, the second most veteran diplomat at the ministry and former ambassador to Madrid, and Pini Avivi, currently the deputy director general of Eurasian operations and formerly the ambassador to Turkey.

Many diplomats in the ministry say that Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, a former career diplomat who has served as Israel's ambassador to Washington, has intervened in ministerial affairs in favor of his former colleagues.

Some sources close to the situation say Naor Gilon's appointment to head the foreign minister's staff and David Segal's selection as the deputy foreign minister's adviser suggest Ayalon's American leanings.

The European camp says it does not doubt the merits of Barak or Issacharoff. But they say seniority and experience must be factored in when deciding whom to make deputy director general. They add that Barak and Issacharoff have never served as full-fledged ambassadors and therefore lack sufficient experience.

"So what if they were the number two in Washington, so what?" a source at the ministry said. "Since when is an envoy in Washington more important than an ambassador in Europe?"

Harel and Avivi say the ministry's director general, Yossi Gal, who himself belongs to the younger generation at the ministry, is ignoring veteran diplomats. On the other hand, other sources at the ministry say that appointments should be based on individual skill and merit rather than seniority.