Pacific island nation Nauru opens its first Israeli embassy, in Jerusalem

The tiny Pacific island nation of Nauru inaugurated its first embassy in Israel in Jerusalem on Monday, with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar attending the ceremony alongside visiting Nauruan Vice President Lionel Aingimea, who is also the country’s foreign minister.

“We see opening an embassy here in Jerusalem not only as a strengthening of our ties with Israel, but also as a message to the world of where we stand,” said Aingimea.

Aingimea asserted Nauru’s “unwavering” support for the Jewish state, saying it is “one of Israel’s most reliable and consistent diplomatic allies at the United Nations,” voting with Jerusalem 71 percent of the time — a number he said “will increase very quickly.”

Israel has previously thanked Nauru – among the smallest nations in the world, with a population of about 12,000 – for its support in the UN and other forums, where Jerusalem has faced increasing isolation in the aftermath of its war against Hamas in Gaza.

“Israel’s relations with the nations of the South Pacific are advancing tremendously,” Sa’ar said in a readout from the Foreign Ministry, and described Nauru as “one of Israel’s greatest friends.”

Sa’ar said that through MASHAV, the Foreign Ministry’s international development cooperation program, Israeli emergency-care doctors will work to strengthen local medical capabilities in Nauru, and Israel will provide the nation with “medical equipment, including cardiac ultrasound equipment, as well as water-purification systems capable of producing tens of thousands of liters of clean water each day.”

When I met my friend Lionel Aingimea, Vice President and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Naoero, in Fiji in May, I suggested that his country open their embassy in Jerusalem, our eternal capital.

Thanks to his determination and efficiency, and to the steadfast friendship between… pic.twitter.com/6PO2H2GzXM

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— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) September 7, 2026

The minister posted photos from the ceremony on his X feed, including one in which he was shown fixing a mezuzah to the embassy doorpost. A mezuzah is a small parchment scroll inscribed with the words of the Shema, a traditional Jewish prayer, which Jews hang in doorways, often in decorative cases.

Sa’ar and Aingimea agreed on the embassy opening during a June 2025 meeting in Fiji. Israel is currently represented in Nauru by a non-resident ambassador based in Fiji.

The move reflects efforts by the Foreign Ministry “to strengthen Jerusalem’s international standing and encourage additional countries to expand their diplomatic presence in the capital,” according to a ministry statement.

Eight other countries have opened or relocated their embassies to Jerusalem in recent years, including the United States, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, Paraguay and Somaliland, as well as Pacific countries Papua New Guinea and Fiji.

At Monday’s inauguration ceremony, Sa’ar said other countries would soon follow Nauru in opening embassies in Jerusalem, noting that Colombia was expected to do so in early October.

Bogota has yet to confirm a date, but Colombia’s new hard-right President Abelardo de la Espriella announced the move in July.

The Democratic Republic of Congo said last week it would move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

Argentine President Javier Milei, an outspoken supporter of Israel, has also promised to move his country’s embassy to the holy city.

The status of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in 1967 and then annexed it, in a move not recognized by the vast majority of the international community. Nauru recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2019.

Most countries base their embassies in Tel Aviv, often opening smaller consulates in Jerusalem.

US President Donald Trump shattered that consensus in 2018 during his first term by moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, which is home to Israel’s parliament, prime minister, and most other major governmental institutions.