Janez Janša visited Israel at the beginning of last week. With a one-week delay, the Slovenian media – always “up to date” – reported on it when they got the green light to do so. At a meeting of the National Assembly’s Committee on Foreign Policy, State Secretary Sanja Štiglic said that the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the embassy in Tel Aviv had not been informed about his recent visit to Israel. However, it is not entirely clear why they should have been – namely, Janša visited Israel as part of a delegation from the International Democratic Union (IDU), the most influential international political organisation.
The media only started reporting on it after Janša’s visit was criticised by the ruling Freedom Movement party (Gibanje Svoboda). At a meeting of the Committee on Foreign Policy, Freedom Movement’s MP Lenart Žavbi accused Janez Janša of not coordinating his position with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, adding that Janša’s views expressed during his visit to Israel were contrary to the official positions of Slovenian foreign policy, since Janša had announced, among other things, that if he were to lead the government again, he would move the Slovenian embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
It has already been established that Žavbi does not actually know what he is talking about, but now he has confirmed it further. Namely, the Foreign Ministry does not have the power to ban or control the activities of individual Members of Parliament. Janša, as the leader of the opposition, therefore has the right to say what his plans are if he comes to power in the next elections. Even if these views are different from the current government’s policy.
And besides, the definition of the foreign policy of the current coalition is clear – it is on the side of the terrorist organisation. It is therefore important that we also have a voice of reason in Slovenia.
As part of his visit to Israel, Janez Janša also visited the kibbutz Kfar Aza, which was attacked by Hamas, where 200 executed Israelis were discovered, including 40 executed children. Some were reportedly beheaded. He accompanied his visit with the words, “Finding solutions for security, peace and coexistence.”
Janša also responded to the criticism on social media X, writing: “Friends of the Hamas terrorist organisation and of Iran, financed from the Iran-NLB-gate, have no power to set the policy of the International Democratic Union alliance, the most influential international political organisation with 86 members,” tagging the Ministry and the Minister of Foreign Affairs in his post. Meanwhile, Dr Eli David thanked Janša for his continued support of Israel, adding that Slovenia deserves a leadership that upholds the Western values of freedom.
A. G.
