Relations between

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, and its predecessor state

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, have varied widely over time. The historical and ideological roots of this international relationship, which would prove crucial for the establishment of Israel in 1948, can be traced back to the early 19th century, and the emerging Czech-Jewish alliance in Prague. By 1938, virtually all groups of Jews in the Bohemian Lands, Czech assimilationists, German liberals, and Zionists, were closely attached to the Czechoslovak government and integrated in the centre-left elite of the country (but excluded from the right). The links between T.G. Masaryk and Zionist circles in Prague and beyond, mark the crucial node that would lead to Czechoslovak military assistance to the nascent Israeli state around 1948. After this peak, Czechoslovakia-Israel relations deteriorated, and the two countries did not have diplomatic relations during most of the Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. However, after the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution () or Gentle Revolution () was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations against the one-party government of the Communist Pa ...

and

dissolution of Czechoslovakia The dissolution of Czechoslovakia, which took effect on December 31, 1992, was the Self-determination, self-determined Partition (politics), partition of the federal republic of Fifth Czechoslovak Republic, Czechoslovakia into the independent ...

the countries re-established contact, and the Czech Republic is now one of Israel's closest allies, frequently demonstrating strong support for Israel at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and within the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. In March 2021, the Czech Republic opened a diplomatic office in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

History

Israeli relations with Czechoslovakia

The founder of Czechoslovakia, President

Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Tomáš () is a Czech name, Czech and Slovak name, Slovak given name, equivalent to the name Thomas (name), Thomas. Tomáš is also a surname (feminine: Tomášová). Notable people with the name include: Given name Sport *Tomáš Berdych (born 198 ...

, had close relations with Jews and the Zionist Movement. In 1920 he became the first statesman to visit the first Jewish

kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

.^:50 Czechoslovakia was one of 33 countries to vote in favour of the 1947 UN partition resolution recommending the establishment of a Jewish state, and was among the first countries to recognize the State of Israel, which it did on May 18, 1948, four days after Israel's

declaration of independence A declaration of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another state or failed state, or are breaka ...

. Diplomatic relations between the countries were established on July 3, 1948, four months after the Communists seized power in Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia supported the newly created state for several months with military aircraft and weapons. However the Communist government later ceased this support and after the

1967 Arab-Israeli War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

diplomatic relations were broken. Following the 1989

, diplomatic relations were re-established between Israel and the newly democratic Czechoslovakia.

Israeli relations with the Czech Republic

After the

in 1993, diplomatic relations were established between Israel and the two successor states, the Czech Republic and

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

In December 2008 the

Czech Air Force The Czech Air Force () is the air force branch of the Army of the Czech Republic, Army of Czechia. Along with the Czech Land Forces, Land Forces, the Air Force is the major Czech military force. With traditions of military aviation dating back to ...

wanted to train in desert conditions for the upcoming mission in Afghanistan, and Israel offered their desert areas for this purpose, to thank the Czechs for training Israeli pilots when the country was first established. The current Czech government is one of Israel's closest allies. After the

Gaza flotilla raid Ships of Gaza flotilla raid, Six civilian ships of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla were raided by Israel on 31 May 2010 in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Nine of the flotilla passengers were killed during the raid, with thirty woun ...

the

expressed its support for

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the Speaker (politics), speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's Order of succession, succes ...

Přemysl Sobotka Přemysl Sobotka (born 18 May 1944 in Mladá Boleslav) is a Czech Republic, Czech physician and politician who served as the President of the Senate of the Czech Republic, President of the Senate from 2004 to 2010. Sobotka was a candidate in 201 ...

visited Israel on June 2, 2010 and addressed the Israeli

Knesset The Knesset ( , ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral legislature of Israel. The Knesset passes all laws, elects the President of Israel, president and Prime Minister of Israel, prime minister, approves the Cabinet of Israel, cabinet, and supe ...

, describing the flotilla as a planned provocation designed to entrap Israel. Sobotka met with Knesset Speaker

Reuven Rivlin Reuven "Ruvi" Rivlin ( ; born 9 September 1939) is an Israeli politician and lawyer who served as the president of Israel between 2014 and 2021. He is a member of the Likud party. Rivlin was Minister of Communications from 2001 to 2003, and su ...

and expressed support for the classification of

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

as a terrorist organization. In a

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

vote on 29 November 2012, the Czech Republic was the only European country to vote with Israel against upgrading the status of Palestine to a "non-member observer state". During a visit to

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

in May 2012, Israeli

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

said that Israel had "no better friend in Europe than the Czech Republic". During a visit to Israel in November 2014, Czech Foreign Minister

Lubomír Zaorálek Lubomír Zaorálek (born 6 September 1956) is a Czech politician, who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs under Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka from 2014 to 2017, and Minister of Culture under Prime Minister Andrej Babiš from 2019 to 2021. ...

claimed that Czech media and society viewed Israel as "a trusted friend, a vibrant democracy, and an economic and technological powerhouse", adding that the Czech Republic had one of the lowest levels of anti-Semitism in Europe.Reflections on Czech-Israeli Relations in Light of EU Policies
Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs, IX (1), 87-91. In 2015, Israel Foreign Affairs Minister

