Israel faces "several difficult and challenging years in the diplomatic arena," Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said. "We are under diplomatic attack. In my view, it will continue in the coming years," he told Ariel Kahana, managing editor of JNS’s Hebrew edition, in an interview published Wednesday on the "Good for the Jews" podcast.
Sa’ar said the pressure is fed mainly by left-wing governments whose political base strongly supports the Palestinian cause, pointing to Britain. Last month London banned products from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and joined 11 other countries that said they would sanction, or consider sanctioning, settlement goods.
"Who is in power has an influence"
Sa’ar said he had spoken in Britain with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, quoting Farage as saying: "If we are in power, we will undo what the Labour government did." Similar statements have been made elsewhere, including Australia, he said, adding: "Who is in power and what his political base demands has an influence."
He acknowledged that Israel has a problem with public opinion "in most countries," calling it "something that is deep and that we must deal with." He also warned that extremist violence in the West Bank is exacting "an enormous price" among Israel’s closest friends, including on the American right, and questioned how an incident involving 100 rioters could end with only two arrests.
A "lost battle" in Ireland
Sa’ar described Central and Eastern Europe as important sources of support against efforts to impose European Union sanctions, but called the situation in some countries, such as Ireland, a "lost battle." "That’s why I decided to close the embassy in Dublin," he said. "I didn’t see any direction of change if there were a change of government." He ordered the embassy shut in December 2024, citing the "extreme anti-Israel policy" of the Irish government.
He said a government of right-wing parties in Spain, where elections are expected soon, would be "a government that one can talk to," and described 2027 as "a fascinating political year" in Europe, with elections due in Poland, Italy, Spain and France.
The remarks come amid rising tension with London. On Thursday Israel said the British Consulate General in Jerusalem had ceased to operate as a consulate and that 20 diplomats would leave, while Britain said the building would operate as the "UK Mission, Jerusalem."
