[Friends for decades] Israeli ambassador says it's time the two countries get married

Diplomacy

Published: 14 Apr. 2022, 19:00 Updated: 24 Sep. 2022, 22:57

[Friends for decades] Israeli ambassador says it's time the two countries get married

Medical supplies from Israel to Korea to aid the United Nations forces after the oubreak of the Korean War in 1950. [COHEN FRITZ/ISRAEL GOVERNMENT PRESS OFFICE]

There’s no mistaking where you’re standing when you enter the Israeli residence in Seoul.

Like windows looking in, landscape paintings of Mounts Tabor and Hermon, the Golan Heights and Tiberias decorate the walls on one side, while the other end is decorated with more modern expressions of the story of Absalom from the Bible and the ports of Haifa and Jaffa.

The creators behind the works speak for the past and present of Israel, for they include Leo Ray, the artist who made Aliyah from Lithuania, landscape artist Ludwig Blum who fared from the Czech Republic, American-born Israeli artist Ivan Schwebel and sculptor and painter Menashe Kadishman known for his sheep motifs.

“When Israel was established, Jews came from all over the world — they came from Arab countries, they came from Eastern Europe, they came from Latin America, they came from North Africa,” said Akiva Tor, ambassador of Israel to Korea, speaking at the residence on March 14 on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Israel-Korea relations.

"All of the widespread Jewish communities have always been in correspondence and in contact with each other throughout history.”

Such was evident in the house — a menorah stood on the fireplace, a plate of hamantaschen cookies for Purim, a Jewish holiday that was to begin later that week, was ready on the table, and a full set of the Babylonian Talmud and books on the history of Zionism and modern Israeli literature filled the bookshelves in the house.

But placed in between were also objects clearly not Israeli in its nature, like a gilt depiction of the Grand Mosque of Abu Dhabi, placed next to the menorah.

“That was a gift from the U.A.E. ambassador,” said Tor, recalling the time he hosted an iftar meal for the ambassadors of Muslim countries at peace with Israel.

The U.A.E. became the third Arab country to normalize ties with Israel when it did so in 2020, following Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. Leaders of Israel, Egypt and the U.A.E. hosted their first trilateral summit in March.

It’s something the top Israeli envoy in Seoul envisions for Israel-Korea relations as well.

Akiva Tor, ambassador of Israel to Korea, speaks with the Korea JoongAng Daily on March 14 at the diplomatic residence in Seoul. [PARK SANG-MOON]

“We should be moving forward a triangle of economic cooperation — Israel, Korea, U.A.E. — where each part of the triangle brings something,” he said. “Israel brings innovation, Korea brings high-tech manufacturing, U.A.E. brings finance and a unique green sensibility focused on water conservation and clean energy. All of the elements are in place for us to be working together.”

The celebration of the 60th anniversary comes with a number of milestones to count, including the successful vaccine swap last year, which was the world’s first ever, and the signing of the bilateral free trade agreement last May, Korea’s first with a Middle Eastern nation and Israel’s first with an Asian country.

Asked to sum up where the two countries could be headed for the next 60 years, Tor put the relations into rather relatable terms.

“I would say that we’ve been dating, Korea and Israel,” he said after giving the question a thought. “It’s time to get married.”

The following are edited excerpts of the interview.

On top of a fireplace at the Israeli diplomatic residence in Seoul is a menorah and a gift from the U.A.E. embassy depicting the Grand Mosque of Abu Dhabi. [ESTHER CHUNG]

Israel and Korea established ties officially in 1962, but countries oftentimes have significant exchanges before tying the knot. What were some for Korea and Israel?

The Korean conflict looms very large in Israel’s national self-identification. Both countries were declared formally in 1948. Israel finished its war of independence in 1949, and shortly afterwards the [1950-53] Korean War broke out. So when the Israeli government had to decide where it stood on the Korean conflict, it really brought about a process of sharpening Israel’s international orientation into unambiguously pro-West. David Ben-Gurion wanted to send soldiers to the Korean conflict, [but] in the end, Israel sent medical supplies of about $100,000 at the time.

Sixty years from then, Korea and Israel have signed their FTA, conducted a successful vaccine swap and both gained global attention for their Covid-19 policies. But how did it go from 1962 to today?

We had some good parts, and we had some less good parts.

