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Bhutan s former prime minister, Tshering Tobgay, center, with Daniel Carmon, Israel s ambassador to India at the time (left) and Asia-Pacific Division Director Gilad Cohen, in 2017. (Courtesy Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
In November 2017, I flew to Bhutan as part of my first task as Director of the Asia-Pacific Division at the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Before entering my role, I learned about the closed kingdom that had refrained from establishing diplomatic relations with Israel for many years. In the past, there were few visits of Israeli ambassadors to Thimpu, Bhutan’s capital; but the country remained shut to normalizing relations with us. I decided that we owed it t
You arrived here with a certain set
of knowledge about Israel. Did your ideas about our country change over the last 10 years?
They changed – and for the better. Israel is an eye-opener because of its people and its determination, and the way it is building its economy and international relations. We see that Israel is striving for peace and an improved situation in the Middle East. The development of medicine, start-ups and innovations – all this compels us to learn and apply Israel’s experience at home, in Ukraine.
In all these 10 years we did a lot, so that people would communicate, so that business would develop. Ukraine and Israel have become not just partners but also friends. There is general support in international institutions and in all spheres of business. I think that after the victory over COVID-19, we will become even stronger.
UN Surrenders The Western Wall To Islam
A key United Nations agency is under fire–for declaring that Judaism’s holiest site in Jerusalem shouldn’t be considered a part of Jewish heritage, and should instead be considered part of a nearby Islamic mosque.
The United Nation’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) ruled that Jerusalem’s famed Western Wall–which is one of the most holy sites in all of Judaism, but also a major site in Islam–is part of the al-Aqsa Mosque.
Israeli Ambassador to UNESCO Carmel Shama Hacohen immediately slammed the resolution, calling it “a total Islamization” of a site that’s important to both religions.