History of diplomatic relations
The State of Israel recognized the Republic of Estonia on 4 September 1991, and diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on 9 January 1992.
In November 2009, Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Paet opened the Embassy of the Republic of Estonia in Tel Aviv. In November 2025, Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa'ar opened the Embassy of Israel in Tallinn.
In the Riigikogu, the Estonia–Israel Parliamentary Group, established in 2019, operates under the chairmanship of Eerik-Niiles Kross.
Estonian ambassadors in Israel
- Andres Vosman (credentials presented on 16 September 2025)
- Veikko Kala (from September 2021 to September 2025)
- Sulev Kannike (from August 2016 until May 2021)
- Malle Talvet-Mustonen (from May 2012 until August 2016)
- Tiina Intelmann (from January 2011 until November 2011)
- Marina Kaljurand (2004–2006, resided in Tallinn)
- Jüri Seilenthal (1999–2004, resided in Tallinn)
Ambassadors of Israel in Estonia
- Amit Gil-Bayaz (credentials presented on 11 November 2025)
- Boaz Rodkin (from August 2024 to November 2025)
- Amit Gil-Bayaz (volikiri 11. novembril 2025)Boaz Rodkin (august 2024 kuni november 2025)
- Hagit Ben-Yaakov (power of attorney 22 October 2020)
- Dov Segev-Steinberg (from September 2016 until August 2020)
- Dan Ashbel (from November 2011 until August 2016)
- Avi Granot (2007–2011)
Bilateral relations
To Estonia
- Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar (November 2025)
- President Isaac Herzog (August 2025)
- Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar (July 2025)
- Delegation of the Baltic Parliamentary Group of the Knesset (March 2025)
- Speaker of the Knesset Yuli Yoel Edelstein (May 2024)
- Hili Tropper, Minister of Culture and Sports (November 2022)
To Israel
- Minister of the Interior Igor Taro (May 2025)
- President of the Republic of Estonia Alar Karis (February 2025)
- Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (October 2023)
- Minister of Foreign Affairs Eva-Maria Liimets (May 2022)
- Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology Andres Sutt (April 2022)
Foreign agreements between Estonia and Israel can be found in Riigi Teataja.
For detailed data on trade with Israel, see the application of Statistics Estonia.
Cultural ties between Estonia and Israel are close; musicians, artists, designers, and filmmakers have found mutually interesting forms of collaboration, have performed at each other’s exhibitions, music festivals, and workshops. The agreement between Estonia and Israel on cultural, educational, and scientific cooperation was signed on 12 July 1993 (entered into force on 4 August 1998). MustonenFest Tallinn – Tel Aviv has been held in Israel since 2014 and has become a major annual cultural exchange event for both Estonia and Israel. Many Estonian musicians, choirs, and bands have performed at concerts in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, and elsewhere. The initiator and artistic director of the festival is conductor Andres Mustonen.
The following can be mentioned Among the most important cultural events of recent years:
- In 2022, collected poems by Jaan Kaplinski were published in Dust and Colour in Hebrew (translation by Gili Haimovich). The 2021 anthology of Estonian contemporary poetry, Hats and Gloves (translation by Rami Saari); The 2019 poem collection by Mathura And the line suddenly becomes a shadow in Hebrew (translation by Gili Haimovich).
- In 2018, Estonian and Israeli postal authorities issued a joint Estonian-Israeli stamp to mark the 100 years of the Republic of Estonia / State of Israel 70, it depicts Litwinski House in Israel, where the honorary consul of Estonia operated in the 1930s.
- The year of Estonian music was celebrated in Israel in 2015, which began with the composer Erkki-Sven Tüür’s master classes at three universities and a screening of the opera Wallenberg. In recent years, there has been cooperation with the Lyric Opera Festival, of which Neeme Kuningas has been the director for several years. Every year, in February or March, MustonenFest Tel Aviv – Tallinn provides the Israeli audience with a real musical treat.
- Estonian films have been shown at various festivals across Israel; Tangerines, Kertu, Living Images, In the Crosswind, and Mushrooming were screened at the 2015 festival. The Circle was screened in 2020 at the Docaviv festival; Peeter Rebane’s Firebird was shown in 2021; Compartment No 6 and the animated film The Old Man Movie in 2022.
- Israeli films are shown annually at the Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF). Israel was the focus country of PÖFF in 2022, and a 50-member Israeli film delegation headed by Hili Tropper, Minister of Culture and Sports of Israel, arrived in Tallinn.