In a departure from tradition, President Isaac Herzog did not host a Rosh Hashanah reception for the foreign diplomatic corps this year, but on Tuesday, he did receive the credentials of five new ambassadors, the last of whom, Henry Mokono from Papua New Guinea, is his country’s first resident ambassador to Israel. In the past, PNG ambassadors to Israel have resided in London.
The PNG embassy will be located in Jerusalem, and the ambassador and his team are looking for a suitable site to move from a temporary location in Malha. As an Evangelical, the ambassador is particularly pleased that he will be serving his country in Israel’s holy city.
The ambassador invited Herzog to visit PNG, and the two discussed the country’s population, which speaks 850 indigenous languages, the climate, the terrain, which is made up of islands with extensive jungles and forests, and the means of getting there with Australia and Indonesia as the best connections.
Herzog was clearly fascinated to learn about PNG. He was much more familiar with the countries of the other four ambassadors.
Herzog the diplomat
“You have come in troubling times, but we are determined to change the equation in the region,” he told Mokono. In reference to the embassy, he said that it was a historic moment.
The president spoke in a similar vein to the other four ambassadors: Stefaan Thijs of Belgium, Barbara Mestanova of the Slovak Republic, Simon Geissbuhler of Switzerland, and Alexandra Rydmark of Sweden.
Both Mestanova and Rydmark are quite familiar with Israel, having served here before in lesser capacities. Mestanova was an economics attaché for 10 years. Although her conversation with Herzog was in English, she kept punctuating it with expressions in Hebrew.
Herzog told all four European ambassadors that Israel is being challenged by an empire of evil emanating from Iran and urged the government of each country to do its utmost to join with Israel in bringing about strategic changes in Gaza and Lebanon so that the populations of those countries can enjoy a better future.
In his conversation with Thijs, he said that while Israel and Belgium have a long relationship, it is no secret that there are strong points of difference between the two countries. He told the ambassador that this was his chance to put the relationship back on track.
Thijs pledged to do his best. Comparing the diversity of Israel with the “lack of nuance” in Belgium, he conceded that Belgium needs a diversity of voices.
The rise in antisemitism in Belgium was also one of the subjects touched on, and the ambassador said that “the time has come to bring reason into the debate.”
On the subject of the Israeli hostages in Gaza, Thijs said that he had spoken to several people on this matter and had come away with a feeling of hope.
Mestanova, who had accompanied several of her predecessors when they presented their credentials to the president of Israel, said that this was a special day for her.
Bratislava, which is her country’s capital, once had a large Jewish community with a rich religious and cultural heritage. Today, there are only 2,000 Jews living in the Slovak Republic, she said. She was proud of the fact that her late father had been among the founders of Bratislava’s Jewish Museum of Culture.
Switzerland and hostages
Herzog has a particular fondness for Switzerland, partially because his eldest brother Joel lives in Geneva.
Reminding Geissbuhler of Switzerland’s long-time involvement in humanitarian pursuits and in bringing hostages back home, Herzog said that Switzerland and other members of the international community should work to block Iran’s aspirations and bring back the hostages.
The ambassador responded that Switzerland is working behind the scenes.
In this context, the ambassador mentioned that one of the chambers of parliament had proposed a motion to stop contributing funds to UNWRA, and if the motion is passed by the other chamber, funding to UNWRA will stop.
Switzerland will use other channels to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza, he said.
When inscribing the guest book, the ambassador concluded the text in Hebrew with the words Am Yisrael Chai – the people of Israel live.
Rydmark has a lot of experience in the region. Most recently she was ambassador to Jordan, and she has also served in Egypt. Sweden likes to cover many bases in the Middle East. The wife of Rydmark’s immediate predecessor was her country’s representative to the Palestinian Authority, and Rydmark’s husband is the UN envoy to Yemen.
Sweden has had a severe antisemitism problem in Malmo, and Herzog was pleased to learn that this is being dealt with. Moreover, next year, Sweden will celebrate 250 years of established Jewish life in the country.
Earlier in the day, Herzog had sent a congratulatory message to former US president Jimmy Carter on the occasion of his 100th birthday.
In the message, Herzog thanked Carter for his brave commitment to peace between nations and for his involvement in peace between Israel and Egypt, which Herzog termed “a historic diplomatic breakthrough that continues to anchor stability throughout the Middle East.”
