The Outgoing head of Israel's Foreign Ministry, Dore Gold, said at the Israel Allies Foundation’s annual Jerusalem Chairman’s Conference that those who view Israel's diplomatic outreach in recent years as worthless in light of the recent UNESCO vote to deny any Jewish connection with the Temple Mount and the Western Wall are mistaken, The Algemeiner reported.
Gold addressed the “myth running through the international community over the last two-to-three years, according to which Israel is isolated more than ever.”
He said that “Such an attitude does not recognize the important advances that have already been made" in Israel's diplomatic outreach. " As director-general of the Foreign Ministry up until recently — in which capacity I read the cable traffic from all over the world — I learned that there is no basis to this myth."
"Under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, there has been a flowering of Israel’s diplomacy around the world. Starting with the Far East, Israel has made significant progress in negotiating free trade agreements with South Korea, China, Japan and India. For the first time, the prime minister of Singapore visited Israel. This kind of activity did not occur in the past."
Gold also praised Netanyahu's outreach in the Arab world, Africa, and Latin America, saying that Israel is engaged in unprecedented cooperation or launching unprecedented initiatives with the nations in those regions.
Addressing the UNESCO vote, Gold pointed out the fact that “the total number of states abstaining and voting against the resolution was greater than the number of states that actually supported it." He added, however, that “It is important to remember that changes in UN voting will take time, and no one should look for instant gratification in this area.”