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- Written by Jonathan Danilowitz
Even if you don't speak/understand Spanish, you would have understood the "feliz" (happiness, joy) in the headline, at the reception when four Central American countries united to celebrate their 193rd independence day. The Ambassadors to Israel of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador hosted an elegant cocktail reception in the Lea Rabin Hall of the Yitzhak Rabin Center in North Tel Aviv; the atmosphere was indeed one of happiness and joy. Needless to say the lingua franca of the evening was Spanish, but the hosts put the mixed and elegant guests at ease. In attendance were many members of the diplomatic corps, Israeli politicians, VIPs and commercial leaders, and socialites of Israeli society.
Also sharing in hosting the event was the Keren Kayemet Le'Yisrael - the Jewish National Fund. The JNF is widely known as the organization that keeps afforestation in Israel high on the agenda. The result is that Israel is perhaps the only country in the world where there are more trees today than there were at the start of the 20th century. Since its inception in 1901, the JNF claims to have planted 240 million trees in Israel.
Guests mingled happily as snacks and drinks were served. Smart and casual seemed to be the theme, with many uniformed military attachés adding a sparkle to delight the eye. Before the formal speeches, the national anthems of the four participating countries, and then of Israel, were played. Very beautiful, very moving and very much in place.
In a moving address, his Excellency José Isaias Barahona, Ambassador to Israel of Honduras, spoke to the guests on behalf of the four ambassadors. He began by thanking everyone for being there, and followed with a brief and illuminating history leading to the independence from Spain of the four countries and subsequently to today's SICA - "The United Provinces of Central America". SICA now also includes Nicaragua, Belize, Panama and the Dominican Republic. "With 7 cities with populations between 1 and 3.5 million people, more than 10 international airports and great ports in the Caribbean sea and the Pacific Ocean, it is a region that is a bridge to the world between the Atlantic and the Caribbean with the Panama Canal ... and also a bridge between the two large land masses of North and South America".
The Ambassador spoke of the economic and social importance of the area, its past successes and its plans and opportunities for the future. He added: "In addition to our efforts, Central America has received extensive and intense cooperation in which Israel is a prominent participant, especially in the fields of education, agriculture and livestock, high-tech, commerce and of course in the security and defense fields. Our bilateral agendas ... and our relationship as a region and as individual countries, has been strengthened, ... the agenda for cooperation between Israel and Central America will be filled with new and innovative proposals that will be relevant to the values and principles that we share in the search for the common good of our peoples and societies of all other nations of the world; ensuring the strengthening of democracy, the promotion of human development, security and justice, which are the main ingredients of the peace that we all long for". In conclusion the ambassador wished the President of the State of Israel and all the people a Shana tova (happy New Year). He ended the address with "Viva Israel, viva Central America", to thunderous applause.
Responding on behalf of Israel was Minister of Welfare & Social Services, Meir Cohen. He opened his address with congratulations to the four states on the 193rd Independence Day. {Mr. Cohen spoke largely in Hebrew, followed by a prepared translation}. He mentioned that Israel and the four countries have had excellent diplomatic relations, but that in recent years a cooling from El Salvador has been noted in Israel. Mr. Cohen spared no words in criticizing El Salvador for recalling its ambassador during the recent "Operation Protective Edge" when Israel's civilian population was under severe attack from Hamas in Gaza. On the other hand, he said, it was heartwarming to learn of the extensive grassroots support from Central American nations, including El Salvadorians, in spite of their government's policy.
The Minister reminded the guests of the important part Central American nations played in voting at the United Nations in 1947 in favor of the establishment of the State of Israel. "The friendship between our countries is not new". In May 2014 the government of Israel took a decision to strengthen ties with Latin American countries. (At that meeting the Prime Minister was quoted as saying that the strategy of improved Israel-Latin America ties was going to prove fruitful for all countries concerned.) The Minister ended his speech by expressing the hope that bilateral relations with Central American states would go from strength to strength.
{The President of the JNF also addressed the audience, but in a speech in Spanish which your DIPLOMACY correspondent was unable to follow.}
Viva Centroamerica!
Photos Silvia G Golan
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- Written by Silvia G Golan & Haim Rotter
Photo : Japan Ambassador HE Mr Shigeo Matsutomi, the President Rivlin and Mrs Talya Lador-Fresher Israeli Chief of State Protocol
For the first time in his presidency, the Israeli president Reuven Rivlin , received letters of credence from new ambassadors appointed by Georgian, Lithuanian, Japan and Swaziland governments.
Receiving the letters of credence from the ambassadors, President Rivlin said:"friendship is not being measured by governments, but by the ties between peoples, and to us is important to establish close relations with your countries".
New ambassadors from Georgia, Lithuania, Japan and Swaziland, presented their letters of credence, to President Reuven Rivlin, as appointed by their governments, during a official ceremony held in the presidential residence in Jerusalem.
At their meetings with the President, the ambassadors expressed their hope, to tighten up the relationships and cooperation between their countries and Israel.
Photo The Georgian Ambassador H.E. Mr. Paata Kalandadze and family with the President Rivlin.
