Sa’ar meets Czech leader in Prague, praises ‘longstanding’ alliance

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said he had a “great meeting” with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš in Prague on Monday, describing Babiš as a “courageous and exceptional leader in Europe.”

“The Czech Republic is a consistent supporter of Israel, and the new Czech government under his leadership referenced the cultivation of the special relationship with Israel in its guiding principles,” Sa’ar said.

He thanked Babiš for Czech Republic’s longstanding support of Israel.

Sa’ar is scheduled to hold “a series of meetings with the senior leadership of the country’s new government,” including his Czech counterpart, Petr Macinka, according to Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

Jerusalem’s top diplomat is also expected to meet Senate President Miloš Vystrčil, and committee heads of the Senate of the Czech Republic.

Prague is expected to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in 2026, Macinka announced at a Chanukah event on Dec. 16.

“I personally am very much looking forward ... to be present when one of the symbols of solidarity becomes the fact that the Czech Republic finally moves its embassy to Jerusalem,” Macinka told attendees.

JNS has learned that Babiš is expected to visit the Jewish state’s capital early this year, and could announce the embassy move during the trip.

Three days after Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, the Czech Parliament unanimously adopted a resolution urging the government to move the country’s embassy to Jerusalem in a bipartisan show of support. The previous government, however, never implemented the move.

The historic connection between the two small countries dates back to Israel’s 1948 War of Independence, when Czechoslovakia alone supplied vital arms to the fledgling Jewish state.