DANA ERLICH, THE Israeli ambassador to Ireland, who closed down her country’s embassy in Dublin is understood to be staying at a consulate in Spain.

Erlich, whose social media account on X still declares her as the ambassador in Dublin, left Ireland in December when the embassy was closed down. 

She had made a number of accusations that Ireland’s stance on Palestine was to blame for the move. 

Erlich told RTÉ’s News at One on 15 December last that: “Ireland is an extreme voice in the international arena.”

The move to close the embassy came amidst ongoing diplomatic tension between the countries over Ireland’s recognition of Palestinian statehood and its decision to intervene in the South African lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced the news of the embassy closure on 14 December.

While the embassy is closed there has been no breaking off of diplomatic relations and Ireland still maintains an embassy in Israel. it is understood Erlich is due back in Ireland in the coming days. 

The diplomat’s post on X as she left Ireland: 

There will be time for final words and thoughts, but in the meantime, a big THANK YOU to everyone who has supported and helped us throughout the years.
We know we have some good friends in Ireland, and we will continue our friendship and collaboration with them.

Thank you! 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/lBINcsLaQL

— Dana Erlich 🇮🇱 (@DanaErlich) December 20, 2024

Diplomatic sources we spoke to said that Dana Erlich continues to be the de facto Israeli Ambassador to Ireland and that while a process to wind up the formal presence of an ambassador may be underway, it will take some time to complete. 

Now a Spanish daily newspaper La Confidencial has said that Erlich has turned up in Madrid and has been staying at the Ambassador’s residence in the city. 

Spain’s ambassador was recalled when that country recognised Palestine along with Ireland and has not returned. 

The Spanish newspaper reports that Erlich’s arrival at the Israeli consulate in Madrid was to avoid an impact on her salary. 

The Journal reached out to multiple Israeli spokespersons for their Foreign Affairs Ministry and also contacted the Israeli embassies in London and in Spain but they did not respond. 

A spokeswoman for the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs said that notification of the closure of the embassy was received by Dublin on 20 December. 

“The closure of a resident foreign diplomatic mission here is a relatively rare occurrence and while there is therefore no formal process by which it takes place, notifications of any such closures are typically transmitted by way of diplomatic correspondence to the Department of Foreign Affairs from the foreign diplomatic mission in question.

“The Government values Ireland’s relationship with Israel and regrets the decision of the Israeli Government to take this step. Ireland and Israel continue to maintain diplomatic relations and Ireland’s embassy to Israel in Tel Aviv continues its important work,” the spokeswoman said. 

Prior to the announcement of the closure of the Embassy of Israel, the most recent previous closure of a resident foreign diplomatic mission was the Embassy of Ethiopia in 2021.

The Philippines embassy closed its resident Embassy in 2012. The Philippines is currently in the process of re-establishing its resident Embassy in Ireland.

Sweden closed its resident Embassy in 2010. The resident Embassy of Sweden subsequently officially reopened in 2024.

The overall number of resident foreign diplomatic missions has increased from 57 in 2013 to 69 at present.

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