Israel's Foreign Ministry has established the position of special envoy for relations with the Christian world

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has officially established a new diplomatic post of special envoy for relations with the Christian world. Experienced diplomat George Dick was appointed to the post by Foreign Minister Gideon Saar. The initiative is aimed at deepening Israel’s ties with Christian communities around the world and restoring international dialog after a number of high-profile incidents. This is reported by TASS.

The appointed envoy George Dick is a representative of the Arab Christian community of Jaffa and has 18 years of experience in the diplomatic sphere. It is noteworthy that in 2018 he became the first Christian ambassador in the history of Israel. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar emphasized that the state attaches “great importance” to relations with Christian friends and expressed confidence that Dick’s professionalism will help strengthen these ties.

The creation of the new position came amid serious tensions in relations with the Christian world. Among the most pressing recent incidents are the restriction of clergy access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday and the scandalous video from Lebanon showing an Israeli soldier destroying a statue of Jesus Christ. According to sources, the soldiers guilty of desecrating the shrine have already been sentenced to prison, and the work of the new special envoy will be aimed at preventing similar crises in the future.

Recall, earlier Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his official Easter address said that his country is the only state in the region, which guarantees the security of followers of Christ and protects the freedom of their religion. The head of the government emphasized the intention of the authorities to protect the rights of believers even in a difficult geopolitical situation and external threats.