Israel opened an embassy [in Seoul] in 1964, but Korea did not open an embassy in Israel. Our Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan made an awful diplomatic decision. He closed the Israeli Embassy in 1978 in Seoul for what was called budgetary reasons. It turned out to be a big mistake for us, because when Korea’s economic potential became very evident already during the '80s, we had a hard time convincing the Korean government to reopen the embassy. They were concerned about how Arab states would react. And in fact we weren’t able to open the embassy again until 1992.

The good parts are that our relations are 60 years old and that the countries see each other, in each other. In other words, both are ancient and new nation states. Korea is even more ancient than the Jewish people. Israel lost its independence in 70 A.D., Korea in the 19th century. But we regained sovereignty in modern political form in the same year. I think that both countries see themselves as countries who overcame incredible adversity. Israel, the deep tragedy of the Jewish people in World War II, destruction of European Jewry in the Holocaust. Korea, the horror of the Korean War and the huge loss of life here. Both were young states that went through great economic hardship in their first decades, and without natural resources, they basically built the countries with their 10 fingers. I think both countries see each other as nations of destiny.

Yoo Myung-hee, drector general for FTA negotiation at Korea's Trade Ministry, right, and Amir Peretz, Israel's minister of economy, left, sign the Korea-Israel free trade agreement at Lotte Hotel Seoul on May 12, 2021. [NEWS]

The Israel-Korea FTA is ready to be ratified by both legislatures. Do you think the agreement reflects well where the two countries are headed on the trade and investment front?

The Israeli and Korean economies are both extremely dynamic, but they don’t compete [with each other]. Korea does amazing technological manufacturing, whereas Israel is an innovation powerhouse. Israel is No. 3 in the world after the United States and China in terms of the number on Nasdaq listings. The potentiality for what we can do for each other is so clear. [For instance,] Israel makes the disruptive code that is required for autonomous vehicles, for which Korea makes the high-tech hardware including the chips. But the trade statistics are not what they should be today, and there is great potentiality for us to do more together.

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol has called for a need to strengthen the nation’s pre-emptive strike capacity. Israel’s defense system is often cited by experts worldwide when it comes to pre-emptive strike capacity. How did you see Yoon’s security policies, and where is the bilateral cooperation on defense today?

The security dynamics of Israel and Korea are not the same. Nevertheless, we are probably the only two democracies facing a very significant missile threat with a nuclear dimension. In the case of Korea, it’s North Korean missiles and nuclear weapons. In the case of Israel we’re looking at Iran, which does not have nuclear capabilities, but it wants to, and is able to launch satellites and has very strong missile capacity. I think it means that Korea and Israel need to look to each other to create together the missile defense systems that we need in order to defend ourselves.

Can you give more specifics on what kinds of defense systems the two countries are working on together?

Both Korea and Israel are looking at an ICBM [intercontinental ballistic missile] threat, an intermediate missile threat and short-range threat on cities. Honestly I can’t think of any other country looking at it from the same level. Israel has a very significant missile shield, which is multi-phase, and Korea also has developed and is developing these capacities. It would only be natural for us to be working together on these kinds of things.

The Israeli Iron Dome missile defence system, left, intercepts rockets, right, fired by the Hamas movement towards southern Israel from Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip as seen in the sky above the Gaza Strip overnight on May 14, 2021. [AFP/YONHAP]

The chair of the National Assembly’s foreign affairs committee is visiting Israel with the CEO of Birthright Israel Foundation as we speak. Do you think the birthright trips are something that Korea could benchmark for its overseas diaspora like Koryoin?

One of the meetings Rep. Lee Kwang-jae held in Israel was with the CEO of Birthright, which is a groundbreaking program to offer every young Jewish person between 18 and 26 a free 10-day visit to the State of Israel as a gift of the Jewish people. It’s an action of reaching out to our diaspora and saying to them, you are part of us. It costs [the foundation] about $3,000 per participant. If you want young Koreans and Jews around the world to maintain their identity and a sense of feeling towards their home country, then you ought to do something like this.

There has yet to be a visit from a Korean president to Israel. Any updates on this?

Several Israeli presidents and prime ministers of Israel have visited Korea. I very much hope that we’ll see a visit of a Korean president, a Korean foreign minister or defense minister to Israel soon, because at some level, high-level political visits are very important for maintaining close relations between two countries. I really feel that for Korea, deepening of the relationship with Israel is net gain. There’s no political cost to be paid — the Arab boycott is over, it doesn’t in any way get into the America and China competition — it’s only good.

