Ambassador Ofir Akunis is Consul General of Israel in New York. How does he view the challenges faced by Israel and the West, how can he help Jewish youth on campus – and more. Interview.
The role of Consul General of Israel in New York has changed dramatically since October 7th. The head of the consulate, which also represents New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Delaware, now finds himself at the forefront of combatting campus antisemitism, defending Israel’s position in its existential battle, and confronting anti-Israel protestors waving Hamas flags in front of its midtown offices.
Ambassador Ofir Akunis arrived in the spring to fill this position, bringing with him an acute sense of the urgency of his mission and a passion to match the demand. Akunis, who was elected to the Knesset in 2009 and served as a Member of Knesset for the Likud Party since, has acted as Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology for two terms. He also served as Minister of Regional Cooperation, overseeing the signing of the historic Abraham Accords, and as Minister of Labor and Social Affairs during the pandemic.
This experience bolsters Akunis as he confronts the challenges of his new role. In an exclusive interview with Akunis at the New York Consulate, the ambassador spoke about the critical issues that have shaken Jewish communities in Israel and America and of his resolve to tackle them head-on.
Lehmann: You arrived as the new consul general just a few months ago and jumped right in to address urgent problems in the Jewish community. Where did you begin?
Akunis: I landed on May 1st and immediately came to the consulate for my very first discussion about campus antisemitism. This is a huge problem for Jewish students, Israeli students and Americans at large. Masked protestors are yelling “death to America” and “globalize the intifada”. What happened at Columbia is so close to Kristallnacht, but the threat is not only against Jewish and Israeli students. A recent Columbia boycott initiative is open about their opposition to Western civilization.
Americans, Europeans, and Israelis must decide to stop it now before it will be too late. I call on my American friends not to be naïve. Wake up! First, it’s the Jews; then it will be you. You cannot remain silent anymore; to stay silent is to agree.
Lehmann: You recently met with heads of Jewish organizations on campuses. What concrete efforts can the consulate actually make?
Akunis: This was the very first time a discussion of this nature took place here at the Israeli Consulate. We gave a message of support – we are behind you. We represent both Israeli and Jewish students. I also speak with my colleagues who are lawmakers to enforce the law. I speak as a diplomat with the police, the mayor and the governor to ask them to fulfill their fundamental obligation and enforce the law.
This is a land that is based on law and order like any other democracy in the world. The enemy is clever and knows how to exploit our democracy to ruin it. The same radical Islamists who cheered on September 11th – their children are now yelling death to America. My message to Jewish communities, Americans and Europeans is don’t let them use our democracy to destroy our democracy.
Lehmann: Do you think we should be following the money trail? Qatar and Iran and others have been pouring money into American universities. How do we stop that?
Akunis: There is a very important American law called the foreign agent law. There are existing laws here; you must use them. I think Iranians and others are actually foreign agents here.
Lehmann: Doesn’t the success of enforcing laws depend on the enforcer? Many progressives among the Democratic Party resist enforcing laws, from crime to antisemitism on campuses. While Israelis cannot be seen as interfering in American politics, what can be done to mitigate this threat?
Akunis: This is not my mission or that of the State of Israel and its government. I personally will respect any decision of the American people. I respect the will of the American people, and my expectation is that the American people will respect the will of the Israeli people. Through the years, that is what has happened and will continue to happen. We will know how to work with any new administration that will get the vote.
Lehmann: Are you worried that support for Israel as a bipartisan issue is eroding on the Democratic side?
Akunis: I appreciate bipartisan support for Israel, especially after October 7th. Both Republican and Democratic conventions had families of hostages come to speak. I am sure that the alliance between the U.S. and Israel are based on the same values – democracy, human rights, and freedom of speech. You can protest but everything has to be in this frame. That is the main idea of democracy.
Lehmann: These are new issues for a consul general. Your role has completely changed from dealing with passports and other typical consulate duties. How are you adapting to your new job description?
Akunis: Before I was appointed, I told the prime minister and the cabinet that being here as a consul general during these historical days is no less important than serving my country as a cabinet minister or MK. I said that I will go to my mission “as a proud Jew, proud Zionist and proud Israeli”.
Lehmann: In that order?
