Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger Shlita nd the government’s Deputy Minister for the Galil & Negev, Ayoub Kara (Likud) addressed a delegation of over forty government officials from across the Latin American states, who have gathered in Jerusalem in a four-day show of support for Israel.  Ayoub Kara welcomed delegates to the event with a strong appeal for support for Israel’s Gaza blockade, saying that the delegates “must support Israel against Hamas, because if you don’t support Israel, then you’ll have organizations like this growing in Europe, in South America, and in every other part of the world.”

Rabbi Metzger then delivered the evening’s keynote address, beginning with a call to recognize Israel’s unique connection with Jerusalem:  “We say to all the nations, please let us keep this one holy place.  It is our only one; we have no other,” then repeating Israel’s pledge to uphold freedom of worship for all faiths in the city, and to keep Jerusalem as a “city of peace.”

Rabbi Metzger then devoted the majority of his speech to the importance of speaking out on the truth of the flotilla controversy, and the need to remember its political and security context.  “If we shall open the sea for free access to Gaza, we’ll basically have a port that belongs to Iran, just a few kilometers from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.”  He further emphasized the often-ignored roots of the problem:  “They say there’s a bad humanitarian situation in Gaza; this is not true.  Every week we send several tons of goods to Gaza, according to the needs assessed.  So why are these people still angry?  Because their leaders take the aid for themselves.”

The AMISRAEL organization (www.amisrael.org.il) is hosting politicians and delegates from around the world at this week’s Jerusalem International Conference.  The conference, taking place June 7th-10th, consists of a series of symposiums, to be addressed by the foreign delegates, Israeli government officials, media professionals, and other public figures including Miki Goldwasser and Noam Shalit, several government ministers, and Jerusalem’s mayor Nir Barkat. Israel’s Knesset also hosted a meeting with conference participants, with the four-day series of events aiming to advance shared values on a broad spectrum of political, legal, and social issues.

AMISRAEL established the Jerusalem International Conference as a key annual event bringing government ministers, legislative and judicial officials, and academic leaders from across the continent together to mobilize support for peace and general humanitarian values.  While the annual conference has been known in recent years as the largest gathering of Latin American politicians in Israel, the event this year is distinguished by attracting the participation of several European delegates as well.

AMISRAEL is a non-profit, non-governmental organization, headquartered in Brazil.  It is composed by individuals of different races, creeds and political inclinations that are identified with the ideals of promoting peace and support to the State of Israel.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)