"I was not previously a Middle East expert. People on the ground say you cannot get to be a Middle East expert even after many years there – the situation there is simply that complex and multifaceted," he told "Vikerhommik."

Vosman said much of his first year in office has been spent at meetings, as well as reading and getting acquainted with local society.

While the past few years have been challenging for the host nation, Vosman says he does not consider his work as a diplomat to be fundamentally different due to the conflict in Gaza and the strikes on Iran.

A diplomat's primary task is to understand what is happening in the host country and explain it to Tallinn, while at the same time representing Estonia and its positions to Israel.

Nonetheless, the war impacts everyday life, he said. During the conflict with Iran, normal social activity largely ground to a halt, and many work meetings moved online too. At the same time, the ambassador stressed that neither he nor his family ever felt they were in direct danger.

"It is very difficult for us foreign diplomats to change reality in the host country. That is somewhat frustrating," he conceded.

Vosman said what impressed him most was Israel's multi-layered early warning system. During missile strikes, he said, warnings are issued down to the level of precision of individual neighborhoods or even blocks, and civilians follow the authorities' instructions with a great level of discipline. In Vosman's view, Estonia could learn a great deal from the system.

The ambassador said while Israeli society may often appear from the outside to be united, in reality it is home to a wide range of different opinions, stances and worldviews. For instance, when he first arrived, Tel Aviv witnessed daily demonstrations against both the war and the government.

"At times, that black-and-white reflection of Israel is not what I see when I am there – there are a great many different opinions," Vosman said.

As for the war in Gaza, Vosman noted that many European countries, including Estonia, see a two-state solution as the prerequisite for lasting peace. At the same time, support for that idea within Israeli society has diminished significantly since Hamas' attacks in October 2023.

"As a prerequisite for lasting peace, it seems to be the only possible solution, but the road to it does not appear to be a very short one yet," he said. Nonetheless, Vosman said he has "not heard a very realistic and credible alternative to the two-state solution."

Estonia's image in Israel is positive

According to Vosman, Estonia is known in Israel primarily as a digital nation, a NATO ally and a state neighboring the Russian Federation. He said he has not encountered any negative historical associations in the course of his work.

He also considers it important to recall the history of Estonia's Jewish community. This year marks 100 years since Jewish cultural autonomy was established in Estonia, an exceptional step for a European nation at the time.

"Estonia was the first country to grant such extensive autonomy to its Jewish community," he noted, adding that this is often not widely known in Israel, so he considers it important to highlight it during meetings and presentations.

Before becoming ambassador, Vosman had spent several years working for Estonia's Foreign Intelligence Service (Välisluureamet) and had also served at Estonia's diplomatic representations in Brussels and Washington. This has given him a grasp of the need to understand what is happening, and that that need has not gone anywhere, he says. This manifests in, for example, numerous meetings with former military officers, security experts, think tank representatives and journalists, to gain as complete a picture as possible of developments in the state of Israel.

Vosman added that he often takes the opportunity to meet people more informally, over coffee. "From time to time I take advantage of the opportunity to have coffee with people, simply to ask questions about the public mood and their assessments," he said, stressing that this does not constitute intelligence work. "This is not classic intelligence diplomacy, absolutely not. Nowadays, I am purely a diplomat."

The embassy's task is to gather a range of assessments, analyze them, and provide Estonia with as balanced an overview as possible, he added.

In addition to political issues, Vosman says he wants to strengthen practical cooperation between the two countries. In his view, there should be more business, cultural and tourism ties, while bilateral trade could at least double in volume.

At present, Estonia's main export to Israel is rapeseed oil, while its main imports include defense industry products. Vosman said he also sees potential in the IT sector and tourism, as well as further defense industry cooperation.

Israel is closely watching Europe's growing defense spending in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Vosman added; Israel is also interested in lessons which can be learned from the war in Ukraine, and Estonia is also seen as a key intermediary in that, Vosman concluded.