Akunis: That’s right! I always explain that Zionism came from Judaism, from the Jewish roots of our people. And the State of Israel came from Zionism. I think the Western world today, including the State of Israel, has failed to educate the current generation, who are now in universities. We talk about universal values and the environment, which are important, but you need to know your roots. That is the duty of families and schools.
(Holding up a Tanach) What about this? Many children in Israel have never heard of the Tanach. I am not a haredi Jew. I am a traditional Jew – what Menachem Begin used to call “a simple Jew”. But a simple Jew must know that everything is from this (the Tanach). And the new generation in the U.S. doesn’t know anything about this either.
Lehmann: You touch on a very important point by linking Zionism and Judaism because anti-Israel protestors who claim to oppose Zionism are really antisemites. Since October 7th, many unaffiliated Jews feel targeted by this sentiment. Have you observed this in your interactions with them?
Akunis: It’s a good question. I think there are changes in the Jewish communities. They were shocked by October 7th and then the events on the campuses. They are much, much more supportive of Israel and Zionism and Judaism now.
There are many views among Jews around the world since our exodus from Egypt. This is part of the beauty of our nation. We can argue between ourselves and think differently about specific issues but in the end, we are one nation. Over the years there were huge differences between the Jewish communities in the U.S. Now I can feel that they are more united. This has a good influence on Israeli society. To be honest, I want to see Israeli society more united.
Lehmann: When I speak to Israeli relatives and friends, I am concerned about the war. When they speak to me, they are concerned about antisemitism. Which worries you most?
Akunis: What happens here worries me more. The U.S. is the symbol of the New World and those pro-terrorist protestors and organizations want to ruin the New World. They don’t want Western civilization or democracy. They don’t want human rights or even women’s rights. And yet, there are people here in Manhattan who actually call themselves liberal and support them!
Lehmann: You recently launched a billboard campaign in Times Square highlighting the ongoing danger posed by Iran to the entire world. Do you think this message is having an effect or is anti-Israel propaganda blinding citizens, politicians and the media?
Akunis: I think most Americans understand the threat. I don’t know if the media reflects real life. Unfortunately, there are many lies in the American media about Israel. My mission is to stand for the truth. I meet with many people here – senators, congressmen, people in different communities. When we show them the facts, we can sometimes change their minds. The Times Square billboard is one example. I also give interviews in newspapers, on television and radio. There is support for Israel, but of course there is the other side. You’ll never convince everybody.
Lehmann: October 7 should have been the biggest so-called media stunt to garner support for Israel and yet it had the opposite effect. Does that demonstrate hasbarah’s limited ability and should Israel rather concentrate on the war effort and just do what they have to do?
Akunis: First of all, you’re right – we have to do what we have to do. Golda Meir used to say, “I prefer to live than to have good hasbarah”. But I prefer to live with good hasbarah. I know it’s a struggle. Some newspapers and television channels are automatically against Israel. We can’t change them. They were against Israel in the Yom Kippur War, the two Lebanon Wars and even during the intifada, when they exploding buses in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa. They claimed it was part of the Middle East conflict. No, it’s not. If someone wants to solve the conflict they should come to the negotiating table.
Hamas doesn’t want to be part of the negotiations headed by the U.S., Qatar and Egypt.
They want us to withdraw from the Gaza Strip. It will not happen. We need to finish the war there. We found huge tunnels near the Philadelphi Corridor. There might be more. Hamas smuggled weapons from Egypt through the Philadelphi to the Gaza Strip, Khan Yunis, and Rafah. We must be in Rafah to prevent missiles on Tel Aviv, Rishon Le’Tzion, Ashdod, Bnei Brak, and Jerusalem too.
Lehmann: Netanyahu seems to recognize that Israel’s security needs must dictate their decisions. To that end, he went into Rafah, despite Biden warning it was crossing a “red line”. Do you think he will continue to defy the Biden Harris administration by insisting to oversee the Philadelphi corridor?
Akunis: First of all, we very much appreciate the close alliance between the U.S. and Israel. I think most of the Americans understand our need to be there right now. Nobody in Israel said that we will be there forever, but we must remain until we will be sure that there is no threat anymore to our civilians. This is the goal of leadership. It’s not so easy to be a tough leader.
