Final Word from Thursday, October 26, 2023

Yevhen Perebyinis was a highly effective Ukrainian envoy to Prague, and it's still a mystery why he was called home more than a year ago and still hasn't been replaced. No one has filled the gap. The situation with Israel is different, in large part because, unlike Perebyinis, Amb. Anna Azari doesn't speak Czech. She's given a few interviews since the attack by Hamas, but bigger spokespeople for her country are Czech Amb. to Israel Veronika Kuchyňová Šmigolová and National Security Adviser Tomáš Pojar. Kuchyňová Šmigolová told Czech Radio on Tues. that she thinks a humanitarian pause in the bombing of Gaza is out of the question for now and that we sometimes confuse the cause and the effect, because the bombing is the result of the attack by Hamas. This is a strong statement and gives the impression that the CR will accept any number of Gazan casualties. Azari herself was more diplomatic yesterday, telling Blesk that Israel has the right to self-defense after such a Holocaust-like event but that she's sorry for every innocent civilian who loses his life. Her country needs to figure how to make her its main voice in the CR. [ Czech Republic deaths ambassador ]