Israeli Ambassador to Washington Ron Dermer was reprimanded last Thursday for violating the Civil Service Commission rules and taking part in forbidden political campaigning on behalf of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in interviews he gave to the American media.

In late December, Dermer was interviewed on the American Fusion Television network, which is aimed at young English speakers with a Hispanic background. Interviewer Jorge Ramos asked Dermer about the upcoming elections in Israel and mentioned that polls show the Israeli public thinks the country is not moving in the right direction.

In response, Dermer said that during the last U.S. presidential election there was a certain percentage of Americans who believed their country was moving in the wrong direction, but it didn’t prevent U.S. President Barack Obama from being reelected. He then added: “I have no doubt that when they [the Israeli public] look at all the people that stand for the leadership of the country, that they will have confidence in the leadership of Prime Minister Netanyahu.”

A few weeks before the interview took place, Civil Service Commissioner Moshe Dayan issued instructions in a December 10 memo, saying, “A state employee must be careful that his actions or behavior cannot be interpreted as being aimed at promoting the interest of any particular party or candidate.” Anyone violating these instructions, he said, “will face criminal or disciplinary proceedings in accordance with the law.”

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The Civil Service Commission said that after examining the matter, Keidar determined that Dermer had indeed violated the instructions to civil servants and expressed public support for a candidate in the elections. Dermer told Keidar during the clarification that he had not intended to express political support for Netanyahu's candidacy during the interview.

The spokesman for the Civil Service Commission said Dermer made it clear this was a "one - time mistake." Keidar accepted Dermer's explanations and also made it clear that his remarks were made on a television station that is not targeted at Israeli voters. Nonetheless, Keidar recommended that placing a disciplinary note in Dermer's personnel file.