35 Years Together - the 35th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with Israel

This year we commemorate the 35th anniversary of the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between Czechoslovakia and the State of Israel. And 35 years will also have passed since President Václav Havel's first visit to Israel in April 1990.

Václav Havel committed to restoring diplomatic relations between the two states, which had been severed by the communist regime, as early as his New Year’s speech in 1990. Together with the then Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres, he prepared the conditions for a historic agreement. It was signed in Prague on February 9, 1990, by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs Jiří Dienstbier and Moshe Arens. In April, Václav Havel became the first representative of a country from the former Soviet bloc to visit Israel. Even after the division of Czechoslovakia in 1993, the Czech Republic continued to support Israel - the only country with a functioning legal and democratic system in the Middle East. It continues this policy to this day.

The history and future of Czech-Israeli relations was discussed by Anna Azari, Ambassador of the State of Israel to the Czech Republic, Veronika Kuchyňová Šmigolová, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Israel, and former Ambassadors of the Czech Republic to Israel, Jiří Schneider, Michael Žantovský, and Tomáš Pojar. The discussion will be moderated by Jakub Železný, journalist and editor of Czech Television.  

The evening was held in cooperation with the Embassy of the State of Israel to the Czech Republic.