“We are open to any fact-finding mission, and we are adamant that there is no famine in Gaza,” President Isaac Herzog told European Union head Michael Anthony Mann on Tuesday.
Mann, who is British but carries a German passport, was one of six ambassadors who presented their credentials to the president. Herzog expressed his concern over the sanctions that some EU countries have imposed against Israel, and said that he hoped Europe would be smart enough to take responsible steps. He stressed the importance of deepening relations between Israel and the European Union, while warning against measures that could cause lasting damage.
Herzog was responding to remarks that Mann had made about the EU’s concerns about the situation in Gaza.
“We are trying to bring back the hostages, end the war, and change the reality so that Israelis and Palestinians can live together in peace,” the president said.
He also raised concerns over actions taken by the union against Israel with the first two ambassadors – Andres Vosman of Estonia and Gints Serafinovics of Latvia – whose countries he had visited this past August.
On the subject of the EU, the Latvian ambassador noted that “dialogue is very important.”
Herzog remarked that he had been very impressed by Estonia’s digitization, adding that both he and his wife had enjoyed the beauty of both countries and the hospitable receptions they had received.
Mou Mou Ring, the ambassador of South Sudan, excited Herzog’s curiosity because Ring’s previous posting had been in Qatar. The president wanted to know how Africa is treated there. He also wanted to know about the civil war in Sudan, and whether there was any hope that it would end soon.
Admitting in advance that he was about to ask an undiplomatic question, Herzog, having noticed certain physical differences between the ambassador and members of his entourage, asked whether they were all from different tribes.
The reply was affirmative. Herzog then wanted to know whether people could recognize to which tribe anyone belongs, and again the answer was affirmative.
Zambia’s ambassador Wesley Mahuba Hazemba was hailed by Herzog as being the first ambassador (during Herzog’s tenure), to come almost straight from the plane to present his credentials. He and his family had arrived in Israel on Monday, and he approached the President’s Residence wearing a full-skirted national dress.
Herzog suggests moving Zambia embassy to Jerusalem
Upon learning that the ambassador and his family are Seventh Day Adventists, the president suggested that it would be to their benefit to move their embassy to Jerusalem, where there is a Seventh Day Adventist Church opposite the entrance to the YMCA concert hall.
He pointed out that the Sabbath in Jerusalem is much quieter than in Tel Aviv or Herzliya on Saturdays, and therefore Hazemba and his family would feel much more comfortable in the capital.
New Zealand senior officials and representatives usually wear a feathered Maori cape for ceremonial occasions. Although New Zealand ambassador Greg Lewis is not Maori, he wore the cape as he strode through the main hall of the President’s Residence to present his letter of credence and that of the recall of his predecessor.
Herzog was apparently unaware of this Kiwi tradition and wanted to learn about it. The ambassador, who is non-resident and stationed in Ankara, obliged.
Although New Zealand has a century-plus relationship with the Land of Israel, and a diplomatic relationship that goes back to the birth of the state, Herzog commented that there is a certain lack of communication between the two countries, and was hopeful that this could be amended as it is essential, he said, for all countries of the free world to form a coalition.
The two also discussed combating antisemitism and the role of the Jewish community in daily life in New Zealand.
Herzog never misses an opportunity to mention the urgency of bringing home the hostages, and he did so again in his conversations with the new envoys.
As for Turkey, he was hopeful that the soured relationship between Ankara and Jerusalem would calm down, and that this could lead to the start of an open dialogue.