Few senior officials may be said to represent the quintessential civil servant — the public official who performs his role with impeccable professionalism — as does Yaakov Levy, Israel's outgoing ambassador to the Czech Republic. And when a loyal advocate of the state of Israel like Levy sharply criticizes the government’s policy on Europe, then the policy-makers in Jerusalem had better examine their actions — and all the more so their failures.

In recent years, the Czech Republic has emerged as Israel's most consistent supporter. It was the only one of the EU member states to have voted in September in the UN General Assembly against the Palestinian Authority's bid for recognition as a non-member observer state.

“There is a limit to the support Israel can expect in international forums, even on the part of a friendly country like the Czech Republic,” warns Levy in an exclusive interview to Al-Monitor, the first he has given since returning home following his retirement. “You cannot expect the Czech Republic to stand by our side forever, as our sole supporter [in the European Union].”

Levy believes that progress, however minor, in the revived negotiations with the Palestinians will make it possible to mobilize a number of European countries that would form, along with the Czech Republic, a European bloc in support of Israel. At the same time, Levy is quick to caution that, “In the absence of hope for the settlement of the conflict, the relations between Israel and Europe may continue to erode."