The Diplomat
The Israeli diplomat Zvi Vapni will be the new Israeli ambassador to Spain, replacing Rodica Radian-Gordon, as El Confidencial reported on Tuesday and was confirmed by Israeli diplomatic sources.
Zvi Vapni was a Foreign Policy Advisor to the Office of the Israeli President, Isaac Herzog, and previously was ambassador to Slovakia and the Philippines, in addition to holding various positions in Europe, Asia and the United States.
Vapni, who was appointed to the position in September and received approval from the Spanish authorities in January, plans to take up his position before the summer, once Rodica Radian-Gordon concludes his mission in Spain, where he arrived in September 2019.
The Israeli ambassador has had to live in Spain one of the most delicate moments in bilateral relations, which was her call for consultations by the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu, at the end of last November following the statements of the Chief Executive, Pedro Sánchez, who criticized the high number of fatalities in Gaza and doubted that Israel “complies with international law.”
Radian-Gordon remained in Israel until mid-January when the Israeli Government announced his return to Madrid due to the “improvement of the messages from the Government of Spain and the importance of relations” between both countries, which had begun to deteriorate since the produced the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel and the Israeli response on the Gaza Strip.
