GOVERNMENT

Miloš Zeman

President of the Czech Republic

When recent UNESCO resolutions denied Israel and the Jewish people’s connection to Jerusalem and its holy sites, few bothered to condemn it – one of the exceptions was the Czech Republic, whose parliament unequivocally denounced the resolutions and officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Presiding over this extraordinary display of political courage was Miloš Zeman, president of the Czech Republic, who promptly sent a warm message to the Israeli embassy to mark Jerusalem Day, which celebrates the reunification of the city in 1967.

Referencing Czechoslovakia’s supply of arms to Israel in 1948, Zeman said, “It was the Czechoslovak Republic that gave the helping hand to Israel in the difficult times. And in exchange, Israel with its vitality and pride encourages us in Europe where we face the evil of terrorism.”

Zeman also expressed his belief that Israel must be supported “in the situation when the poisonous shoots of antisemitism once again started to take root on the European continent.” (Photo credit: Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces of the Czech Republic)