Anna Azari has been the ambassador of Israel to the Czech Republic since August 2021. Her personal choice of the posting makes her mission that much more precious. And she is by no means a diplomat who stays locked away behind the walls of an embassy; she has traveled across a large part of our country. Conversing with her is pleasant, refined and her sense of humor is surprisingly aligned with that of the Czech people.
Shortly after you were appointed as an ambassador, you spoke in Czech...
Not very well, though...
How long does it take you to soak up the language of different countries where you were posted?
In this particular case, it is a little complicated. I feel as though I speak a sort of Slavic Esperanto. My Polish was passable, but seeing as how close Polish is to Czech, they get mixed up in my head. When I am reading a newspaper article, for instance, it is relatively simple, but when I have to speak, it is more difficult. What's more, my Polish has gotten the worse for it.
You mentioned in an interview that you like to read the books and watch the movies of the country where you are to be posted. What were the Czech works you found most interesting?
That is a complicated question. The fundament was, of course, The Good Soldier Švejk, which is a book I read many years ago but I re-read it once more before coming here. I also read Milan Kundera and Bohumil Hrabal. But what I did not succeed in finding out before I arrived is what was written here in the 19th century. Only recently, I listened to Babička. Everybody here at the embassy made fun of me for that.
It is said that each country has its own specific type of humor. How do you like the Czech one?
The kind of humor that is not in Czech I understand and I enjoy it a lot. But when it comes to Czech, I can understand most of what is being said until the punchline comes. That is when everyone is laughing and I am not... But there is one work of art that has crazy humor, is quintessentially Czech, and I like it very much – the movie Postřižiny based on Hrabal. A classic. I watched it with subtitles, so it was easier to understand.
You have been the ambassador to Czechia since 2021. And from what I saw, you have visited many places here already. Are there some others, besides Prague, that you found truly inspiring?
Your country is beautiful and I was inspired by pretty much every place I visited. But if I were to pick a specific one, it would have to be Litomyšl. Besides the mayor of the city being a very nice and kind person, the entire city feels right out of a fairytale. I like the art there. Especially the Portmoneum and the works of Olbram Zoubek, of which there are plenty. The combination of a beautiful renaissance city and modern art was inspiring.
You were posted at the embassy in Russia twice and later worked as an ambassador in Ukraine for four years. Furthermore, you were born in Vilnius in Lithuania during the reign of the Soviet Union. That means you know Russia and Ukraine well. Did Russia's attack on Ukraine and the developments in this war surprise you? Would you hazard a guess as to how it will end?
I know how it should end. With the complete victory of Ukraine! Any other result would be problematic for everybody. I was on a short visit to Kyiv in 2014 when there was the Maidan shooting. My friends told me that Putin would invade the country and I didn't take them seriously. Ever since then, I have taken all such threats seriously. The Americans put out warnings that the war was coming this time around. I believed that, so I was not that surprised. Despite all of the love I have for Ukraine, I was surprised by the heroism of the Ukrainian people. I did not believe that they could withstand what they did, defend their country as they did.
What is the Russian mentality like? It feels to me as though they really want to bring back the massive tzar empire or reinstate the Soviet Union...
I think the things being said about the Russians are unfair. They live in a bubble, and I see their actions more as passivity rather than wilful support of the regime. But judging people who live under the rule of regimes such as the one in Russia is harsh. I myself am not sure how I would act. I very much enjoy going to demonstrations when I am in Israel but this is an entirely different matter. There are nearly 20 thousand people imprisoned for minor acts of protest. I see it as the mentality of poverty rather than Russian mentality as such. Most of the people being mobilized into the Russian army – dubbed mohylization (Translator's note: "mohyla" derived from the word for cairn or grave) instead of mobilization by the Russian people – come from incredibly poor conditions and feel like they have no influence on the way of things. I do not know them at all and I do not understand them enough to judge their way of thinking but I feel that it is poverty and remoteness that causes this passivity in people. Those who were able to leave did so to get away from the mobilization. They escaped to Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Baltics...
Israel is in a difficult position when it comes to this war. It is unable to supply arms to Ukraine because it needs them for its own purposes, and Russian forces are posted in Syria in addition to that. Did things become a bit easier for Israel when Russia withdrew some of its forces from Syria?
But Russian troops never withdrew from Syria! They only regrouped. They are still there and are equipped with heavy weaponry. Israel is unable to supply Ukraine with weapons not only due to Russia but also because it finds itself in the middle of an active war zone. We are not like the Americans or Germans, we do not have weapons to spare. What we do have we use ourselves. And a lot of people have mistaken ideas on this matter that the Iron Dome could help Ukraine. It would take us five years before we produced the amount that might be useful for Ukraine. There are much more useful technologies, such as the Patriot. Iron Dome is a short-range defense system that simply would not work in a territory as vast as Ukraine.
The fifth parliamentary election in the last four years took place in Israel last November. Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud won by securing a relatively comfortable majority. Left-wing and Arab parties wakened in general, while the right- and extreme right-wing parties gained popularity. Could this change Israel's policy?
