Federal Liberal MPs visit Israel
Federal Liberal MPs have shared their experiences gained on an AIJAC sponsored visit to Israel.
Craig Kelly MP, Wyatt Roy MP, President-elect Reuven Rivlin, Senator Anne Ruston, Ken Wyatt MP, John Alexander MP and Senator Zed Seselja.
Federal Members John Alexander (Bennelong), Craig Kelly, Federal Member (Hughes) and Wyatt Roy (Longman) were participants in the Rambam Israel Fellowship Program. As members of Federal Liberal Parliamentary Study Group they were invited to visit to Israel recently accompanied by AIJAC’s Jamie Hyams.
The Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council hosted a briefing on the program at which the parliamentarians had the opportunity to share their experiences and impressions of Israel with various members of the Jewish community.
Craig Kelly, the first to present his impressions of the complex situation elaborated upon his first impressions of a playground in Sderot, which also functions as a bomb shelter.
‘I can’t help but thinking what it would be like to grow up as a child in that environment where people are actually firing rockets into your township’
He gave further political insight by speaking about the failures of the recent peace talks initiated by John Kerry,
‘We had meetings with the Palestinian delegation, and one of the senior Palestinian negotiators said when we were talking about the failures of the recent peace talks initiated by john Kerry and he basically said ‘we have time’, to say there is no rush for any peace process, and to me that was perhaps to most disappointing thing that I actually heard because it seems as though from the Palestinian point of view, there is no rush to get on with settling things quickly’.
The next to speak about the program was John Alexander who was impressed the how fairly the program presented the historical, spiritual and religious aspects of the region.
He further elaborated upon the peace talks expressing the lack of progress that has been evidenced by the most recent ones, elaborating upon the complexity of on-the-ground societal issues that could be characterising the recent lack of progress in the pursuit of a peaceful solution.
‘We’ve got wealthy people, and people who aren’t doing so well, and when people have got nothing to lose they’re far more willing to pick up arms’.
Wyatt Roy also elaborated upon the complexity of the region.
‘When I look at the region it is incredibly complex and anyone who tells you they have a coherent and up-to-date understanding of the region must be lying because it is so complicated’.
He also elaborated on the complex political situation.
‘The other experience was going to Ramallah with our representatives of the Australian government there and meeting with representatives of the Palestinian Authority and to see where they were coming from again was something you couldn’t get unless you were sitting in the room with them’.
Overall the Australian representatives showed much appreciation for the opportunity provided by AIJAC and the dense complexity of the situation in the region that all agreed could only be attained by experiencing the region first hand.
Lets hope they let there voices heard when needed.