Is this a step toward relocating the Czech embassy in Israel to Jerusalem?
By: JNS and United with Israel Staff
The Czech Republic reopened its honorary consulate in Jerusalem on Wednesday following promises by President Milos Zeman to eventually move his country’s embassy to the Israeli capital.
Dan Propper, a 78-year-old Israeli-Czech businessman, was named as the honorary consul.
“I see my contribution as being especially focused on economic relations because I have links to the local entrepreneurial community,” Propper told to the Czech news outlet CTK.
The honorary consulate was first opened in the early 1990s but closed in 2016 due to the death of the honorary consul.
In late April, Czech President Miloš Zeman announced a “three stage” plan to relocate the country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which included the reopening of the consulate.
Nevertheless, the Czech Foreign Ministry has downplayed Zeman’s intentions on the embassy move.
“The Czech Republic fully respects common policy of the European Union, which considers Jerusalem as the future capital of both the State of Israel and the future State of Palestine,” the Czech foreign ministry said following Zeman’s announcement.
In recent weeks, the United States, Guatemala, and Paraguay have relocated their embassies to Jerusalem.
A number of other countries have expressed interest in moving their embassies in Israel to Jerusalem, among them Honduras and Romania.
In April 2017, the Russian Foreign Ministry made a similar move to recognize “west Jerusalem” as the Israeli capital.