The Prince of Wales was embroiled last night in a diplomatic row after the leaking of e-mails in which his senior staff made disparaging comments about Israel.
Internal e-mails between two of the Prince’s closest aides make clear that there was “no chance ever” of Clarence House accepting an invitation to visit Jerusalem. The e-mails, published in The Jewish Chronicle today, also disclose a fear that Israel would want the Prince “to help burnish its international image”.
The e-mails are understood to have been copied accidentally to the out- going ambassador, Zvi Heivetz, who left his post on Wednesday night. An insider said: “It is being talked of as an ambassador’s leaving present.”
No member of the Royal Family has made a formal state visit to Israel, although the Duke of Edinburgh went to Yad Vashem and planted a tree in memory of his mother in 1994. The Prince of Wales attended the funeral of Yitzhak Rabin and the Duke of Wessex made a private trip to Haifa.
It was in the hope of building on the traditionally strong relations between Israel and the British Royal Family that the Israeli Embassy in London invited Sir Michael Peat, the Prince’s principal private secretary, and his deputy Clive Alderton, to Israel for a four-day visit as guests of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.
The groundwork could then have been laid for an official visit by the Prince, although any such visit could only be arranged on the recommendation of the Government.
The initial response from Sir Michael was enthusiastic. In an e-mail to Mr Heifetz and copied to his deputy, he says: “The invitation to Israel is hugely appreciated and Clive and I would love to come.”
However, by the time that Mr Alderton responded to Sir Michael six days later, the ardour had cooled. Mr Alderton wrote: “Safe to assume that there is no chance of this visit ever actually happening? Acceptance would make it hard to avoid the many ways in which Israel would want HRH to help burnish its international image.”
The embassy declined to comment on the suggestion that Mr Alderton had copied Mr Heifetz into this reply by mistake. A spokesman said it had “no idea” how the correspondence had reached The Jewish Chronicle.
Henry Grunwald, the president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and chairman of the Jewish Leadership Council, said: “Prince Charles is a great friend of the Jewish community. I am sure he will be deeply disturbed that some people might interpret these unfortunate e-mails as conveying any hostility to Israel at all. I hope that his advisers will be able to co-ordinate their diaries so as to enable them to visit Israel in the near future.” Jeremy Newmark, the chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council, said: “The tone of the e-mail is deeply unfortunate.”
The Times understands that Mr Alderton has arranged to telephone Mr Grunwald this morning to “clarify” his position and apologise for any offence caused.
The Prince of Wales has throughout his adult life been at pains to build good relations with other faiths. In 1998 he attended an Orthodox service at St John’s Wood to mark Israel’s 50th anniversary. He is a patron of the Jewish Museum and supports World Jewish Relief.
But in a leading article, David Rowan, the Editor of The Jewish Chronicle, comments that the e-mails “raise serious questions about both the culture within his office and assumptions that senior staff seem to hold about the Jewish state”.
The e-mails “are even more troubling when one considers that, just two weeks ago, the Prince’s mother hosted a glittering state banquet for Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, attended by the senior British royals”.
He also points out that in February, the Prince and the Duchess of Cornwall spent ten days touring the Arabian peninsula. He asks: “Would it not be diplomatic for the Royal Household to signal now that, despite suspicions to the contrary, there really is no political, ideological or (dare we say) faith-related barrier to their organising the first official royal trip to Israel?”
A spokesman for the Prince said: “This is simply an internal e-mail about a possible visit by Clarence House officials to Israel. Any potential visit by the Prince of Wales would be undertaken at the recommendation of the Government.”
Mr Heifetz had left his office yesterday and was not available to comment to The Times. But he told The Jewish Chronicle: “We have very good relations with His Royal Highness Prince Charles. We hope to see him one day in Israel.”
Front Page Features