Former ambassador Ron Dermer takes point on White House for Netanyahu

The newly installed sixth government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu includes two foreign ministers playing musical chairs: Likud legislator Eli Cohen will serve in the post for the first year, his party colleague Israel Katz will replace him for the next two years and Cohen will return to office for the fourth year of the government's term. In all the complexities of the appointments in this strange new government, perhaps the most fascinating is the real Israeli foreign minister: Ron Dermer. 

Netanyahu’s game plan puts Cohen and then Katz in charge of relations with Africa, perhaps parts of Asia and Eastern Europe. But Dermer, officially appointed minister of strategic affairs, will manage Israel’s most challenging and vital relationship — with the United States — alongside Likud veteran Tzachi Hanegbi, named head of the National Security Council. Essentially, there are two senior and two junior foreign ministers — after Netanyahu, the only one who counts. 

Many in Israel agree that Hanegbi, 65, is a worthy appointment. He is experienced, skilled, sharp and loyal to the boss. Late Prime Minister Ariel Sharon deemed him worthy of serving as his eventual successor. As Hanegbi has been entangled in minor scandals over the years, including a criminal conviction for perjury, he will likely want to redeem himself in the prestigious new post.

Hanegbi is a leading advocate of an Israeli strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities, stating in a recent television interview that Netanyahu would make such a move as a last resort. That being said, the ayatollahs need not run for cover yet, as Netanyahu considered such an attack almost a decade ago but did not go through with it.