Netanyahu Eyes Caroline Glick For Sensitive New York Consul Post

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering appointing Caroline Glick, a U.S.-born right-wing commentator and Netanyahu adviser, as Israel’s next consul general in New York, according to media reports. The Prime Minister’s Office said no final decision has been made.

The New York consul general is one of Israel’s most sensitive diplomatic posts because the office serves as a main bridge between Israel and American Jewry. The role involves regular contact with Jewish organizations, donors, synagogues, universities, media outlets and local officials in a city with one of the world’s largest Jewish communities. For that reason, the appointment is closely watched as a signal of how the Israeli government intends to engage with American Jews. 

Glick also brings a long record in Israeli security, diplomacy and American media. After making Aliyah from the United States in 1991, she served more than five years in the IDF and later worked on Israeli negotiations with the PLO before serving as an assistant foreign policy adviser to Netanyahu during his first term. She has also held senior editorial roles at Israeli media outlets, written widely for American conservative publications and reported from the front lines of the Iraq War while embedded with U.S. forces. 

If appointed, Glick would replace Ofir Akunis, a former Likud minister who is expected to finish his term in New York in the coming weeks. The appointment would still require cabinet approval.

The possible appointment is already drawing attention because of Glick’s long record of criticism toward liberal American Jewish institutions, progressive Jewish politics and the Reform and Conservative movements, which make up a large share of American Jewry.

In a 2020 column, Glick wrote, “In many Reform and Conservative synagogues, Judaism is portrayed as a synonym for progressive politics.” She has also argued that parts of American Jewish leadership have moved away from Zionism and aligned too closely with progressive politics.

The report drew sharp criticism from Reform and Diaspora figures. Anna Kislanski, director-general of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism, said Glick “does not see Reform and Conservative Judaism as partners in the Jewish people, but as a political enemy.”

“Her appointment as consul general in New York would be the final bill of divorce this Netanyahu government is giving American Jewry,” Kislanski said.

No formal announcement has been made on Akunis’s replacement. If Netanyahu moves forward with Glick, the cabinet would still need to approve the appointment.