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- Written by Jonathan Danilowitz
By Jonathan Danilowitz
On the 9th March, His Excellency Mr. Yuri Sterk, the Bulgarian Ambassador to Israel, opened an exhibition at Tel Aviv's Enav Cultural Center. Amongst those at the event were key Ministry of Foreign Affairs persons, members of the diplomatic and consular corps and of course, many present and former Bulgarian citizens.
The exhibition – “The Power of Civil Society during the Holocaust: the Bulgarian Story, 1940 – 1944” – reflects some of the historic parallels between Bulgaria’s and Israel’s struggles for independence, and some of the similarities between the two countries, explaining the close ties that exist between them at all levels, to this day. (The exhibition is open to the public until 19th March.)
Although many individual Jews and several Jewish communities in Europe were saved from the Nazi death machine in WWII in various countries, Bulgaria was perhaps unique in that, thanks to the united civilian efforts (led by the Bulgarian Royal Family and other intellectual, spiritual and political leaders), almost the entire Jewish community there was saved. Neighbors would not stand by and allow the Jews to be deported to death camps.
In his address to the assembled guests, Ambassador Yuri Sterk spoke of the coincidence that the 9th March, the 133rd anniversary of Bulgaria’s liberation, was also the date of the start of the civil actions protesting against and resisting the “final solution” of the Third Reich, thus saving Bulgaria’s Jewish community.
Analyzing whether there is a link (separated in time by almost 65 years) between the two events, and the source of the close ties, the Ambassador continued: “I believe both represent crucial junctures in the development of the Bulgarian nation; both attest significantly to important features of Bulgarian national spirit and character which substantiated the historically critical choices Bulgarians had to make on those two occasions: once in the 1870s in favor of their freedom, to exercise their right to an independent national being. And a second time – in the dark years of WWII – in favor of human dignity, in support of universal human virtues and values as opposed to the probably easier way to dishonor and complicity in the most abominable crime against humanity in the history of Mankind.
“These are actually also the choices made, and the values and principles shared, by the people of Israel. These are the values and principles that are shared by both our peoples and which are the foundation of our peoples’ affinity for each other, of the friendship between our two nations”.
Ambassador Mr. Sterk concluded by graciously acknowledging the assistance of those who had helped make the exhibition possible, including Tel Aviv Municipality and the Bulgarian Institute of Culture. This is the very first time this exhibition has been shown in Israel.
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- Written by Silvia G. Golan
On Thursday, December 2nd, the Royal Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv hosted a gala honoring the King of Thailand on his 83rd birthday. The extravagant celebration coincided with the country's National Day.
The event, celebrated simultaneously throughout many countries, brought together ambassadors and an array of representatives from the diplomatic community as they took part in the festivities, which also recognized the healthy relationship between Israel and Thailand themselves.
Ambassador of Thailand to Israel, H.E Chatchawed Chartsuwan commenced the evening with a brief speech in which he expressed his gratitude to the government of Israel, poignantly describing the strong ties that have united both countries over several years. Ambassador Chartsuwan said he was proud in acknowledging the fact that Thailand was one of the first Asiatic countries to recognize the State of Israel.
Chartsuwanmade it clear that Israeli tourism to Thailand has had and continues to have a huge economic impact on his nation. According to the Thai Ministry of Tourism, roughly 140,000 Israelis visited the Southeast Asian nation thus far as 2010 comes to an end.
Another key point Ambassador Chartsuwan touched upon was the mutual benefit that both nations have been afforded from their scientific and technological cooperation as well as the artistic and cultural events presented by the Thai community in Israel, such as the Thai Festival in Haifa. These events, as explained by Chartsuwan have "consolidated a strong sense of pride and a future filled with unity between the two countries".
In culminating his speech, Ambassador Chartsuwan discussed his intentions in deepening the cohesiveness between both countries, expressing that "in these times, one can neither ignore nor reject globalization." He also expressed his admiration for Israeli President Shimon Peres and the contributions that he has made to both the State of Israel and the global diplomatic community.