Hamas says they want to kill us and use their hundreds of tunnels to invade Israel again at the first opportunity. Hamas used citizens as human shields, including in hospitals. In the beginning, some analysts, even in Israel, claimed that it was unnecessary to be in the Al-Shifa Hospital. But all we saw from the cameras that Hamas actually kidnapped hostages to that hospital and then hid them and took them into the tunnels.
You asked about the American administration. Right after September 11th, they all agreed they must destroy Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. And they did it. We must defeat Hamas if we want to survive.
Lehmann: What about Hezbollah? Has Hezbollah essentially been victorious because they have forced the evacuation of 80,000 Israeli citizens and endangered the entire northern region? Netanyahu maintains that these citizens will return, but so far that hasn’t happened.
Akunis: The current situation will not continue, I can assure you. I don’t want to talk about the operations themselves or the war in specific. But we will defend our people in the south, the north, and in Judea and Samaria, where the threat is very high. Tulkarem is a terror base. But be assured that it won’t be for long in the Upper Galilee.
Lehmann: How has the murder of the six hostages impacted the war going forward?
Akunis: Hamas murdered Hersh, Eden, Ori, Carmel, Almog and Alex in cold blood. Even as we negotiate with Hamas, we must not forget that they are a barbaric terrorist group who murdered 1,200 Israelis on October 7th and continue killing Jews every chance they get. But remember, the problem is in Gaza and in Tehran. The problem is not in the Israeli government or among the Israelis.
I won’t go into strategy specifics, but let me be clear: justice will be delivered. Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is our generation’s Adolf Hitler, responsible for the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. The world will be a better place when he is gone. And Israel will stop at nothing, through military, diplomatic or other means, to bring home the remaining hostages and make their families whole again.
Lehmann: The Biden Harris administration is still pushing for the two-state solution for the “day after”, despite both Israel and the Palestinians rejecting it and the Israeli Knesset overwhelmingly voting against it. What can Israel do to convince them that it’s a non-starter?
Akunis: Almost 100 MKs voted against the two-state solution, including all the opposition. Only the Arab section voted for it. If someone wants to give a prize to terror, he would support the establishment of a Palestinian state. We would find ourselves in a defensive situation like what happened in Gaza, but worse. It would be a terror state on our border that would use tunnels from Tulkarem, Qalqilya, Jenin, Nablus and Hebron to invade Israel’s center, including Ben Gurion airport. We see their ability to dig very wide and big tunnels. They would threaten the north from the north side of Samaria, and Be’er Sheva from the south side of Judea. I don’t think the Western world wants another terror state in the Middle East. It will not bring stability.
Lehmann: Britain’s new Labor government announced it would immediately suspend dozens of arms export licenses with Israel. In addition to restoring funding to UNWRA, Labor also withdrew their objection to the ICC’s request for arrest warrants for Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, despite Prime Minister Starmer favoring objection before the elections. Are you concerned that the same might happen if the Democrats prevail in November?
Akunis: I don’t think it will ever happen to the relationship between Israel and the U.S. We share the same values. The American people and the American administration know the necessity of the State of Israel and the IDF standing at the frontier before Europe, and the British know it as well. Most of the British people see what is happening in the United Kingdom today. They may think differently about the conflict and the final status between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs, but I’m sure that none of them want Israel eradicated. Why? Because we are the first frontier.
Lehmann: Finally, what kind of words of reassurance or hope can you offer Jews today?
Akunis: We shall overcome, like we did in the past. This is a long journey. The Jewish people know the journey from the days of our forefather Abraham who came from Ur Casdim to the promised land. We are a very strong country. Our military is the most moral military in the world, and we are a powerhouse of innovation and technology. We are like the new Maccabim – very brave and smart.
I am optimistic that after this very difficult year, it will be much better. Most of our enemies are gone over the years and we are here. These terrorists are cruel and vicious enemies. They are not the enemies of the past, like the Egyptians, Jordanians, Lebanese or even Iraqi forces. We saw their cruelty on October 7th.
I also pray that the unity of the Jewish people here will continue. We are standing as one force now. I look to a great future for the State of Israel and for the relationship between the Jewish communities here and in Israel.
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