People sit at cafe terraces in Jerusalem on March 9, 2021, after Israeli authorities reopened restaurants, bars and cafes to vaccinated ″green pass″ holders. The pass pollicy was dropped in February this year as Israel saw continued decline in daily cases of infections. [AFP/YONHAP]

Both Israeli and Korean policies on Covid-19 were highlighted several times since the onset of the pandemic, for different reasons. How do you compare the two?

The Israeli approach and Korean approach were both successful but opposite. The Israeli approach from the start was that we achieve a high vaccination rate as quickly as possible. So there was a willingness to sign multiple contracts with companies even though they didn’t have tested vaccines yet. Our approach was: Better that we waste money on vaccines than having to close down the economy. As a result we were able to begin a very strong vaccination campaign early on.

Korea, on the other hand, carried out a rigorous, and, in my mind, successful, social distancing program which meant you never had to close down the economy.

Israel and Korea were also the only ones to successfully carry out a vaccine swap. Here I saw where the two countries are very similar. When it was necessary to do this, the Health Ministry on both sides were willing to work around the clock, through the weekend, to make it happen; we were able to break through legal problems and move through everything quickly. Here I saw that we are both very hardworking countries, quite patriotic and really wanting to do the right thing for our people.

Timeline of Israel-Korea ties

1950 Israel sends medical supplies
When the 1950-53 Korean War broke out, Cabinet of Israel instructed the Ministry of Health to immediately assemble medical supplies produced in Israel. Throughout the war, Israel sent some $100,000 worth of medical supplies for the United Nations forces in Korea.

Medical supplies from Israel to Korea to aid the United Nations forces after the oubreak of the Korean War in 1950. [COHEN FRITZ/ISRAEL GOVERNMENT PRESS OFFICE]

1962 Israel and Korea establish ties
Two years after diplomatic ties were established in 1962, Israel opened its embassy in Seoul and Korea appointed its first ambassador to Israel, a non-resident, in 1969. The Israel Embassy in Seoul closed from 1978 to 1991 and reopened in 1992, a year after which Korea opened its embassy in Israel.

Korea's first ambassador to Israel, Yu Jae-hung, left, presents his credentials to Israel's President Zalman Shazar, in Jerusalem, in April 1969. [COHEN FRITZ/ISRAEL GOVERNMENT PRESS OFFICE]

1994 Prime Minister Rabin in Seoul
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin visited Seoul in December 1994 to meet with President Kim Young-sam, marking the first visit from an Israeli prime minister to Korea. In August 1997, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu followed up with his visit to Korea.

Israel's Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, left, speaks with Korean President Kim Young-sam at the Blue House in Seoul during the prime minister's visit in December 1994. [SA'AR YA'ACOV/ISRAEL GOVERNMENT PRESS OFFICE]

1999 Prime Minister Kim in Israel
Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil visited Israel in February 1999, which marked the first state visit to Israel by a Korean prime minister. Former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited Israel in 2005, when he was the foreign minister.

2010 President Peres in Korea
President Shimon Peres became the first Israeli president to visit Korea when he did so in June 2010, meeting with President Lee Myung-bak. Peres won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for his contribution to the Israel-Jordan peace treaty that year.

Israel's President Shimon Peres meets with Korean President Lee Myung-bak at the Blue House in Seoul in June 2010. [MOSHE MILNER/ISRAEL GOVERNMENT PRESS OFFICE]

2021 FTA & vaccine swap
Korea and Israel signed a free trade agreement in May 2021, five years after they first held their FTA negotiations. The agreement was a first for Korea with a Middle Eastern country and the first for Israel with an Asian nation. Later in the year, Israel and Korea swapped 781,000 vaccines, the only two countries to successfully do so.

Israeli Ambassador to Korea Akiva Tor, right, members of the embassy and Korea's Health Ministry pose as vaccines arrive from Israel to Korea on July 7, 2021, as part of the bilateral agreement on vaccine swap. [EMBASSY OF ISRAEL IN KOREA]

2022 Anniversary celebrations
For the 60th anniversary, the Israel Embassy in Seoul is hosting Israeli artists who will perform at festivals including the SIDance and Asia Theater Directors’ Festival. The embassy is also planning a metaverse event in June to showcase an anniversary exhibition and a major academic conference on the history of Israel-Korea relations.