Following the Thai Ambassador, Israeli Minister of Infrastructure and Development, Dr. Uzi Landau, expressed his warm regards for both Thailand's diplomatic mission to Tel Aviv as well as the entire Thai nation.
"I came to speak as a representative of the people of Israel, wishing the best to your Majesty, the King of Thailand and all of his people."
Dr. Landau also focused on the vast cultural and economic ties, most notably referring to the strong links over the past couple of years specifically.
The majority of Landau's speech was dedicated to the impact that Thai immigrants and workers have had on the Israeli state itself. Referring to the agricultural contribution and influence, Landau made clear that "Thai immigrants in Israel have made enormous strides in furthering Israel's Agricultural landscape, and we cannot thank them enough."
Not only did Landau express his desire for maintaining the strong commercial ties between the two nations; rather, he expressed the need for further cooperation in building a common agenda with mutual goals across many sectors – an agenda that will carry both nations towards future successes.
Above all else, the evening was a great way to celebrate the strong achievements between Israel and Thailand while also honoring the rich traditions of the Thai Kingdom and its nation's history.
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- Written by Silvia G Golan
At the beautiful Dan hotel in Tel-Aviv gathered Ambassadors, business men, CEO's and other honorable people to celebrate the Korean national day and the opening of Korean food week.
The Korean Ambassador, Mr. MA Young-Sam, received all the guests in a traditional and colorful Korean wear, as well as his wife and the rest of his family.
The evening started with a choir assembled with Korean children singing the Israeli and Korean anthems.
Afterwards the Korean Ambassador, Mr. MA Young-Sam, spoke to the crowd and welcomed them to the Korean national day and the opening of Korean food week.
Ambassador Young-Sam Spoke about the special relationship between Israel and Korea, he mentioned the Korean War and the founding of the Israeli state, he talked about the economic crisis of 2008 and how Israel and Korean were the two countries who coped the best with this economic storm and came out stronger.
Mr. Young-Sam spoke of the great technological, educational and agricultural cooperation between the two countries and said that the Israeli- Korean bond is growing stronger each day.
Mr. Ambassador MA Young-Sam, had said that his tennis partner is Mr. Yuli Edelstein, as they are currently at a tie situation and they will have a deciding match soon. Mr. Edelstein is practicing every day, according to Ambassador Young-Sam.
The Ambassador finished with good news, as he said that a new 3 acres property in Herzliya Pituah has been approved to build the new Korean Embassy.
After the Ambassador's words, the government representative, welfare minister Mr. Yitzhak Hertzog, spoke to the crowd. Such as the Ambassador, Mr. Hertzog spoke of the brave relationship between the two nations and wished that the vast cooperation will continue and grow.
Mr. Hertzog had said that the Korean and the Israeli people are similar and both of the countries have to deal with security, economic and other challenges every day.
After the speeches the crowd was welcomed to enjoy varies types of Korean food and the Ambassador made sure he won't miss a picture with anyone who desired.
Photo Silvia Golan
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Many of the Israeli media was invited to the press conference at the residence of the People's Republic of China Ambassador in Sunday, September the 15th, 2010.
The Ambassador his Excellency Mr. Zhao Jun hosted the Journalists to mark 18 years of the Diplomatic relations between Israel and China.
Ambassador Zhao welcomed all the guests to his home and blessed them in Hebrew. Ambassador Zhao spoke in English of the special relations between The People's Republic of China and Israel.
Ambassador Zhao spoke of the signing of the agreement that founded the Diplomatic relations between both states as he mentioned that the document was important equally to the sides.
Mr. Zhao announced the coming of famous Chinese singer Ha Hui to Israel, to the ancient city of Beit-Shean. Mr. Zhao said that the performance will be a memorable one and it will start her world tour.
After the words of Ambassador Zhao, the guests saw a short clip of the singer Ha Hui in China as she was singing a traditional Chinese song.
Following the short clip, spokesman of the Chinese embassy, Counsellor Mr. Miao Deyu, presented Mr. David Levy, Israel's minister of foreign affairs and vice prime minister at the time of the signing the protocol, January 24th, 1992.
