Netanyahu nominates self-proclaimed 'racist' politician as New York consul general

The Israeli regime has nominated an extremist Knesset member who had once boasted of being "proud to be a racist" as its consul general in the key US city of New York, triggering concerns among the city’s huge liberal Zionist community.

It did not take too long before former Israeli and American diplomats and heads of Zionist Jewish communities condemn the nomination of May Golan as an “insult” to the US, the UK-based Guardian daily reported Thursday.

"Golan’s appointment is outrageous as she is a racist and divisive figure, which is the exact opposite from what Israel needs in such a critical place," a group of former Israeli envoys said as quoted in the report, noting that they were "shocked" by the move.

A member of the Israeli regime’s ruling far-right Likud party, Golan supports the ultranationalist faction which has been behind the regime’s controversial judicial reforms, which have sparked massive protests in the occupied Palestine.

Golan came to the spotlight after she denounced African refugees in Israel, describing them as "Muslim infiltrators", criminals, and rapists. She continued her insulting remarks by claiming that most of these black refugees were infected with HIV and that they were spreading the disease by working as waiters. She called for their expulsion.

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Kobi Shabtai apparently made the comments in a private meeting with far-right minister Itamar Ben Gvir last week.

"If I am racist for wanting to defend my country and for wanting to protect my basic rights and security, then I’m a proud racist," she said at a political rally in 2013 as a member of the far-right Jewish Power party, a descendent of the Kach party – founded by the New York-based Zionist Rabbi Meir Kahane -- that was outlawed under Israeli regime’s anti-terrorism laws.

Golan, meanwhile, welcomed her nomination, saying she was "very flattered" to have been considered for the job.

If ratified by the Israeli Parliament, she will replace Asaf Zamir who announced his resignation last month after telling a meeting of American Zionist donors that he was "deeply concerned about the direction [Israel] is going in right now."

Martin Indyk, a former US ambassador to the Israeli regime, said that the nomination "will be seen by the American Jewish community as a sign of utmost disrespect," according to the report.

New York is considered the home of the largest Jewish community in the US where many are members of the Zionist Reform movement that has openly criticized the recent judiciary overhauls in Israel.

“We need a thoughtful, diplomatic, morally credible new consul general in NY. May Golan is none of those. Her brand of Zionism is antithetical to the majority of our community,” Rabbi Rick Jacobs, head of the Union for Reform Judaism tweeted.

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J Street, a liberal pro-Israel lobby in the US that rivals the more hawkish and influential AIPAC (American Israel Political Action Committee), also denounced the nomination, saying, "This appointment would be another affront by the Netanyahu government to shared democratic values, and an offense to the people – Jewish and non-Jewish alike – of a city that embodies America’s commitment to vibrant diversity."

Rallies have been held every week since January in occupied Palestine after the regime introduced the judicial reforms that seek to grant Benjamin Netanyahu's extremist cabinet effective control over the appointment of the regime’s Supreme Court's judges.

Although Netanyahu paused the controversial reforms last month, protests showed no sign of abating and were even compounded by a wave of strikes.

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