An embarrassing quarrel at one of the Israeli embassies in Asia between the ambassador and the security officer ended with the dismissal of the security officer after he decided to “punish” the ambassador and lock her in the embassy building for 90 minutes because she ignored his requests to leave the area on time.

As part of the incident, which took place about a month ago, the officer began a routine procedure at the end of a working day, and about fifteen minutes before the end of the hours he called on the workers to prepare for the exit. All the embassy staff responded to the request of the security officer, but the ambassador ignored his instructions and continued her work.

The security officer decided to teach her a lesson when the ambassador ignored the request as she has done several times in the past. He locked her in the embassy building. She requested to leave the building a few minutes later, but all doors were locked. She phoned the appropriate Foreign Ministry desk in Jerusalem in a panic and reported she had been locked in the building against her will.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Yuval Rotem told the regional director general, Amnon Kalmer, to investigate the incident immediately because of routine communications problems in the Asian country. Only an hour and a half later, the security officer was spotted at his home and he returned to open the door for the ambassador. He claimed he planned to return on his own.

According to sources in the Foreign Ministry, the two have already had a history of tension between them and the ministry has reached the conclusion that the security officer has deviated from the procedures, and he asked on his own initiative to end his mission in the foreign country and return to Israel.

Sources in the ministry who know the security officer said that the security officer was an outstanding worker who had contributed a lot in the past and helped manage rescue operations for backpackers who were in trouble in Nepal.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said in response that “the case was handled by the relevant officials in the ministry against the background of the workers’ conduct at the mission. We will not relate to privacy in any way.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)