Asaf Zamir
Asaf ZamirShahar Azran

Israel's Consul General in New York, Asaf Zamir, was summoned by the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem on Sunday after he warned US Jewish donors against the Israeli government’s planned judicial reform.

According to Israel Hayom, there are no plans at this stage to dismiss Zamir from his post. However, if he continues to criticize the government, there will be no choice but to remove him from his position. Zamir was appointed to the position by the previous Foreign Minister, Yair Lapid.

Zamir last week spoke at the Jewish Museum’s annual fundraising gala where he criticized the judicial reform plans of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

"I'm deeply concerned about the direction the country is going in right now. If you want to have the national home and to be everyone's home, it really must be democratic," Zamir said.

"I've been in New York explaining Israel and representing Israel for the last 18 months. Sometimes it's things that I agree with, and sometimes it's things that I don't agree with. That's part of being a diplomat. It's part of being an Israeli — sometimes it's easier, sometimes it's harder. It's always very clear. That's not the point of the last few weeks," he added.

With his comments, Zamir became the first sitting Israeli diplomat to deliver such warnings concerning the judicial reform. Other diplomats, including Israeli Ambassador to Canada Ronen Hoffman and Ambassador to France Yael German, have resigned over the past several months due to the new government's positions.

US Jewish leaders have voiced concerns about the effects the judicial reform could have on support for Israel.

A delegation of US Jewish federation leaders visited Israel this past week and warned against the government’s planned overhaul of the judiciary.

The delegation came to Israel for 24 hours between Tuesday and Wednesday, and included representatives of more than 30 US Jewish communities. The delegation met with lawmakers from the coalition as well as the opposition.

Last month, the Jewish Federations of North America published an open letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Yair Lapid, calling on them to “fully embrace” President Isaac Herzog’s calls for negotiations between the coalition and the opposition on the judicial reform.