Mr. Levy thanked the Ambassador for his hospitality and marked that he was happy to see mezuzah in the front of the Ambassador's home.
Mr. Levy then Spoke of his memories from the times before the signing of the protocol and said that it was hard work to achieve an agreement such as this one but they have never stopped dreaming.
Mr. Levy complimented China for their fast growth, economically and in terms of status. At the end of his words, Mr. Levy thanked the Ambassador for choosing Beit-Shean as the venue for the performance of the Chinese singer Ha Hui.
After Mr. Levy's Speech, Ms. Ruth Kahanoff, former deputy director general of Asia and the pacific department in the ministry of foreign affairs, took the stage.
Ms. Kahanoff's speech focused especially on the day of January 24, 1994, the day that the relations between Israel and China became formal.
After the speeches, Counsellor Mr. Miao invited all the guests to a delicious, traditional Chinese lunch.
The Ambassador Mr. Zhao made sure to greet every guest as they were leaving.
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- Written by Silvia G Golan
The lovely Ralli Museum in Caesarea was the host of the 185th Uruguay's national day.
The event started as the Ambassador of Uruguay, Mr. Bernardo Greiver, received all the guests accompanied by consul Alberto Rodriguez Goni and their wives.
The evening started as the anthems, both of Uruguayan and Israeli were played. The Ambassador, Mr. Greiver, and the Ambassador of Spain, Mr. Alvaro Iranzo, sang the Israeli anthem in Hebrew.
After the anthems, the Ambassador Mr. Greiver spoke to the crowd and welcomed them to the 185th Uruguayan national day event.
Ambassador Greiver spoke in fluent Hebrew, as he was mentioning the special bond between Israel and Uruguay, the fact that Uruguay was the 4th country in the world that recognized the state of Israel, four days only after the declaration of independent.
Mr. Ambassador Greiver spoke of the wonderful cooperation that both of the small countries possess, in the field of education, agriculture, technology, and many other areas.
At the end of his speech, Ambassador Greiver gave original and rare documents to Muki Tzur, documents that had belonged to his father, the first Israeli Ambassador to Uruguay, Yaakov Tzur.
After the Ambassador's words, Muki Tzur took the stage and spoke in Spanish of his memories from the time of the Declaration of independence, memories of his father and about the importance of the documents. Muki Tzur's speech was emotional and moving and the crowd listened carefully to the stories of new born State of Israel.
The following speech was supposed to be by Benny Begin, Representative of the Israeli Government and son of legendary Prime Minister of Israel, Menachem Begin. Unfortunately, he couldn't make it and Ambassador Dorit Shavit, Head of the Latin American and Caribbean Division in the Ministry of Foreign affairs, addressed his speech instead of him.
Ambassador Shavit spoke of the history as Uruguay was the 4th country that recognized the State of Israel and the first that positioned the Israeli Embassy in Uruguay's capital city, Montevideo. Shavit also mentioned that Yitzhak Navon, who was later the fifth President of Israel, was a Diplomat in Uruguay.
Shavit, on behalf of Mr. Begin, mentioned Uruguay's national football team, that in the last world cup tournament achieved the fourth place, and wished that the next time Uruguay would win the trophy.
The speech contained, as well, words about the Israeli-Uruguayan cooperation in various fields such as education, technology, agriculture, science, economy and more.
The speech ended as Shavit wished all present "Shana Tova" which means Happy New Year in Hebrew.
The final speaker was the Director of the museum, Lily Tzohar, who first wished health to Harry Recanati, Founder of the Ralli Museum and the art it exhibits. The speech started with words of Recanati's love for Latin American art and especially his appreciation of Uruguay painters. Tzohar mentioned that Recanati founded four other museums, in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in Santiago, Chile, in Marbella, Spain and two in Caesarea. Museum Director Tzohar proudly mentioned the fact that the museum holds artwork of some of the most famous Uruguayan painters.
Tzohar made sure that each and every guest understood her speech as she addressed the audience in Hebrew, English and Spanish.
Photo Silvia Golan
