Israel has opened its first permanent embassy in Ljubljana. Delo explains what made Slovenia valuable to Netanyahu

Israel's first permanent embassy in Slovenia opened in Ljubljana on Wednesday. The opening was attended by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar — the head of Israeli diplomacy had last been in Ljubljana sixteen years ago. Slovenian Minister Tone Kajzer described it as a "180-degree turn" in bilateral relations. It happened a day after twelve Western countries announced restrictions on trade with Israeli settlements, and Israel retaliated by closing the British consulate in East Jerusalem. RTV Slovenija ↗ The announced protest ultimately did take place, drawing thousands of people.

What Delo says

The daily Delo gave the whole event a headline that's hard to miss: "Slovenia Against the Current." According to the paper, Ljubljana is deepening ties with Israel at exactly the moment the rest of the West is toughening its stance. The ministers signed a bilateral cooperation program in education, science, culture, youth and sport for 2026 to 2030, while an accompanying business forum with more than fifty companies was held behind closed doors. Sa'ar called the opening of the embassy a "historic day" and added that "Israel does not forget its friends." Delo ↗ Delo ↗

But the more substantial question, which Delo raised in a separate analysis, is why Netanyahu even needs the support of a country of two million people. It got its answer from an Israeli academic. "From Netanyahu's perspective, Slovenia's value doesn't lie in its size but in its place within the EU's decision-making system. A small member state can gain considerable influence whenever unanimity is required," Šaron Pardo, professor of European Studies and International Relations at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, told the paper. According to him, Israeli governments have long and deliberately built bilateral relations with far-right parties and governments of individual member states precisely because of how the Union makes foreign policy decisions. Delo ↗

In this context, Delo recalls late August. At that time, Slovenia vetoed a joint statement by the Union and its twenty-seven members that was meant to condemn an Israeli tender for 1,200 housing units in the controversial E1 settlement project. As a result, the text could only be issued as a communiqué by High Representative Kaja Kallas, not as a joint position of all members. Slovenia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs justified this by saying the statement "would not add value at this point." Netanyahu publicly thanked Janša for the veto. bne IntelliNews ↗ ANSA ↗ Meanwhile, pressure from the opposite direction is growing. Eight Arab and Muslim countries have called for further sanctions against Israeli settlements, and Delo writes that the wave of restrictions on trade with the settlements is spreading. (RTV Slovenija ↗, Delo ↗)

What Slovak and Czech media are missing

The sanctions by the twelve countries were picked up by news agencies and dailies here. Slovenia was also covered over the past month, but almost exclusively in connection with Pogačar, the condemnation of the glorification of Mladić, and the fact that parliament stripped former prime minister Robert Golob of his immunity. That one member state had blocked a joint European position on the settlements didn't come up in that coverage.

Yet the contrast is stark. The previous Golob government recognized Palestine, called Israel's conduct in Gaza genocide, and in July 2025 banned the far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Becalel Smotrich from entering the country. Janša's government scrapped these measures and announced it would no longer condemn Israel. In a 2024 recording, Netanyahu described Golob as probably the "most hostile" European prime minister. Al Jazeera ↗ Delo ↗

At home, it didn't pass quietly. President Nataša Pirc Musar and the opposition spoke out against the August veto, and the Social Democrats announced an interpellation of Minister Kajzer. On Wednesday evening, opponents then called a protest right on Dimičeva Street, where the embassy is located, and proposed to the city commission that it be renamed Palestinian Street. ANSA ↗ RTV Slovenija ↗ The protest did take place, and according to regional media, thousands of people attended. Demonstrators gathered under the slogan "No to the Genocide Embassy," and the procession passed through the city center; it was one of the largest gatherings on this topic in Slovenia. (Klix.ba ↗, N1 ↗, HRT ↗)

Limits of this view

Delo is a liberal-leaning daily that was also critical of Janša during his previous governments, and the "against the current" framing is its own. The government explains it differently: as a return to normal relations after a period it considers ideological. It's also worth noting what gets less attention in the Slovenian debate — Israel was among the first states to recognize independent Slovenia, and bilateral trade grew fourteen percent year-on-year last year. Moreover, the argument about unanimity comes from a single Israeli academic, not from any document, and Delo presents it as an interpretation, not as proof of intent.

What hotinfo is following

*Photo: Republic Square in Ljubljana, seat of the Slovenian parliament, archive photo. Author: Palickap / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0. The image has been resized.*