Mentioning that Poland and other countries had a mix of gentiles who saved Jews in the Holocaust and gentiles who collaborated with the Nazis, Edelstein said, “Unfortunately I don't think there were many nations where there were more righteous of the nations than those who collaborated with the Nazis… We have to be very honest [about the Holocaust], and most importantly, we have to [each] educate our own people.”
Edelstein called for more dialogue and understanding regarding the Holocaust, and said that Israel will continue to raise it as an issue even with countries it now has relations with. “All this misunderstanding… could be avoided if it were about a dialogue… and not unilateral steps,” he said.
Regarding tackling antisemitism within the British Labour party, Austin said he believes Labour should adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism in full, and that “anybody responsible for antisemitism is kicked out of the Labour party; they have no place in that party, they [should be] booted out.”Austin, who is a member of the Labour Friends of Israel, also called on Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn – who has been criticized for not dealing with antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment within his party – to visit Jerusalem and meet with Israeli political leaders. He also said he does not believe the upheaval in British politics that exploded on Sunday, when foreign secretary Boris Johnson and others resigned from the government, will affect the UK’s relationship with Israel.The three-day conference brought together MKs and members of parliament from other countries who are members of their government’s Israel friendship group. The conference includes tours of Jerusalem’s Old City, a visit to the Gaza border, and a viewing with MKs of Tuesday night’s Belgium-France World Cup semifinal.No representative of the United States was at Tuesday’s meeting. Speaker of the Knesset Yuli Edelstein (Likud) noted the US does not have a parliamentary friendship group like the governments represented at the conference. He added that he had reached out to Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Paul Ryan, but that nothing had come of it for this conference.