Israel will open its first-ever embassy in Ljubljana, marking a sharp diplomatic turn after years of strained ties with Slovenia under the previous government.

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced the move immediately after Slovenia approved a new government led by Prime Minister Janez Janša, a longtime pro-Israel leader whose return to power is expected to shift Ljubljana away from the hostile line taken by Robert Golob’s outgoing administration.

For Israel, this is more than another flag on another building. For more than three decades, Jerusalem managed relations with Slovenia without a resident embassy. Now, after years in which Slovenia recognized a Palestinian state, pushed anti-Israel measures, imposed an arms embargo, and targeted Israeli leaders diplomatically, Israel is moving quickly to plant a permanent diplomatic presence in the Slovenian capital.

Sa’ar instructed Foreign Ministry Director-General Eden Bar-Tal to begin the process of establishing the embassy and selecting Israel’s first resident ambassador to Slovenia. The timing is deliberate: Janša’s government was just approved, and Israel sees a narrow but real opening to rebuild a relationship that had fallen to one of its lowest points in Europe.

The backdrop matters. Under Golob, Slovenia became one of the EU’s loudest critics of Israel during the war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Ljubljana recognized a Palestinian state, backed punitive measures against Israel, and moved against Israeli trade and officials while Israeli hostages were still being held by Hamas. Just before the political shift, an Israir flight to Ljubljana was forced to divert to Zagreb after Slovenian authorities refused landing approval, a move Israeli officials viewed as politically motivated.

Janša’s return changes the diplomatic weather. He has publicly opposed Slovenia’s recognition of a Palestinian state and has long been seen in Jerusalem as a friend of Israel. His government will not erase years of damage overnight, but the embassy decision sends a clear message: Israel is rewarding allies, rebuilding in Europe, and refusing to let hostile governments define long-term relations with democratic nations.

“When Israel’s friends return to power, Israel returns,” Sa’ar said.

For Ljubljana, the new embassy gives Israel direct reach in a Central European EU and NATO member state. For Jerusalem, it is a practical diplomatic foothold and a symbolic reversal. The Golob era pushed Israel away. The Janša era is already pulling it back.