Thousands protest in Ljubljana as Slovenia opens Israel’s first embassy

Slovenians protest Israeli embassy opening in Ljubljana over Gaza genocide

Thousands of people have rallied in Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, in protest against the opening of Israel’s first embassy in the European Union country.

The protest on Wednesday came as Slovenia’s nationalist prime minister, Janez Jansa, pushed through a diplomatic reset with Israel, a sharp reversal from his predecessor, Robert Golob, whose government had described the Israeli war on Gaza as a “genocide”.

In Ljubljana, thousands marched past the hotel where the embassy’s inauguration was taking place, carrying banners reading “We stand together for peace and Palestine” and “Genocide is not self-defence”.

Urska Breznik, a 48-year-old art historian, called the Jansa administration a “collaboration” government. Another protester, Melina Sahernik, told the AFP news agency, “This makes Slovenia look very bad.”

A poll conducted by the daily newspaper Delo in June suggested that 56 percent of Slovenians opposed closer ties with Israel, while 14 percent supported them.

Andraz Zorko, a Slovenian political analyst, told The Associated Press news agency that the government’s policy shift does not align with what he believes is the prevailing public opinion in the nation of some 2 million people.

“The majority of Slovenian public is either against Israel or in some kind of neutral position,” he said.