Gabriel Boric reportedly spurns new ambassador over Israel ‘killing children in Gaza,’ threatening profound harm to relations between the countries
In a severe diplomatic incident, Chile’s president, a bitter critic of Israel, on Thursday refused to accept the credentials of new Israeli Ambassador Gil Artzyeli.
President Gabriel Boric’s spurning the Israeli envoy appeared to be a grave breach of diplomatic protocol and threatened to cloud relations between the two countries.
Boric rebuffed Artzyeli after being angered by the Israeli military killing a 17-year-old Palestinian during clashes with gunmen in the West Bank overnight, Ynet reported.
Artzyeli had been scheduled to present his credentials to Boric as a formality, but the Chilean government informed him that the ceremony had been canceled because of Israel “killing children in Gaza,” the report said.
Artzyeli had already arrived at the president’s residence for the ceremony, Walla reported.
The Chileans reportedly claimed the refusal was not a punishment of Israel, and that it had been decided to push the ceremony to October, but it was still considered an unprecedented affront.
Ambassador Gil Artzyeli (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Artzyeli, who arrived at his post in July, was also summoned for a talk with Chile’s foreign minister earlier Thursday.
There was no immediate response from Israel’s embassy in Chile.
Chile’s Jewish community condemned the refusal as a “serious diplomatic incident.”
The American Jewish Committee slammed the move as “unprecedented” and said Boric must apologize or risk irreparable harm to Israel-Chile ties, his connection to the Chilean Jewish community and Chile’s international reputation.
The left-wing Boric won Chile’s presidency in a landslide victory last year, unnerving the country’s Jewish community.
Boric has a tense relationship with Chile’s 18,000 Jews and has encouraged them to lobby for Israeli territorial concessions.
In 2019, before he was president, the community sent him a Rosh Hashanah gift along with a note expressing a desire for a “more inclusive, respectful society with more solidarity.”
“I appreciate the gesture but they could start by asking Israel to return the illegally occupied Palestinian territory,” Boric wrote after posting a picture of the gift to Twitter.
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