Embassy of Israel, Kathmandu

The embassy's current official page lists its address as P8CC+RPW, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal, and its telephone number as +977-01-4290500.[1] The mission is headed by an ambassador and operates consular and public-diplomacy services. A notice effective September 1, 2021, stated that construction at the compound had temporarily prevented on-site consular and notarial services requiring personal attendance, including declarations, affidavits, powers of attorney, testimony, and signature verification. Applicants were directed to VFS Kathmandu.[7]

The Press and Digital Diplomacy Department manages the embassy's website and social-media channels, provides information and statements about Israel to editors, journalists, and broadcasters, and facilitates interviews and press meetings.[8]

Nepal officially recognized Israel on June 1, 1960, and became the first South Asian country to establish diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.[2][3] An archived official embassy account states that Israel opened its embassy in Kathmandu in March 1961.[4] A July 1986 American Jewish Committee memorandum described Nepal as "the only South Asian country with full diplomatic relations with Israel." It also recorded cultural and technological exchanges and said Nepal's participation in international peacekeeping forces made the continuation of relations important.[9]

Kathmandu also served as a regional meeting point during periods when Israel lacked direct relations with other states in South Asia. Archival material reviewed by the Institute for National Security Studies indicated that Israeli and Pakistani ambassadors in Kathmandu met regularly, creating avenues for communication despite the absence of formal Israel-Pakistan relations. During a November 1993 visit to Israel, Nepalese Agricultural Minister Ram Chandra Poudel said Nepal had indirectly brokered the tenuous relationship between Israel and Pakistan.[3]

The current ambassador is Shmulik Arie Bass, Israel's 21st ambassador to Nepal. His official biography describes more than 30 years of diplomatic experience, including service as director of the South American Department at Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as senior political adviser to the deputy prime minister and minister of justice.[1]

Hanan Goder served as ambassador in Nepal during the early 2010s and was appointed to the post again in July 2020. At the time of the 2020 appointment, he also chaired the Foreign Ministry workers' committee.[10][11] During his earlier service, Goder promoted a three-kilometer nature route called the "Israel Trail in Nepal," intended for Israeli and other travelers and presented as a symbol of friendship between Israel and Nepal.[10]

In 2014, Goder said the embassy was responsible for bringing kosher food, including matzah, to Kathmandu for the large Passover seder at the local Chabad House. He said the Chabad House would struggle to conduct the seder according to Jewish law without the shipment.[12] In October 2022, Goder and Consul Dana Fisher led an operation that evacuated more than 200 Israelis within one week, working with a special emergency room established by the Foreign Ministry. Goder described the operation as unusually complex because Israelis were simultaneously stranded in multiple locations.[13]

During the October 2014 Annapurna avalanche disaster, the Foreign Ministry reinforced the Kathmandu embassy team with experienced diplomats from Israel's embassy in New Delhi.[14] Deputy Ambassador Yehonatan Leibel described the situation facing Israeli backpackers caught in the snowstorm. Thirteen injured Israelis were evacuated to a military hospital in Kathmandu, while dozens of other travelers stayed at the Kathmandu Chabad House as rescue efforts continued.[12]

The Kathmandu embassy has taken on a prominent emergency-response role because of Nepal's exposure to natural disasters and its popularity among Israeli backpackers and travelers.

The mission's most intensive period of crisis management followed the earthquake of April 25, 2015. The embassy building sustained damage, forcing personnel to work from the courtyard. Because roads in Kathmandu were blocked, embassy representatives traveled on foot to look for Israelis requiring assistance.[15] The mission invited Israelis to seek help at the compound, and by April 26 approximately 150 Israelis were staying in its courtyard.[15][6]

Embassy personnel arranged for Israelis at the Kathmandu Chabad House to be moved to the embassy and opened a situation room that helped locate hospitals for Israeli families who had brought children to Nepal through surrogacy.[15] Ten embassy representatives were concentrated at the mission, with aftershocks forcing them to continue working outdoors.[16] At the same time, about 100 Israelis remained at the Chabad House, and the Foreign Ministry had not yet established contact with approximately 250 Israelis in the wider Kathmandu area.[6]

In parallel with the embassy's consular work, Israel sent 122 doctors, nurses, and paramedics in two Boeing 747 aircraft to establish field hospitals in affected areas. Over two weeks, the Israeli medical operation treated 1,427 patients, performed 85 surgeries, and delivered eight babies. IDF engineers remained afterward to assist with infrastructure evaluation.[17] A separate delegation of eight Israeli doctors and paramedics stayed at the embassy and coordinated with the International Red Cross; it was expected to work at the Nepalese military hospital or at a planned IDF field hospital nearby.[18]

During unrest in September 2025, Israeli authorities directed Israelis in Nepal who faced emergencies to contact the embassy through the number +977-9801659888, in addition to the Foreign Ministry situation room.[19] During a flood emergency in August 2026, the embassy and the Foreign Ministry's consular division monitored developments and maintained contact with Nepalese authorities. The public was directed to the embassy numbers +977-1-4434966 and +977-1-4290500.[20]

Bilateral cooperation has included programs associated with MASHAV, Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation, in agriculture, education, science, technology, entrepreneurship, and water resources.[4] In January 2025, Ambassador Shmulik Arie Bass met Nepal's minister for agriculture and livestock development to discuss a proposed Center of Excellence, continuation of the Learn and Earn Program, and broader agricultural collaboration.[5]

Also in January 2025, the Israeli and German embassies jointly held a Holocaust memorial event and exhibition in Kathmandu titled "Auschwitz — A Place on Earth." Six candles were lit in memory of the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, and the program included screened testimony from a Holocaust survivor, student musical performances, and an exhibition intended to educate visitors about the Holocaust and convey that such cruelty must not be repeated.[21]

On April 13, 2013, Iranian national Mohsin Khosravian was detained in Kathmandu after reportedly behaving suspiciously around the Israeli Embassy.[22][23] Nepalese authorities believed that he had entered the country on April 3 using a forged Israeli passport while concealing his genuine Iranian documents. When detained, he was carrying a tourist map of the embassy neighborhood and initially told police that he had been looking for a computer shop to repair his laptop.[23]

Khosravian later said that he had traveled from Iran to Kuala Lumpur, where he received the forged passport identifying him as "Alexander," and then continued through Sri Lanka to Kathmandu. He claimed that losses in his garment business had prompted him to travel onward to Europe to seek asylum. The ICT report said he was discovered after his Thai wife and two Iranian relatives arrived from Bangkok, where he had reportedly lived for five years. Nepalese Central Investigation Bureau official Kesh Bahadur Shahi said Khosravian was being held in a detention center.[23]

Israeli sources said the suspected plan may have involved simultaneous attacks against the embassy and concentrations of Israeli backpackers elsewhere in Kathmandu. The same report said an Israeli official identified the suspicious conduct and transferred Khosravian to local authorities.[22] The International Institute for Counter-Terrorism separately reported that Israeli Embassy personnel arrested him on suspicion of planning attacks against Israeli institutions and tourists in Nepal.[24]

The cited reports describe suspicions and alleged plans; they do not establish that an attack occurred or report a conviction or sentence.[24][23]