Israel’s diplomatic vacuum in Britain could not have come at a worse time

On 15 September last year, Tzipi Hotovely, then the Israeli ambassador to the UK, completed her term of service. A week later, Britain abruptly shifted its long-standing foreign policy position and unilaterally recognised a Palestinian state.

At what was arguably the nadir of the UK’s relationship with Israel in the 21st century – arguable only because of the possibility of it worsening further in the near future – there was no Israeli ambassador in London. No one to make the case – whether urbanely or stridently – that such unilateral recognition was not a good idea. And while members of the British government queued up for selfies with the Palestinian head of mission, Israel seemed all but forgotten – just as its enemies pray for.

Eight months later, Israel still has not yet sent an ambassador to the UK. Rather than have a successor lined up to slot in seamlessly once Hotovely left, it took months for a dithering Jerusalem to even decide who it wanted to send; finally settling on Tzachi Braverman, whose primary qualification appeared to be his role as Benjamin Netanyahu’s chief of staff.

Ludicrously, things then went from bad to worse; Braverman was arrested by Israeli police in early January; subsequently kept under house arrest, he was forbidden to leave the country. This week we have learned that Israel’s Attorney General looks set to charge him with fraud, obstruction of justice and breach of trust. In April, Israeli media also reported a sexual assault allegation against him, which Braverman is believed to have privately referred to as an attempt to blackmail him.

It is obvious that Israel deserves a better representative in the UK, not just to effectively argue its case, but to be a conduit between the Jewish State and the British Jewish community. A smart ambassador will not just effectively advocate on behalf of their country to the wider public, they will feed back to the Israeli government exactly what the feeling is among Jews in that portion of the Diaspora. Israel, with the deep diplomatic malaise which has become symptomatic under Benjamin Netanyahu, has apparently opted to send no one.

Strictly speaking, an ambassador is not necessary. The Israeli embassy’s staff have an excellent reputation, and its deputy ambassador and Charge D’Affaires, Daniela Grudsky Ekstein, has acquitted herself well.

But an ambassador is more than a figurehead – they represent their country to the wider world, and a good ambassador can make a world of difference. No one should know this better than Netanyahu himself – he served as Israel’s ambassador to the UN from 1984-1988, after what was regarded at the time as a stellar performance as Deputy Chief of Mission at Israel’s US embassy from 1982-1984. But the importance of such diplomatic representation appears to be one of the many things he has forgotten in his decades-long attempt to either gain or retain power.

The British government is unlikely to have missed the presence of an Israeli ambassador. The UK Jewish community would have appreciated such a presence – particularly given the high-profile recent attacks, which may have been influenced by the Iranian regime – but we are British and have our own communal leaders. No, the constituent who loses the most as a result of the lack of an ambassador is the State of Israel itself.