Israel dismisses envoy who criticized judicial overhaul plan

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s antisemitism envoy said Sunday that she was fired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, citing her criticism of its planned judicial overhaul as a possible cause.

Noa Tishby, a pro-Israel activist and actress, was appointed to the volunteer role to combat antisemitism last year by Israel’s previous administration.

Tishby wrote on Twitter that “it is not possible for me to know if their decision was driven by my publicly stated concerns about this government’s ‘judicial reform policy.’”

Last month Tishby published a column on the Hebrew-language news site Ynet critical of the government’s proposed legislation, calling it an attempted “coup.”

The Israeli Foreign Ministry declined answering questions about Tishby’s dismissal, but issued a statement wishing her luck.

Netanyahu announced last week that he would pause the planned overhaul of the country’s judiciary. The government’s proposed defanging of the Supreme Court has divided the country and drawn weekly mass protests.

Another diplomatic appointment by the prior government, Assaf Zamir, Israel’s Consul General in New York, resigned last week in protest.