Moshe Arens Moshe Arens (; 27 December 1925 – 7 January 2019) was an Israeli aeronautical engineer, researcher, diplomat, and Likud politician. A member of the Knesset between 1973 and 1992 and again from 1999 until 2003, he served as Minister of Defense ...

described Czech-Israel relations as "excellent", and the best of all nations in the

. In December 2015 the Czech Parliament refused to implement European Union guidelines to label Israeli products originating from the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. Czech lawmakers described the rules as anti-Semitic, and discrimination against "the only democracy in the Middle East". Israel's ambassador Gary Koren thanked the parliament for its decision. In October 2016 Czech Parliament passed a motion condemning a UNESCO resolution on Palestine which omitted reference to the Jewish heritage of the

Western Wall The Western Wall (; ; Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: ''HaKosel HaMa'arovi'') is an ancient retaining wall of the built-up hill known to Jews and Christians as the Temple Mount of Jerusalem. Its most famous section, known by the same name ...

and other historical sites in Jerusalem, with deputies accusing UNESCO of antisemitism and describing the resolution as "hateful" during the parliamentary discussion.

Ofir Akunis Ofir Akunis (; born 28 May 1973) is an Israeli politician and diplomat. Since May 2024 he has been the Israeli Consul General in New York, his first diplomatic posting. As a politician, Akunis served as a member of the Knesset for Likud and was ...

, Israeli Minister of Science, Technology and Space, thanked the Czech Parliament and the country, describing it as a "heroic act" and reaffirming the close relationship between the countries. In May 2017 the Chamber of Deputies passed a non-binding resolution condemning another UNESCO resolution critical of Israel, and calling on the Czech government to advocate recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The resolution also called for the Czech Republic to withhold its annual funding to UNESCO. On 22 October 2019, the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

passed a non-binding resolution "condemn ngall activities and statements by groups calling for a boycott of the State of Israel, its goods, services or citizens." The resolution was introduced by Jan Bartošek, leader of the Populars caucus in the chamber. On 11 March 2021, Czech Prime Minister

Andrej Babiš Andrej Babiš (; born 2 September 1954) is a Czech businessman and politician who served as the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, prime minister of the Czech Republic from 2017 to 2021. He previously served as the Finance Minister of the Cze ...

opened the Czech diplomatic office in Jerusalem, the second European Union country to do so, after Hungary. In July 2022, Israeli President

Isaac Herzog Isaac "Bougie" Herzog (; born 22 September 1960) is an Israeli politician who has been serving since 2021 as the president of Israel. He is the first president to have been born in Israel after its Declaration of Independence. Son of former Is ...

made a state visit to the Czech Republic. At

Prague Castle Prague Castle (; ) is a castle complex in Prague, Czech Republic serving as the official residence and workplace of the president of the Czech Republic. Built in the 9th century, the castle has long served as the seat of power for List of rulers ...

, President Herzog awarded the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honor to Czech President

Miloš Zeman Miloš Zeman (; born 28 September 1944) is a Czech politician who served as the third president of the Czech Republic from 2013 to 2023. He also previously served as the prime minister of the Czech Republic from 1998 to 2002. As leader of the Cze ...

, hailing his Czech counterpart’s "deep friendship with the Jewish People, his consistent support for Israel on the international stage, and his 'zero tolerance' policy toward terrorism and

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

." On 25 October 2023, Czech Prime Minister

Petr Fiala Petr Fiala (; born 1 September 1964) is a Czech politician and political scientist who has been the prime minister of the Czech Republic since December 2021 and leader of the Civic Democratic Party (Czech Republic), Civic Democratic Party (ODS) ...

made a visit to Israel where he expressed the Czech Republic's support for Israel following the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Herzog. Earlier that month, he had proposed accelerating the move of the Czech embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Prime Minister Netanyahu had an official visit to the Czech Republic planned for early October, accompanied by ministers of his cabinet, which was cancelled due to the attacks. In January 2024, Czech President

Petr Pavel Petr Pavel (; born 1 November 1961) is a Czech politician and retired army general, currently serving as the president of the Czech Republic since March 2023. Prior to this, he held the position of Chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 2 ...

made a two-day visit to Israel in light of the ongoing

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

. During the visit, President Pavel met with Israeli officials including Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Herzog, where he expressed support for Israel while also stating concerns over humanitarian aid and civilian casualties in Gaza. In May 2024, Czech Republic was one of the nine countries which voted against Palestine's UN membership. Czech Republic is considered to be one of Israel's closest allies in Europe.

Diplomatic offices and co-operation

The Czech Republic has an embassy in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

and 3 honorary consulates (in

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

and

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...

). Israel has an embassy in

. Both countries are full members of the

Union for the Mediterranean The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM; , ''Al-Ittiḥād min ajl al-Mutawasseṭ'') is an intergovernmental organization of 43 member states from Europe and the Mediterranean Basin: the 27 Member state of the European Union, EU member states (i ...

Trade

Trade between Israel and the Czech Republic is influenced by the EU-Israel Free Trade Agreement of 1995.

Tourism

In 1996, Israel and the Czech Republic abolished the need for visas for each others' citizens to travel, and both offer working holiday visas.

References

External links

Czech embassy in Tel Aviv

Israeli embassy in Prague
{{DEFAULTSORT:Czech Republic-Israel relations

Bilateral relations of Israel