I do not feel that the right-wing parties gained popularity. Israel is split pretty much down the middle when it comes to political opinions. The technical organization of the right wing was much better, which gained them the majority. Netanyahu was the architect of this whole plan, creating a bloc of right-wing parties. And there were tactical mistakes by the left wing as well that lost them many votes. The current coalition's strength could be compared to that in Czechia. If there is no internal turmoil within the coalition, it should be able to hold power for the whole election term. It is a much more organic coalition than the previous ones, which were often composed of strongly opposed parties.
There are also ultra-orthodox parties, however. Could that lead to this trend growing stronger in Israel?
I do not think so. All of Netanyahu's previous coalitions included these parties. They are good coalition partners, although Netanyahu might be forced to take measures that might displease his voters in order to appease these parties in his coalition.
You stated in an interview shortly after you were appointed that you would like to find a way to work with the young generation to ensure that the good relations between our two countries remain strong. Last year, the Czech-Israeli Innovation Internships project was launched. How has it been developing since then?
Our relations are not good, they are excellent! And I want the young generation to maintain that. Besides these innovation projects, there is something completely new, only announced last week – Neuron Foundation announced that it would be sending 10 students to Israel every year. It was a god-sent present and is exactly the kind of cooperation I want to see.
Is it a scholarship to study Hebrew?
No, it is a little different. It focuses more on scientific research rather than humanities. The Foundation published it on its Facebook page and we reposted the announcement on our social media.
Is the CEMACH project, which focuses primarily on high school students, still ongoing?
That is a project that has been going on for many years now. It is a competition for high school students who are interested in present-day Israel. They build their own projects and subsequently compete in several areas – art, literature, and so on. It is a competition meant to promote learning. I like the project very much and I believe it will continue into the future.
If you were to invite a Czech person to Israel but leave out the best-known places, such as Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Eilat – what should they definitely not miss?
I would say go north. Even if they are not a religious Christian, they should visit Galilee Lake. The Golan Heights are also worth it. I would say visit a kibbutz or two. But definitely sit by the sea and drink some beer... There are many places where you can do that. I feel that the Czech people appreciate the sea much more because they do not have one. And although Israel is a small country, it has access to three different seas, so there is plenty to choose from.
Being an ambassador, you spend a lot of time abroad. How do you manage to see your husband, children, grandchild?
It is a little late now for this question, seeing as my children are adults. It is complicated, of course. We have tried pretty much everything – we all traveled together, then my children stayed with my husband, other times they stayed with me, there were times when one child was with me and the other with my husband... There was even a case when my husband had to leave early in order to keep his job. Things do get very complicated. But everything is easier now as my daughter lives in Belfast, my son in Warsaw, and my husband spends half the time here with me.
Did the historical ties between our two countries, starting in 1927 when T.G. Masaryk visited Israel, play a role when you were choosing Czechia?
The history is beautiful but I decided primarily based on the current good relations between our countries. Not to disrespect Masaryk in any way but he was not the primary deciding factor. I was the director for Europe at the ministry of foreign affairs, and Czechia was the friendliest country of all. I had many interesting and very difficult postings, so I wanted to choose someplace nice.
Is there anything in Czechia that you fell in love with – be it food, drink, a film, a place... And conversely, anything Israeli that you miss having here?
I probably shouldn't say this but I am not a big fan of beer. My husband keeps making fun of me that when I leave here, there won't be a single palace or castle that I haven't seen. What I found most attractive, however, were your little towns. Based on the experience from my previous postings, I can tell you that life in small towns is a great measure of how civilized a given country is. And you have plenty of wonderful little towns. The last town I recently visited was Jičín.
CV BOX
Anna Azari (born August 27, 1959, in Vilnius, Lithuania) is the ambassador of Israel to the Czech Republic.
When she was thirteen, her entire family moved from Lithuania to Israel.
Azari attended the University of Haifa, studying history and English literature for her bachelor's degree and political science for her master's. She also studied Russian studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and graduated from the National Security College of Israel.
She began her diplomatic career in 1989, serving as consul-general of Israel for the Pacific Northwest. Between 1992 and 1999, she first worked at the Israeli ministry of foreign affairs in the political planning department, then as first secretary at the Embassy of Israel in Moscow, and later as deputy director of the Commonwealth of Independent States Department.
From 1999, Azari was posted as ambassador to Ukraine for four years where she also worked as an ambassador to Moldova. Between 2005 and 2010, she was the ambassador to Russia, later being appointed as deputy director for Eurasia.
From 2014 to 2019, she was the Israeli ambassador to Poland, going on to become deputy director general for Europe at the ministry of foreign affairs.
Azari has been the ambassador to Czechia since August 2021. She chose the Prague posting herself.
She is fluent in Hebrew, English, and Russian, and speaks Polish and Czech as well.
She has two adult children with her husband Meir Azari and also has one grandchild.
Anna Azari
At an avenue planting ceremony dedicated to the memory of Sir Nicholas Winton in Račiněves, Roudnice region.
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