Croatian president rejects new Israeli ambassador

The Croatian President has refused to approve Israel’s new ambassador due to the “policies pursued by the current Israeli authorities”.

The office of President Zoran Milanovic said on Monday that Israel’s proposed ambassador to the country will not be approved. The Croatian president is a staunch critic of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

“The proposed Ambassador of the State of Israel has not received, nor will he receive, the consent of the President of the Republic Zoran Milanović,” the statement said.

President Milanovic said that he had up to this point refrained from publicly commenting on the matter, in line with diplomatic practice, but argued that Israel had broken the “unwritten rule” by announcing its proposed ambassador before receiving consent.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry said it is working with its Croatian counterparts to “resolve the matter of the status of Israel’s next ambassador in Zagreb,” in a statement carried by Times of Israel.

Tensions between Croatia and Israel have been simmering amid Israel’s military aggression in Gaza and around the Middle East.

In February, Milanovic announced that members of Croatia’s armed forces would not cooperate with the Israeli army “due to their unacceptable actions and unprecedented trampling of” international humanitarian law.

In March, he condemned the US-Israeli war on Iran, saying their desire for government change in Tehran  could lead to “economic damage” and long term consequences.

Nissan Amdur is meant to replace Ambassador Gary Koren, whose term finished at the end of May. According to Ynet, Amdur will now go to Croatia as charge d’affairs, which doesn’t need presidential approval.

A source familiar with the details told the outlet that Milanovic is a “problematic political figure who in the not-so-distant past made clearly anti-Israel and antisemitic remarks”.

It’s the first time in Croatia’s history a president has rejected the approval of an ambassador, the report said.

Milanovic said “granting or withholding of consent for proposed ambassadors is a sovereign right of” the president.

Milanovic has been in office since 2020, and is part of a left-wing party that holds different views to the conservative government, which is pro-Israel.

Despite having limited power, the the realm of confirming ambassadorial appointments is in his domain.