Co-chairs appointed for the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel
Marjorie O’Neill MP (Labor) and Natalie Ward MLC (Liberal) have been appointed co-chairs of the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel.
The NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies CEO Darren Bark commented: “Our community is extremely fortunate to have the support and friendship of so many members of Parliament from across the political spectrum, and we warmly welcome Marjorie and Natalie’s appointments.
Both have been longstanding supporters of Israel and the Jewish community, strongly calling out antisemitism wherever it appears in NSW and firmly standing with the Jewish State.
We look forward to working with the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel on a range of initiatives and issues of importance, and to hosting a mission to Israel for MPs later this year.”
Marjorie O’Neill said the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel is a friendship group in the NSW State Parliament and serves as a formal conduit between the Parliament, Israel and the Jewish community.
She said: “The group has hosted many international and distinguished visitors from Israel, including government, universities and civil society institutions. The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies is a member and is instrumental in assisting with Members of Parliament on study tours to Israel.
The group has also held art exhibitions, including a collection of photographs of diplomats, whose courage in saving Jews from the Holocaust has earned them the recognition of being declared Righteous Among The Nations by Israel’s Holocaust authority, Yad Vashem. The exhibit was a project of the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel, the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies and the Embassy of Israel.
As co-Chair of the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel, I am excited about the year ahead and to work with members of the group, supporters of Israel and the Jewish community, and the broader community. We are particularly excited about organising a Parliamentary visit to Israel, and bringing members of the NSW Parliament, who have never visited the country before.’
