Urs Bucher is the new Swiss Ambassador to Israel. Although he has only been in the country since September 2021, he has already internalized one important thing about Israel: people here are open to discussion, and he likes that. We spoke to the Ambassador about his plans and expectations for his tenure in the country…
When the container finally arrived after two and a half months, Urs Bucher was most happy about his CDs. For the 60-year-old diplomat, music is the only universal language. He fondly remembers how the director of the Lucerne Festival, Michael Haefliger, together with architect Arata Isozaki and British artist Anish Kapoor, set up an inflatable concert hall in Fukushima during Bucher’s time as ambassador to Japan. After the accident there, Ambassador Bucher experienced earthquakes every day for months, and music became a “balm for the soul”, as he says. In Israel, too, he would like to make music one of his major themes. He started small with a dinner he recently hosted with Swiss conductor Philippe Jordan, a guest in Israel with the Tel Aviv Philharmonic.
“In times of Corona, my work is a particular challenge. It’s a bit like playing football without a ball. Because of the pandemic, flight connections have been cut back, and we hardly ever receive any Swiss delegations here in Israel. Even visits and meetings within the country are more difficult. Just last week, appointments I had in the Knesset were canceled because of Corona. You actually want to go out and meet people, these human contacts, and visits are so important, but it doesn’t really work. Hopefully, that will change soon.”
A Diplomatic Career Without Israel is Unimaginable
In the meantime, the ambassador, who was previously on assignments in Brussels and Tokyo, among other places, has time to familiarize himself with Israeli culture. Although he had visited the country several times before his stay, he was always on vacation.
“The area here has always been a focus of political interest and I cannot imagine a diplomatic career without a stay in the Middle East. Israel was definitely my dream job.” In his preparation for working in Israel, Bucher became a regular on Twitter, where he follows over 200 different accounts broadcasting from Israel: “They really cover the entire political spectrum and I am fascinated by the enormous variety of opinions in the country. The style of the political debate differs significantly from that in Switzerland – in Israel the arguments are much more direct and sometimes more confrontational.”
Incidentally, that doesn’t scare him, on the contrary, the ambassador sees himself as very “debate-tested” and is happy to exchange views with different Israeli voices. He rates the image of Switzerland in Israel as very positive and would just like to “complete” it, as he puts it. “Switzerland is known here for our beautiful nature and punctuality, but we also want to show the Israelis that we are innovation champions, also a start-up nation and one that attaches great importance to long-term stability – which also builds something for future generations.” Ambassador Bucher believes that the Israelis and Swiss people can benefit greatly from each other here. In this sense, he would like to continue the work of his predecessor, Jean-Daniel Ruch, who created the position of innovation advisor at the embassy.
He would also like to deepen cooperation with the approximately 22,000 Swiss abroad who live in Israel. “Our compatriots should not only know their rights in Switzerland, I would also like the embassy to be and remain an excellent contact for them. Everyone who somehow has a connection to Switzerland should find their hub with us. If someone has a good idea, for example bringing Swiss jazz musicians to Israel for a concert, they can count on our help.”
This article was written by Katharina Hoeftmann Ciobutaru, and translated by Zo Flamenbaum.
