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Jewish News 25 June 2020
News / Goodbye ambassador
Regxit! Mark Regev spent his final nights as Israel’s ambassador to the Court of St James hanging out with Akiva, Elisheva, Shulem and other members of the cast of Shtisel. Not literally, of course, in these socially distanced days. But the clearing of the envoy’s usually packed evening schedule in mid-March gave him a chance to catch up on some of the hit Israeli dramas others had spent so much of the past four months telling him about. “When I met other ambassadors, they’d say, ‘I’ve been watching this or that show’,” he told Jewish News last Friday, on his final day in the job. “There’d be almost an expectation you are an expert but I hadn’t watched them, as so many evenings were spent at dinners or talks.” Not that the final days of his four-year term have exactly been ripe for the Australian-born diplomat to put his feet up, with controversy surrounding his successor, settlements minister Tzipi Hotovely, and frenetic debate about planned annexation of parts of the West Bank which, according to critics, would end hopes for the two-state solution. He’s clear it’s an issue of “Israeli sovereignty”. “We don’t use the word ‘annexation’ – annexation is taking something that’s not yours. We believe we have a legitimate claim to territories in the West Bank from a legal, historical and security point of view. We don’t deny other people have a claim, but rival claims have to be sorted out,” he says. In words that offer some room for Jerusalem’s position to soften at the eleventh hour, he stressed ministers are still consulting allies such as Britain and the US and remained cognisant of existing peace treaties and growing contacts with the Arab world. The EU’s foreign policy chief has suggested going ahead would have “significant consequences” for the bloc’s relations with Israel, but Regev declined to say whether he feared Boris Johnson’s strong condemnation of the plans meant it could also undermine UK-Israel ties. “The goal of any policy would be to strengthen
In one of his final duties as Israel’s ambassador to the UK, Mark Regev speaks to Justin Cohen about the highs and lows of his four years in London
Main: Leaving last week. Below: Celebrating UK-Israel business at the Stock Exchange. Top right: Presenting his credentials to the Queen. Bottom: With Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis
stability and security,” he said. “But let’s say we and the British end up having a difference of opinion. Do you have the shock absorbers on the vehicle that can help you handle the bumps in the road? That’ll be the test – when everything’s going fine, you don’t need skilled diplomats.” But it’s not just on the bilateral front that his diplomatic skills were required in recent
weeks, following a unprecedented letter from 42 high-profile British Jews suggesting the move risked further polarising opinion on Israel in the community and moving diaspora Jews away from the Jewish state. Asked if he recognised the right of the group – including Sir Mick Davis, Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Anthony Julius to speak out, he said: “I recognise that just as Jewish Israelis will have a variety of views, you’ll get a variety of views in the Jewish community. “I’m just asking for anyone who has alternative suggestions that they should respect the outcome of what was ultimately a democratic election.” Regev has never been afraid of stepping into the lion’s den, whether as international media spokesman for Benjamin Netanyahu before arriving in London, or in making a visit to SOAS – a London university, some of whose
students have traditionally been critical of Israel – one of his first engagements here. Another potential battle he faced was over the centenary of the Balfour Declaration – and he has no hesitation in describing that historic moment in 2017 as the highlight of his tenure. Amid a campaign for an apology for the 1917 document and voices within Whitehall suggesting it should neither be lamented nor celebrated, a dinner was held in London in the presence of both Netanyahu and the then Prime Minister Theresa May. “If that was not a celebration, I don’t know what is,” he said. “It was a wonderful event. The fact it happened amid opposition to the idea of an event made it especially important.” Another historic moment came with the first – and then second – official Royal visit to Israel, when Prince William and Prince Charles touched down in Tel Aviv, 20 months apart. Regev said some in Israel had long wondered whether there was an “unofficial boycott” of Israel, but added: “The fact it happened demonstrated the strength of the relationship between the two countries: defence, economic, the political relationship. The visit itself was wonderful, but it symbolises other things that are more important.” Now back in Israel, Regev is using his 14 days in quarantine to finish calling many of those he hadn’t had a chance to say farewell to and preparing for what he “hopes” will be his next challenge. “The embassy will let you know as soon as possible,” he says teasingly. “Nothing’s finalised until it’s finalised.”
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