Israel's new Ambassador Oded Joseph presented his credentials to President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday, a week after his predecessor left for a new posting in Albania.
Noah Gal Gendler left on August 24 without the traditional farewell meeting with either the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the President.
“The Republic of Kenya and the State Israel have been close allies for many years and the Ambassador wishes to strengthen these relations. Tomorrow we will unveil the new Ambassador don’t miss out,” Joseph said yesterday.
Gendler spent a large part of his short stint in the accredited host states like Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi and Seychelles. In his absence, Deputy Ambassador Eyal David was the face of Israel in Kenya, attending official meetings and activities.
“He leaves without having met Defence Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo, despite Kenya priding itself of enjoying good ties in the security sector,” a source familiar with the former envoy said.
The source said Gendler was particularly disappointed with the politics around the Galana-Kulalu Project, which had been painted as a failure in the press.
In an exclusive interview with the Star in March, Gendler blamed cartels for the collapse of the Sh7.3 billion Galana Kulalu irrigation scheme.
“However, since the success of this project was to cut the price of flour by almost half, some of these people who import maize into this country and the millers feared losing business. So what do you expect?” Gendler said then.
During Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit, Israel pledged to work with Kenya to fight drought, terrorism, and improve the quality of export cash crops.
