Edelstein: Don’t write off ‘strange’ flotilla participants
"[Flotilla activists] call white, black, black, white, live in topsy-turvy world. But I have to take them seriously," Edelstein says.
By GIL STERN STERN SHEFLERYuli Edelstein 311(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem / The Jerusalem Post)
Minister of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Yuli Edelstein said on Monday that participants of the flotilla set to sail towards the Gaza Strip were “strange,” yet he warned against underestimating them.Addressing a delegation of international lawmakers invited to Israel by the World Jewish Congress, Edelstein lashed out at organizers of the flotilla about to set sail towards the Gaza Strip in violation of Israel’s blockade of the Palestinian territory.RELATED:Edelstein: Shaping Israel’s image in the world Israel praises Apple for removing ‘intifada’ application “These people are strange,” he said. “I can’t understand where they come from. They call white, black, and black, white, and live in a topsy-turvy world. But I have to take them seriously.”On the issue of the Arab Spring and the vote at the United Nations over Palestinian statehood, the Likud MK told diners at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem that he hoped for the best but is prepared for the worst.“I guess we’re heading towards a period of turmoil and ups and downs,” Edelstein said. “I myself say I hope that the changes will be concluded in the best possible way but we’re looking at a long process.”Edelstein spoke at the hotel in front of an audience consisting of 39 lawmakers hailing from 22 countries, including the likes of US congressmen Gary Ackerman and Henry Wexler and UK MP Luciana Berger.This the eighth time that the WJC had brought politicians on a fact-finding mission to Israel, the last being eight years ago. The header chosen by the WJC for the visit this year is the “the Assault on Israel and the Jewish People.”Click for full Jpost coverage
