Israel’s ambassador to Germany was thrown out of an expat Israeli’s cafe in Berlin amid the controversial judicial overhaul plans.

The overhaul pursued by Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing government has sparked a seven-month crisis, spurring unprecedented protests, opening up a deep social divide.

The crisis escalated on Monday after the Knesset passed the first of the changes, trimming Supreme Court powers to overrule government actions and raising fears for the court's independence.

On Sunday, Avi Berg, owner of Café Dodo in Berlin, said he told ambassador Ron Prosor that he was “not welcome in my café” because he “represents Israel, and since he implements an invalid and manipulative policy, which claims that any criticism of Israel is antisemitic.”

That policy, Berg went on to explain, “claims that I and my peers are antisemitic.”

Prosor and his bodyguards left the cafe immediately after being told to leave, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) reported. 

Speaking to JTA, he added: “I would like to emphasise that I did what I did specifically because the ambassador isn’t an individual but an official representative of the state of Israel.”

He went on to say: “And since he and the embassy are deeply involved in putting pressure on the Bundestag and on German media and institutions to block any criticism of Israel and to label any such criticism as antisemitism. 

“This diplomacy is implemented all over the world but is especially effective in Germany.

“This policy is also very damaging against the fight against genuine antisemitism!”

An Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman told Haaretz that Prosor had been unaware of Berg’s political stance when he visited the cafe. 

Berg has been critical of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism because it says some forms of Israel criticism are antisemitic.

It is understood that around 10,000 Israelis live in Berlin. Many are left-wing politically and critical of Israel’s policies.