The Czech Republic’s new foreign minister, Petr Macinka, announced his intention to relocate the country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The comments were made during a Hanukkah lighting in Prague. “It should have been done a long time ago,” said Macinka, who entered office on Monday.

During his speech, Macinka also addressed the antisemitic terror attack in Sydney, which led to the murder of 15 people.

Macinka expressed solidarity with Israel and the Jewish community, and noted that one way of acting on that solidarity would be to move the embassy to Jerusalem, which Israel recognizes as its capital.

Israel’s ambassador to the Czech Republic, Amir Weissbrod, praised Macinka for attending.

“In Prague, many people gathered to celebrate the holiday together and express solidarity in the fight against antisemitism,” wrote Weissbrod on X. “My sincere thanks go to all the distinguished guests who attended this evening. This evening there was an exceptional atmosphere.”

The Czech Republic’s new government was sworn in on Monday, led by Andrej Babiš.

He is expected to follow in the footsteps of Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and Slovakia’s Robert Fico, whose countries have refused to provide military aid to Ukraine and oppose EU sanctions on Russia.

A senior official also told The Jerusalem Post that Babiš intends to visit Israel early next year and could announce the embassy move during the trip.

This would not be the first time that the Czech Republic has expressed its intention to relocate the embassy. In 2020, then President Miloš Zeman said his government was committed to “further strengthening our representation in Jerusalem.”

Prague already opened a “Czech House” in Jerusalem in November 2018, marking its first step towards establishing an embassy in the capital.

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