Sunday, May 5, 2024
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to visit the Czech Republic in October for a collaborative government meeting.
The meeting will mark a renewed effort in discussions between the two nations. The news was confirmed by Seznam Zprávy, following a briefing from Veronika Kuchyňová Šmigolová, the incoming Czech ambassador to Israel.
Netanyahu will visit Prague on October 9th. However, any unforeseen global or domestic circumstances could potentially lead to a change in this schedule.
Netanyahu is currently grappling with pressure concerning contentious judicial reform and has also faced scrutiny regarding his selection of coalition partners and ministers.
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Interior Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, both representing ultra-nationalist parties, will not take part to the trip.
“The finance minister will not attend the meeting as there are no pertinent topics for discussion with him,” said the incoming Czech ambassador to Israel, Veronika Kuchyňová Šmigolová.
She further highlighted the diverse range of subjects on the agenda, encompassing defense, science, research, innovation, education, and transport.
Czechia is probably the most enthusiastic supporter of Israel in the EU and have long tried to protect Israel in votes at the UN.
For example, when former US president Donald Trump moved the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in 2018 – even though the eastern half of the city is internationally regarded as occupied territory – Czechia, Hungary and Romania vetoed any EU criticism.
When Israel launched a brutal assault on Gaza in 2021, Czech Social Democrat Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek immediately flew to Israel and declared: “The state of Israel is facing an outrageous, barbaric attack. I want to express support and solidarity for the state of Israel, which has a clear and inalienable right to defend itself. That’s why I will be hanging the Israeli flag on the Czernin Palace [the Czech foreign ministry].”
Deep roots
Like many aspects of politics in Eastern Europe, this strong support for Israel has deep historical roots. Across the region, attitudes to Israel today are very much shaped by shame over the Holocaust, which largely took place in the region, together with a desire to take a diametrically opposed stance to that of the post-war communist regimes.
Czechoslovakia’s founder, President Tomas Garrigue Masaryk, was a strong supporter of a Jewish state in Israel, and the country’s arms exports to the fledging late were vital in its 1948 war of independence.
Israel is a rare parliamentary democracy in the Middle East (though Israeli Arabs have less rights than Jews) and a US ally. Supporting Israel was therefore seen as offering proof of their new Western and democratic orientation.
For the Czech Republic supporting Israel would also represent a return to the ideals of the First Republic in the interwar period.
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