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Three out of four new ambassadors who presented their credentials to President Isaac Herzog were from El Salvador, Ecuador, and Costa Rica
By GREER FAY CASHMAN FEBRUARY 5, 2025 17:22
President Isaac Herzog.
(photo credit: HAIM ZACH/GPO)
Latin American ambassadors dominated the ceremonies for new ambassadors on Wednesday, with three of the four who presented their credentials to President Isaac Herzog coming from El Salvador, Ecuador, and Costa Rica, while the only European was from Greece.
Though each presentation and meeting with the president was separate, as a group, the four represented gender equality with two male and two female ambassadors.
The inclement weather forced several changes in the overall event.
The IDF band, which plays the national anthems of the countries of new ambassadors before they enter the main hall, is usually stationed beneath the pergola leading into the building. This time, the musicians were outside for the first two ambassadors, but when it rained, they moved into the main hall for the rest and also played Israel’s national anthem, which is generally played at the conclusion of an event and not at the beginning.
Having anticipated the rain, the president’s staff moved the ceremony into the adjacent smaller hall, where instead of standing waiting for the new ambassador, Herzog entered after the ambassador’s arrival.
The usual procedure is that the ambassador presents their credentials and is then led by Herzog to a reception line, which includes the president’s most senior staff, representatives from the Foreign Ministry, and members of the ambassador’s entourage. Then, they all go into the smaller hall for a tête-à-tête.
This time, everyone was seated, and each person introduced themself at the president’s request.
Significance of Trump and Netanyahu meeting
Just before his conversation with Antonio López, the ambassador from Costa Rica, Herzog, whose voice on behalf of the hostages and their families has arguably been the most frequent and consistent from the upper echelon of the Israeli government, related to the meeting in Washington between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, emphasizing its importance with regard to Trump’s commitment to bringing home the hostages.
“It’s the most important topic in our national psyche,” said Herzog.
Another important aspect of the discussion between Trump and Netanyahu, he continued, was the further inclusion of Israel in the region, which would make a historic change. Herzog voiced the hope that many more Arab countries would join the circle of peace.
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“This has to be coupled with the fact that we must block Iran and its terrible plans and its heinous activities through its proxies all throughout the region – against Israel and against Jews all over the world,” he added. “Sometimes you have to fight terror to bring peace, and you have to protect it.”
LÓPEZ, after stressing Costa Rica’s global pursuit of peace and his pride in the fact that Costa Rica has had peace and democracy for 200 years, agreed that “terror has to be done away with” – not only in relation to Israel but all over the world.
An international lawyer with expertise in international borders, Héctor Celarié, the ambassador of El Salvador, worked for prestigious law firms before joining his country’s foreign service. He is now serving in Israel for the second time and is married to a Christian Israeli from Haifa, where her family still lives.
The embassy of El Salvador was located in Jerusalem for 20 years before 2006 when it became one of the last embassies to move out of the capital. Costa Rica transferred its embassy in the same year.
Celarié’s main task during his current stint in Israel is to boost bilateral trade.
Ecuador’s María Cevallos, who is also in Israel for the second time and is her country’s third ambassador to the Holy Land in a three-and-a-half-year period, previously worked here for the Chamber of Commerce, and her mandate is likewise to boost bilateral trade as well as to promote bilateral cooperation in other spheres.
A convert to Judaism, who was converted in Israel and given the Hebrew name of Maayan, she has two young children who are being raised Jewish, and she speaks Hebrew.
Herzog mentioned that after the Spanish Inquisition, Ecuador was among the places to which Spanish and Portuguese Jews fled and integrated with the local populations. What he did not say was that Ecuador also provided a haven for Jews who fled Germany following Hitler’s rise to power.
He and the ambassador also discussed the forthcoming visit to Israel by Ecuador’s president, Daniel Noboa, who will be the second president of his country to visit Israel and also the second to be hosted by Herzog, who welcomed former president Guillermo Lasso in May 2022.
Maria Solomou, the ambassador of the Hellenic Republic who had previously worked closely with her country’s president, had met Herzog in her former role. Herzog told her that he was dreaming of the day when he would see the president of Greece in Israel.
“You won’t see the same president,” Solomou retorted, explaining that elections will be held in Greece on March 13.Herzog noted that Israel has “incredible ties with Greece,” covering almost everything possible
Among the subjects he discussed with the ambassador were the importance of trilateral relations with Cyprus, the possibility of Greek medical students doing their internships at Hadassah-University Medical Center, Herzog’s meetings with bereaved families and the pain they suffer, increased trade, strong military relations, and the ever-growing numbers of Israeli tourists in Greece, where according to the ambassador, “They have a good time.”Herzog responded, “We’re now waiting for Greek tourists to come to Israel.”
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