A new Israel Allies caucus has been formed in the parliament of the Czech Republic with the objective of strengthening legislative support for Israel on the basis of Judeo-Christian values, making it the 46th Israel Allies caucus in the world.
“I am convinced that our relationship towards Israel has deep spiritual roots," said the inaugural chairman of the Czech Parliamentary Israel Allies Caucus, MP Miloslav Janulik. "I am very glad that we maintain the tradition of excellent mutual relationships and that the Czech Parliament is expressing its long-term support to the State of Israel unequivocally" he said, adding that "this is the right path towards peaceful co-existence in the Middle East.”
Janulik said that the caucus "can fruitfully contribute to the further enhancement in the field of international cooperation. Such cooperation and support can have different forms.” On the issue of furthering relations between Israel and the Czech Republic MK Michal Shir, the Chairwoman of the Israel-Czech Republic Parliamentary Friendship Group said that “We are always looking to strengthen our relationship with the Czech Republic. Israel has no better friend in Europe and it is imperative to to never stop building the communication and cooperation between our two nations”.
The Czech Republic, which frequently sides with Israel at the United Nations, has been continually growing in its public support for the Jewish State since the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993.
IAF European representative Leo Van Doesburg acknowledged that, “in recent years, we have seen significant pro-Israel activity stemming from the Czech Parliament," and that "it is encouraging to see that not only have they adopted a non-binding resolution that condemns 'all activities and statements by groups calling for a boycott of the State of Israel, its goods, services or citizens,' but they also opened the Czech Honorary Consulate in Jerusalem in 2018."
"We are looking forward to working with the Czech Republic Parliamentary Israel Allies Caucus to further develop this fruitful cooperation,” Doesburg said.
A video conference is planned for December for members of the Czech Republic Caucus to meet with members of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus (KCAC), including its chairwoman, Deputy Speaker MK Sharren Haskel, to celebrate the formation of the new caucus and brainstorm together how they can be most effective in strengthening the relationship between the Czech Republic and Israel.The Knesset caucus, which relaunched its activities last June, is working to forge direct lines of communication between Knesset members and Christian leaders and political representatives throughout the world. This year, the Israel Allies Foundation launched three new caucuses in Africa – in Nigeria, Congo Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of the Congo – bringing the number of pro-Israel caucuses in parliaments around the world to 42. Reinstein, who is also the director of Knesset Christian Allies, said the next countries would be Mexico, followed by African and Eastern European countries that he hopes will bring the number up to 50 by the end of the year.
"Faith-based diplomacy is the secret ingredient to the strong support which Israel now enjoys across the globe," Reinstein said. "We must continue to expand and develop this network in order to translate the widespread Biblical support of Israel into real political action."Israel Allies Caucuses have a proven track record of improving relations between their respective countries and Israel. For instance, a caucus in Guatemala helped persuade their government to move its embassy to Jerusalem.Gil Hoffman contributed to this report.