Dani Dayan, Israel’s candidate for envoy to Brazil, began a course this week at the Foreign Ministry for new ambassadors, despite not receiving official approval for his appointment. 

As Jerusalem waits for a response from the Brazilian government, Army Radio revealed Monday that Foreign Ministry officials have grown increasingly uneasy about the situation and recommended Prime Minister Binyamin Netanayhu appoint Dayan to a different country. 

Doing so would prevent Israel from finding itself in the midst of a diplomatic embarrassment should Brazil outright refuse the appointment, which officials believe is likely. 

Last week, Dayan met personally with Netanyahu to discuss the appointment and Brazil’s lack of response, which is estimated to be connected to Dayan’s previous position as head of the Yesha Council. 

Dayan, meanwhile, accused MK Tzipi Livni (Zionist Union) and the Arab Joint List on Monday of torpedoing his appointment to Brazil. 

“14 Knesset members worked tirelessly against my appointment to Brazil: 13 members of the Joint List and one Tzipi Livni,” he tweeted. 

Livni said last week that “the delay in the appointment of Danny Dayan as ambassador to Brazil is not a personal affront against Danny Dayan – but opposition of Israel’s policy on settlements.”

Dayan’s appointment status is currently set by the Brazilians as “delayed” – meaning Dayan’s appointment is still hanging in the air without an official confirmation or refusal.