The Georgian ambassador expressed his gratitude to President Rivlin, saying: "I'm honored to represent my country here in Israel. Good relations between our countries will have an impact on stability and peace in the whole world".
The President answered warmly: "I welcome your return to Israel, this time as an ambassador of Georgia. Israel and Georgia have good relationship along the history..."
Photo The President Rivlin, Mrs Talya Lador-Fresher and the Lithuanian ambassador
Presenting his letter of credence, the Lithuanian ambassador said to the President:
"I'm very exited to be here, in Jerusalem. I promise you to do my best, in order to preserve Your positive memories that You have of Lithuania. There are tragic memories between us in our history, especially The Holocaust. Our priority is to promote education programs and signing agreements that will preserve the memories of The Holocaust for generations to come.
We promote high tech conventions, cyber technology, and share it with the Israelis..."
President Rivlin said: "the history of our Nation lasts along hundreds of years, the Jewish- Lithuanian community is very large. We learn from your Prime minister, that we have to learn from the past and to look at the future.
The ambassador of Japan, expressing his gratitude to the President, said:"I thank you for the warm and caring hospitality. I can feel the sympathy in Israel, for the Japanese nation...","in Japan, many believe that Japan and Israel have much in common, like the believe that it's important to a nation to invest in its people, in friendship and cooperation..."
The President to ambassador of Japan: "it's an honor for me, you are a ambassador of a important nation. We have much in common – we have a long history, deep and ancient culture.
We appreciate you and know that we can find friendship with you and listen to your advise..."
"...it's an honor for me to receive you, and I hope that you will have a pleasant stay in Israel".
Photo : The ambassador of Swaziland H.E. Mr. Promise Msibi and wife and the President Rivlin
The ambassador of Swaziland, presenting his letter of credence, said: "I wish to thank you for the opportunity to present my letter of credence here in Israel. The king of Swaziland wishes to congratulate you as a new elected President of Israel. We hope that during your presidency we can continue our good relations. My King expressed also his sorrow for the loss of lives that Israel have suffered as a result of fighting terror groups. Israel have the right to defend itself at any cost and we hope that the world will soon be free of terror groups in the nearest future. My king and my people remember well your support, given to the government of Swaziland in varies matters, and we hope to strengthen our relations in the future.
The President responded, saying: "I wish to congratulate you for celebrating your independence day. We appreciate your people, the relationship between us that era strong today as they were before, and we hope to strengthen them in the future as well. We will not forget you staying with us as ambassadors, even during the war".
Here the names of the ambassadors:
The ambassador of Georgia H.E. MR. PAATA KALANDADZE
The ambassador of Lithuania H.E. MR. EDMINAS BAGDONAS
The ambassador of Japan H.E. MR. SHIGEO MATSUTOMI
The ambassador of Swaziland H.E. MR. PROMISE MSIBI
Photos Mark Neumann/ GPO
- Details
- Written by Sima Lahat
On September 9th the Diplomatic Core, business people and the Slovakian community, were invited to a garden party at the Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to the State of Israel H.E. Mr Radovan Javorcik and wife Michelle.
The occasion is the Constitution Day, and Day of the Armed forces of the Slovak Republic. Despite the heat and humidity, the atmosphere was warm and pleasant.
This yearly event also commemorates the Day of the Victims of Holocaust and of racial violence in Slovakia.
Slovakia remembered the victims of the Holocaust in national commemoration events on 9 September.
Since 2001, Slovakia has commemorated the victims of the Holocaust and of racial violence on 9 September as the "Memorial Day for Victims of the Holocaust and of Racial Violence."
The Slovak Parliament chose 9 September because, on this day in 1941, the Slovak Government at the time introduced 290 repressive laws (the "Jewish Codex") by which the process of Jewish deportations was initiated and which resulted in the killing of over 70,000 Slovak Jews.
This year, Prime Minister Robert Fico and Education Minister Dušan Čaplovič attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the Holocaust Memorial in Bratislava along with representatives of the Jewish community in Slovakia. During his speech Fico highlighted the importance of Holocaust remembrance, adding that it also provides an opportunity for appeals for peaceful co-existence between nations, ethnic communities and religious groups today.
Additional commemoration events included the reading of the names of persecuted and murdered victims of the Holocaust in the historical building of the Slovak National Theatre, as well as the revealing of a "virtual memorial" containing the names of victims by the Museum of Jewish Culture.
Photo Silvia Golan
- Details
- Written by Jonathan Danilowitz
Once again, last Wednesday evening the elegant Grand Ballroom of Tel Aviv's Hilton Hotel was the scene of another diplomatic success: the reception honoring the 23rd anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Formerly part of the USSR, Uzbekistan became independent on 31st August 1991.
The glittering guest list included members of the diplomatic corps, business and commercial leaders, VIPs of the Uzbek and Russian communities in Israel, Israeli political leaders and other "who's who" of the Israel social calendar.
The reception was graciously hosted by His Excellency the Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Israel and Mrs. Oybek Eshonov. The traditional dishes of the country were the focus of the delicious and gargantuan meal, accompanied of course by fine wines and a range of alcoholic and other beverages. Guests mingled happily, renewing old friendships and creating new ones.
