After pro-Israel PM forms government, Sa’ar announces opening of Israeli embassy in Slovenia

Shortly after Slovenia’s parliament approved the formation of a government under newly elected prime minister Janez Jansa, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announces that Israel will open an embassy in the Central European country, after years of sour ties with outgoing premier Robert Golob.

“Janez Jansa is a clear and steadfast friend of Israel, and his election creates a unique opportunity to advance bilateral relations between our countries, which have been at a low point in recent years due to the hostility of the previous government in Ljubljana,” Sa’ar says in a statement, adding that the Foreign Ministry will “act without delay” to implement the embassy opening.

Golob’s government had increasingly tense ties with Israel over its war against Hamas in Gaza. It recognized a Palestinian state in May 2024, becoming one of the few EU countries to claim Israel’s actions in Gaza amounted to a “genocide,” a claim that Israel has strongly rejected. Citing the war in Gaza, Slovenian public broadcaster RTV was also the first in Europe to demand Israel’s exclusion from the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest and boycotted it in 2026 over the issue.

Jansa, a former nationalist premier, is known as an admirer of US President Donald Trump and a supporter of Israel.