Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Dermer’s Boss Claims He Didn’t Consult Before Saying Congresswomen Could Visit

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer did not consult with Israeli leaders before he announced last month that Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar would be allowed in to the country, the country’s foreign minister said.

“It was not with the prime minister’s blessing; it was not a decision of the Israeli government… It was not with my blessing. He gave his opinion,” Yisrael Katz said Saturday night on “Meet the Press” on Israel’s Channel 12.

Katz said that Netanyahu made the decision to ban the congresswomen after meeting with members of his Cabinet last Tuesday and Wednesday. He said President Donald Trump’s tweet on Thursday calling on Israel to ban them did not have an effect on the decision since it had already been made.

“The decision was an Israeli one. I don’t think that a country that respects itself would allow in Congress members that act in such a harsh way against the State of Israel,” Katz said.

Dermer is a close confidant of Netanyahu, and Netanyahu reportedly said recently that he sees Dermer as a potential successor as prime minister.

It is not known if Dermer, an American immigrant, has any political aspirations and has several times in recent years asked to be relieved of his duties in Washington, where he has served since 2013. His term is up at the end of September, though Netanyahu is seeking to extend his stay in Washington by another year.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.