In welcoming the guests, the Ambassador thanked everyone for being there "[in] celebration of this remarkable day for our country .... Today we are rightfully proud of our achievements in all spheres of our society. The proofs of this progress are easily seen in the enormous changes ... large-scale transformation in our towns, villages and the country as a whole".
His Excellency added that "The State of Israel was among the first countries to recognize the independence of Uzbekistan and establish the diplomatic relations. Not many countries have a thousand-year long history of friendship, brotherhood and harmony with the Jewish people. This glorious history is a strong foundation of our friendly relations." He also spoke of the strong commercial ties between Israel and Uzbekistan, and mentioned that Israel remains one of that country's major trading partners. "We are interested in deepening political dialog and expanding trade, cultural and economic ties with the State of Israel". His Excellency ended his address by sending greetings to the people of Israel on the occasion of the upcoming New Year.
Representing Israel, and responding to the Ambassador, was MK Yair Lapid, Finance Minister and leader of the "Yesh Atid" political party. Mr. Lapid opened his remarks by congratulating the Republic of Uzbekistan and its people on the occasion of the 23rd anniversary. In his address he noted that: "For over two decades, the strong ties between our countries have been based on mutual respect, close cooperation and of course the large community of immigrants from Uzbekistan here in Israel, and the longstanding Jewish community living in Uzbekistan. Israel will never forget the role that the people of Uzbekistan played in providing shelter and salvation to Jews fleeing [the holocaust] during World War II. And from the past we look to the future". Mr. Lapid spoke of the close relationship between the two countries, and thanked the Ambassador personally for his role in advancing & strengthening the bilateral ties. He concluded: "Please convey to your President and your people our very best wishes on your Independence Day. May the future see prosperity for Uzbekistan and a strengthening of the friendship between our two countries".
The two men then drank a toast to the two countries and jointly cut a beautifully decorated cake bearing the flag of Uzbekistan. This was followed by a haunting soprano by Ms. Yulia Masti Moroz, who gave a rendition of the Uzbek national anthem, followed by the national anthem of Israel. A truly elegant occasion.
The walls of the ballroom and the foyer leading to the reception were decorated with Uzbek cultural icons and motifs. The spirit was positively Uzbekistan, even though the celebration took place on a pleasant evening on the shores of the Mediterranean in Tel Aviv.
Best wishes for many more years of mutual cooperation and success for the two countries, Uzbekistan and Israel.
Photos : Silvia G. Golan
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- Written by Bat-Zion Susskind-Sacks
"Statehood Day" is a holiday that occurs on every 25 June in Slovenia. It commemorates the country's declaration of independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Although the formal declaration of independence did not come until 26 June 1991, Statehood Day is considered to be June 25 since that was the date on which the initial acts regarding independence were passed and when Slovenia became independent.
A few days ago, we joined the Slovenian Ambassadoress, Her Excellency Alenka Suhadolnik, at her residence in Herzeliya Pituach here in Israel to commemorate the twenty third Statehood Day of Slovenia. In addition to the great company, the delicious food, the guests were entertained by a three musicians Slovenian's very own Gašper Bertoncelj on drums,
Alex Katz on piano, and Max Vater on bass.
Among the invited guests were Sovenia's Honorary Counsel to Israel, Mr. Eival Giladi and Professor Schectman who was a candidate for Presidency in Israel. Other esteemed guests included Mr. Raphael Gamzou, Deputy Director General, Head of Division of Cultural and Scientific Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Yehudah Gidron of Europe 1 Department at the Ministry of foreign Affairs, Dr. Erez S. Garty, Editor in Chief, Davidson On-line from the Davidson Institute of Sceence Education, Weizman Institute of Science, foreign Ambassadors and business people as well as other dignitaries.
In her speech, Her Excellency described the good and fruitful ongoing economic, political and other relationship between her country and Israel. "The economic ties are getting stronger;Services, especially transportation and tourism, are showing great results;"
She also noted the great number of Israeli tourists that frequent her country, "the number of Israeli tourists to Slovenia is going up by 30 % per year in the last 2 consecutive years.And the absolute numbers of Israelis traveling to Slovenia are very close to the numbers of Israeli tourists to India.
And while both of our countries, India and Slovenia, are great, mine is a bit on the extra small side, so the numbers are even more impressive. "
The Slovenian Embassy initiated, organized and co-organized fifty two events in the past year.
The Ambassadoress mentioned two of them:
"The First Slovene – Israeli Day of Science and Innovation, with great outreach, was held at the beginning of the year in Ljubljana and I am truly pleased that the event's key note speaker, prof Dan Shechtman, is also celebrating with us today.
The second is X – Territorial: A semester long project by the students of the Department of Architecture of the WIZO Haifa Academy of Design and Education and the Faculty of Architecture of Ljubljana University which resulted in conceptual projects for future Emabassies - Slovenian Embassy in Israel : Israel Embassy in Slovenia. The exhibition was opened also at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem and is supposed to travel to Ljubljana."
Photos Silvia Golan
