Simona Frankel

Simona Frankel is the Israeli Ambassador to Luxembourg and Belgium.[1] She is one of several ambassadors who have been rebuked for comments they made about violence in the Gaza Strip. She was summoned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Israel) shortly after being “dressed down” by “Belgium’s Foreign Minister Didier Reynders ... after she claimed that all Palestinians killed in border clashes earlier in the week were ‘terrorists.’”[2][3][4]

In 2019, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel of Luxemburg would not attend her farewell dinner. Bettel is gay and “that with all due respect to her work as ambassador, he can’t take part in a dinner for a representative from Israel, where one of its senior ministers made such comments about the LGBT community.“ (Education Minister Rafi Peretz had advocated gay conversion)[5] Amir Ohana, Israel’s gay justice minister, asked why Bettel did not take a similar stance with Iran.[6]

References
  1. "Belgium". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  2. Winer, Stuart (May 16, 2018). "Luxembourg summons Israeli ambassador for talks over Gaza violence". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  3. "Gaza massacre: "They were terrorists" says the Israeli ambassador to Belgium". Brussels Express. May 15, 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  4. Cetin, Serife (May 15, 2018). "Gaza killings: Belgium summons Israeli ambassador". Andolu Agency. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  5. Keinon, Herb (July 16, 2019). "Luxembourg PM avoids dinner for Israeli envoy due to Rafi Peretz comments". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  6. Roberts, Duncan (July 17, 2019). "BETTEL CRITICISED FOR TURNING DOWN ISRAELI AMBASSADOR INVITE". Delano. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
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