Simona Frankel () is an Israeli Ambassador at Israel's Ministry for Foreign Affairs, currently serving as the Non-Resident Ambassador to The Republic of North Macedonia.https://www.linkedin.com/in/simona-frankel-689946a8/details/experience/ She is one of several ambassadors who have been criticised for comments they made about violence in the Gaza Strip. She was summoned by the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Israel) The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (; ) is one of the most important ministries in the Israeli government. The ministry's role is to implement Israel's foreign policy, and promote economic, cultural, and scientific relations with other co ...

shortly after being "dressed down" by Belgium's Foreign Minister

Didier Reynders Didier Reynders (; born 6 August 1958) is a Belgian politician and a member of the Reformist Movement, Mouvement Réformateur (MR) that served as List of European Commissioners for Justice and Equality, European Commissioner for Justice until 30 ...

"after she claimed that all Palestinians killed in border clashes earlier in the week were 'terrorists.'" The controversy arose as a result of the Palestinians claiming the IDF killed a baby in their response to the riots at the border being the context under which the Ambassador's statement was made. Later on she was proven correct, as the Gaza ministry retracted their claim, as it was discovered the baby died a few days prior, and the family was paid to bring the body to the riot at the border so the IDF could be blamed for their death. In 2019, Prime Minister

Xavier Bettel Xavier Bettel (; born 3 March 1973) is a Luxembourgish lawyer and politician who serves as the List of deputy prime ministers of Luxembourg, deputy prime minister of Luxembourg and as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Luxembourg), minister for Fo ...

of Luxemburg did not attend the farewell dinner he had organized for her. Bettel, being gay himself, stated that "with all due respect to her work as ambassador, I 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." (Referring to comments made by then Education Minister

Rafi Peretz Rafael "Rafi" Peretz (; born 7 January 1956) is an Israeli Orthodox rabbi and former politician. A former military officer and helicopter pilot who also served as the Chief Military Rabbi of the Israel Defense Forces, he was the leader of the ...

, advocating gay conversion therapy). In response,

Amir Ohana Amir Ohana (; born 15 March 1976) is an Israeli lawyer, former Shin Bet official and politician who has served as the Speaker of the Knesset since 2022, and as a member of the Knesset for Likud. He previously held the posts of Ministry of Just ...

, then Israel's gay justice minister, noted that Bettel does not give a similar treatment to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Career in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Frankel's career has included: *1987-1990: Spokesperson and in Charge of Public Diplomacy at the Israeli Embassy in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

*1992-1996: Political Counselor at the Permanent Mission of Israel to the

UN Agencies The United Nations (UN) is the global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

*2001-2005: Deputy

Consul General A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

of Israel in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and the

Tri-State Area Tri-state area is an informal term in the United States which can refer to any of multiple areas that lie across three states. When referring to populated areas, the term implies a shared economy or culture among the area's residents, typically c ...

*2007-2011: Consul General of Israel in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

*August 2015-July 2019:

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

of Israel to

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

*November 2021- : Non-Resident Ambassador to The Republic of North Macedonia

References

Ambassadors of Israel to Belgium Ambassadors of Israel to Luxembourg Israeli women ambassadors Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Ambassadors of Israel to North Macedonia {{Israel-diplomat-stub