Knesset to host Parliament members who are “supporters of Israel”
According to a statement, 65 people from over 30 different countries will be attending a conference for members of parliament from countries around the world
By OREN OPPENHEIMThe Knesset's plenum(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
On Tuesday, the Knesset is holding a conference for members of parliament from countries around the world who lead Israel friendship societies in their countries.According to a statement, 65 people from over 30 different countries will be attending. Most of the countries represented are European, including Russia (where Netanyahu is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladmir Putin this week) and United Kingdom (two weeks after the UK’s Prince William toured Israel and the Palestinian Territories in a high-profile visit).Beyond European countries, some representatives from central and south American countries, such as Mexico and Paraguay, are attending, as are representatives from countries in other regions of the world.“The time has come to thank our great friends, the supporters of Israel, that stand by our side in some of the world’s most difficult arenas,” MK Yuli Edelstein (Likud), speaker of Knesset, said in the statement.In the Knesset itself, the visitors will meet with Edelstein, Knesset director-general Albert Sakharovich, Knesset secretary Yardena Meller-Horowitz, and various MKs. They will discuss topics that include the advancement of Israel’s status in international forums, terror threats, working together against the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions movement, and Israel’s high-tech sector. The conference’s programming will also include a tour of Gaza border communities, with briefings from IDF officials, a tour of Jerusalem’s Old City, and a visit to the offices of driver-assistance technology company Mobileye.Keeping with the international tone of the gathering, the members of parliament will also be viewing the World Cup finals along with other MKs.The statement highlighted the work done by some of the visiting parliament members, including Canadian MP David Switt’s efforts to petition the Canadian government to help bring back the bodies of captured IDF soldier.Guatemalan congressman Juan Manuel Díaz- Durán, also highlighted, leads an Israel-Guatemala friendship group and helped establish a day in Guatemala for learning about Israeli history; the group is also leading efforts to convince the Guatemalan government to move their embassy to Jerusalem.
