Geography Bot: New page: Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections (Europe wave 4a W4a); every reference checked

2026-10-25T13:21:00Z

New page: Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections (Europe wave 4a W4a); every reference checked

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{{short description|'''Czechia: its Jewish community, the 1948 arms supplies and its close ties with "Israel"'''}}
About 3,500 Jews were living in '''Czechia''' in 2019, according to the [[World Jewish Congress]] (WJC), which says that Czechoslovakia "famously" supplied arms to "Israel" in 1948 and that the Czech Republic "is said to be one of the closest allies to Israel".<ref name="WJCCZ">World Jewish Congress, [https://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/about/communities/CZ Community in Czechia] ''worldjewishcongress.org'', accessed 25 October 2026.</ref> Czechia abstained on the September 2025 UN resolution endorsing the New York Declaration on a two-state solution.<ref name="UNNY2025">United Nations General Assembly, [https://www.alquds.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Voting-rec-L.1-Rev.1.pdf Recorded vote on A/80/L.1/Rev.1: Endorsement of the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution], 12 September 2025 (copy hosted by ''Al-Quds Al-Arabi'').</ref>

==Jewish community==
The Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic is the WJC's affiliate. The federation helps run a chapter of the Maccabi World Union in Prague, which the WJC describes as "a Zionist-structured sporting organization that aims at fostering a connection to Israel".<ref name="WJCCZ" />
==Holocaust and communist era==
The WJC says that the Nazis and their collaborators murdered about 263,000 Jews from pre-war Czechoslovakia, including about 71,000 of the 82,309 Jews deported from the Czech lands; more than 155,000 Jews passed through Theresienstadt on the way to killing centres. After the 1948 communist coup, Czechoslovakia "helped train Israeli soldiers and airmen and transferred significant quantities of arms and ammunition to Israel", but the 1952 Slánský trial, in which several Jewish communists were charged with "Zionism", brought a general deterioration for the community.<ref name="WJCCZ" />
==Israeli state and commercial ties==
===Diplomacy===
The Israeli foreign ministry's 2011 list of missions records relations with the Czech Republic as established in January 1993, with "Israel" represented by its embassy in Prague.<ref name="MFA2011">Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110805075305/http://www.mfa.gov.il/mfa/about%20the%20ministry/diplomatic%20missions/Israel-s%20Diplomatic%20Missions%20Abroad Diplomatic Missions Abroad: Status of relations] ''mfa.gov.il'', archived 5 August 2011.</ref> The WJC says that Czech diplomacy shows "strong support for Israel in both the United Nations and the European Union", and that former President Miloš Zeman was "said to be the most vocal advocate for Israel in Europe". The Israeli embassy is at Badeniho 2, 170 06 Prague 7.<ref name="WJCCZ" />
===Jerusalem office and embassy debate===
On 7 April 2021 a Jerusalem branch office of the Czech embassy in Tel Aviv began operations at George Washington 6, Jerusalem, near the King David Hotel.<ref name="MZVJer2021">Embassy of the Czech Republic in Tel Aviv, [https://mzv.gov.cz/telaviv/en/launch_of_the_jerusalem_office_of_the.html Launch of the Jerusalem office of the Czech Embassy in Tel Aviv] ''mzv.gov.cz'', 8 April 2021, accessed 25 October 2026.</ref> On 14 April 2026, after meeting the Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar, Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka said that he wanted to reopen the discussion on moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, adding: "It does not depend only on me, I am just the foreign minister."<ref name="RadioPrague2026">Romana Grajcarová, [https://english.radio.cz/foreign-minister-macinka-wants-reopen-debate-moving-embassy-jerusalem-8883562 Foreign Minister Macinka wants to reopen debate on moving embassy to Jerusalem] ''Radio Prague International'', 14 April 2026, accessed 25 October 2026.</ref>
===Arms trade===
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) records Czech orders for four SPYDER air defence systems (a CZK13.7 billion, $620 million deal from 2021, including more than 30% licensed production in Czechia, with delivery planned for 2026) and their Python-5, I-Derby and I-Derby-ER missiles; eight M-2084 air-search radars ($125 million, 2019, including component production in Czechia); Samson turrets and Spike-LR missiles for Pandur-2 vehicles (2009); and Litening pods for Gripen aircraft (2017).<ref name="SIPRI">Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, [https://armstransfers.sipri.org SIPRI Arms Transfers Database] ''SIPRI'', trade register for Israel as supplier, 1950–2025, data generated 20 October 2026.</ref>
===Trade===
The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics reports that "Israel" imported goods worth $910.1 million from Czechia in 2025 (2024: $819.7 million) and exported goods worth $262.7 million to it (2024: $126.6 million).<ref name="CBS">Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel), [https://www.cbs.gov.il/he/publications/DocLib/2026/fr_trade12_2025/td1.pdf Foreign Trade Statistics Monthly, Table D1: Trade Countries – Imports and Exports] ''CBS'', December 2025 issue (library copy).</ref>

==See also==
*[[Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Austria]]
*[[Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Hungary]]
*[[Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Poland]]
*[[Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Portugal]]
*[[Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Slovakia]]
*[[Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Spain]]
*[[Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Switzerland]]

==Notes==
<references/>

[[Category:Zionist movement|Czechia]]
[[Category:Czech Republic]]
[[Category:Europe|Czechia]]

Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections to Czechia - Revision history

Geography Bot: New page: Jewish, Zionist and Israeli connections (Europe wave 4a W4a); every reference checked