Woman sets herself on fire in front of Israeli consulate in Atlanta. A Polish lawmaker extinguishing a Hanukkah menorah with a fire extinguisher in Parliament. Grenades thrown at the Israeli embassy in Stockholm. Over the past two years, Israeli diplomats have found themselves on the front lines of a conflict unlike any they’ve faced before.
A new book from Israel’s Foreign Ministry, The Eighth Front: Diplomats at War, documents personal testimonies from Israeli envoys across the globe since the war began. It reveals the physical threats, emotional strain and strategic challenges of representing Israel amid unprecedented global hostility.
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900 roses at the entrance to the embassy in Sweden
(Photo: Anat Safran, Israeli Ambassador in Sweden)
As Israeli symbols became targets, embassies faced both psychological and physical attacks. In Poland, Ambassador Yacov Livne recalled how lawmaker Grzegorz Braun extinguished a menorah in Parliament. "The act was widely condemned, but he continues to serve—now in the European Parliament—and turned the red fire extinguisher into his trademark, appearing with it in media and on billboards," Livne wrote.
In Mexico, social media images labeled Ambassador Einat Kranz Neiger a “genocide murderer.” In Bosnia, a bomb threat forced the cancellation of a planned event, while Sarajevo’s mayor tweeted criticism that the event honored only Israeli victims and not Palestinians. Meanwhile, global antisemitic incidents surged, making diplomatic work more dangerous than ever.
The book also captures deeply personal stories. Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky recounted the moment he was told his son had been injured during reserve duty in Khan Younis. Brodsky and his heavily pregnant deputy were in embattled Kyiv at the time, leading Israel’s engagement with the Zelenskyy government. “He was wounded with several other soldiers, and two of his friends were killed next to him,” Brodsky writes. “My wife and I were in Warsaw preparing to head to Ukraine when we got the call.” He returned to Israel briefly, then went back to Kyiv three weeks later to resume his diplomatic post.
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Demonstration of support for Israel in central Warsaw
(Photo: Israeli Embassy in Warsaw)
Despite threats and incitement, the book highlights remarkable acts of solidarity. In Greece, the deputy foreign minister personally signed off on a shipment of protective vests for Israel in the middle of the night. In Albania, a kindergarten was renovated in memory of 39 Israeli children killed in the war, funded by local donations and the embassy. In Sweden, an anonymous citizen placed 900 roses outside the embassy. In Mexico, amid violent protests, self-defense workshops were launched for women to combat antisemitism. In Atlanta, the University of Alabama signed an academic agreement with the Israeli consulate, defying heavy pressure to cancel.
“The equation is simple,” wrote Yair Frommer, head of the Public Diplomacy Division, in the book’s foreword. “If an Israeli envoy cannot appear in public for fear of their life—Israel’s voice is silenced.”
He emphasized that, on the diplomatic front, there are no tanks or planes—only persuasion, resilience and the relationships built over years.
The book is dedicated to Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, two staff members at the Israeli Embassy in Washington who were killed in a May 2025 shooting outside the Jewish museum.