Thousands protest in Ljubljana as Slovenia opens Israel’s first embassy

Nationalist Prime Minister Janez Jansa resets ties with Israel, sparking protests and an impeachment bid.

Slovenians protest Israeli embassy opening in Ljubljana over Gaza genocide

Thousands of people have rallied in Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, in protest against the opening of Israel’s first embassy in the European Union country.

The protest on Wednesday came as Slovenia’s nationalist prime minister, Janez Jansa, pushed through a diplomatic reset with Israel, a sharp reversal from his predecessor, Robert Golob, whose government had described the Israeli war on Gaza as a “genocide”.

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Jansa took office in July.

In Ljubljana, thousands marched past the hotel where the embassy’s inauguration was taking place, carrying banners reading “We stand together for peace and Palestine” and “Genocide is not self-defence”.

Urska Breznik, a 48-year-old art historian, called the Jansa administration a “collaboration” government. Another protester, Melina Sahernik, told the AFP news agency, “This makes Slovenia look very bad.”

A poll conducted by the daily newspaper Delo in June suggested that 56 percent of Slovenians opposed closer ties with Israel, while 14 percent supported them.

Andraz Zorko, a Slovenian political analyst, told The Associated Press news agency that the government’s policy shift does not align with what he believes is the prevailing public opinion in the nation of some 2 million people.

“The majority of Slovenian public is either against Israel or in some kind of neutral position,” he said.

The liberal Freedom Movement, led by former Prime Minister Golob, joined the Left party on Wednesday to submit a proposal to parliament to impeach Jansa, primarily over a foreign policy they said serves Israel’s interests exclusively.

The party also sought to remove Foreign Minister Tone Kajzer, and described the embassy opening as “a return of the favour” for Israel’s alleged support of Jansa during the March election.

Under Golob, Slovenia had recognised a Palestinian state and imposed an arms embargo on Israel, as well as a ban on imports from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and the entry of top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Upon taking office, Jansa immediately removed the Palestinian flag from the Slovenian government building where it was placed alongside the Slovenian, EU and Ukrainian flags. His government soon scrapped all measures against Israel.

At the embassy’s inauguration, Foreign Minister Kajzer said the event should “mark the beginning of a period of greater dialogue, stronger cooperation and, above all, more tangible results for the benefit of our people”, according to a post by his ministry on X.

Travelling to Slovenia for the event, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar called it a “historic day” at a news conference.

“This is a clear expression of Israel’s commitment to our friendship and to its future,” Saar added, thanking the Slovenian government and ‌Jansa for their friendship towards Israel.

The opening of the embassy comes a day after the United Kingdom banned trade with illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, and France and Canada announced they would take similar action.

The move is seen as a symbolic expression of displeasure with Israel by some of its closest allies, and it offers a new sign of the Israeli government’s growing isolation as a result of the genocidal war on Gaza.

Israel responded angrily and said it would close the UK consulate in Jerusalem.

民族主义总理亚内兹·扬沙重塑与以色列的关系，引发抗议和弹劾动议。

斯洛文尼亚人抗议以色列大使馆在卢布尔雅那开设分馆，谴责加沙种族灭绝

数千人在斯洛文尼亚首都卢布尔雅那举行集会，抗议以色列在欧盟国家开设首个大使馆。

周三的抗议活动发生之际，斯洛文尼亚民族主义总理亚内兹·扬沙推动与以色列的外交关系重启，这与他的前任罗伯特·戈洛布的立场截然相反，戈洛布的政府曾将以色列对加沙的战争描述为“种族灭绝”。

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伊朗战争阴影笼罩着特朗普在达拉斯举行的共和党中期选举大会（共3条，此为第3条）

扬萨于7月就职。

在卢布尔雅那，数千人游行经过大使馆落成典礼所在的酒店，他们举着横幅，上面写着“我们团结一致支持和平与巴勒斯坦”和“种族灭绝不是自卫”。

48岁的艺术史学家乌尔斯卡·布雷兹尼克称扬沙政府为“合作”政府。另一位抗议者梅丽娜·萨赫尼克告诉法新社：“这让斯洛文尼亚的形象非常糟糕。”

《Delo》日报6月份进行的一项民意调查显示，56%的斯洛文尼亚人反对与以色列建立更紧密的关系，而14%的人支持。

斯洛文尼亚政治分析家安德拉兹·佐尔科告诉美联社，政府的政策转变与他认为的这个拥有约 200 万人口的国家的主流民意并不一致。

他说：“大多数斯洛文尼亚民众要么反对以色列，要么持某种中立立场。”

由前总理戈洛布领导的自由主义自由运动党周三与左翼党联合向议会提交了一份弹劾扬萨的提案，主要原因是他们认为扬萨的外交政策完全服务于以色列的利益。

该党还试图罢免外交部长托内·卡伊泽，并将大使馆的开设描述为以色列在 3 月份选举中对扬萨的所谓支持“回报”。

在戈洛布的领导下，斯洛文尼亚承认巴勒斯坦国，并对以色列实施武器禁运，禁止从被占领的西岸以色列非法定居点进口商品，并禁止以色列高级官员（包括总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡）入境。

扬沙上任后立即将巴勒斯坦国旗从斯洛文尼亚政府大楼移除，该旗帜此前与斯洛文尼亚国旗、欧盟国旗和乌克兰国旗并列悬挂。他的政府很快取消了所有针对以色列的措施。

据外交部在X上发布的消息，外交部长卡伊泽尔在使馆落成典礼上表示，此次活动应该“标志着一个更加深入的对话、更加紧密的合作以及最重要的是，为造福我们人民而取得更切实成果的时期的开始”。

以色列外交部长吉迪恩·萨尔前往斯洛文尼亚参加此次活动，并在新闻发布会上称这是“历史性的一天”。

萨尔补充道：“这清楚地表达了以色列对我们友谊及其未来的承诺”，并感谢斯洛文尼亚政府和扬萨集团对以色列的友谊。

大使馆的开幕是在英国禁止与被占领的西岸以色列非法定居点进行贸易的第二天，法国和加拿大也宣布将采取类似行动。

此举被视为以色列一些最亲密的盟友对以色列不满的象征性表达，也表明由于对加沙发动种族灭绝战争，以色列政府日益孤立。

以色列对此反应强烈，并表示将关闭英国驻耶路撒冷领事馆。