Recent reports indicate that Israeli Prime Minister-elect Benjamin Netanyahu considers former Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer for the position of foreign minister in his new government. Dermer is more than just a confidant to Netanyahu; their relationship is almost familial. He was also Netanyahu’s most important appendage in the White House during the Trump administration.
The problem is that Dermer is not a Knesset member for the Likud. He is not even a member of the party. Clearly, such an appointment will have serious implications within the Likud leadership. Top Likud officials are already furious at Netanyahu for not leaving senior government positions for them as the representatives of Israel’s largest party. Many of these senior Likud officials — including former Ministers Yisrael Katz, Amir Ohana and Yuli Edelstein — see themselves as a fit to serve as Israel’s next foreign minister.
