NEW YORK (EJP)—The World Jewish Congresss (WJC) will bring a delegation of top international leaders to Israel on Wednesday and Thursday to meet with senior administration officials, lawmakers and representatives of the military.
The visitors will tour areas that have come under Hamas missile fire.
“The World Jewish Congress stands side-by-side with the people of Israel in this trying time, which we will show by registering our concern in person through this mission,” said WJC President Ronald S. Lauder, who will head the mission.
“World Jewry will come out in force to show the nations that Israel is in the right, and that it is not alone.”
Earlier this week, the WJC announced today that it would be canceling its worldwide senior staff retreat in the United States next week and moving it to Israel in solidarity with Israelis as they come under rocket fire from Gaza.
“Our senior leadership is ready, always, to help Israel and Jewish communities under stress and register our concern in person. That is what it did when 38 Heads of the communities from 16 countries came to Brussels in zero notice time after the museum shootings, and that is what it is doing now,’’ said WJC CEO Robert Singer.
The WJC on Sunday criticized the United Nations Security Council and senior UN officials for failing to recognize Israel’s right to self-defense under the UN Charter against armed attacks against its territory and population. “It is once again troubling and shameful to see how the UN and many other governments are failing to grasp the fact that Israel is responding to an armed aggression launched against its territory by Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip,” Lauder said in response to Saturday’s Security Council statement and comments by UN Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay which questioned the legality of Israel’s action in the Gaza Strip and suggested that Israel was deliberately killing civilians in Gaza.
Lauder welcomed the Canadian government’s rejection of Pillay’s comments, which Foreign Minister John Baird had said was an “uncalled-for criticism of Israel”. The WJC president declared: “Canada has once again proven to be a real friend and one of the Jewish state’s closest allies. To put Hamas – a recognized terror organization – and the State of Israel on the same level and then to blame Israel for causing the death of civilians that Hamas deliberately uses as human shields is a way of saying that Hamas’ actions are justified.
“Contrary to what Mrs. Pillay claims, the Israel military is taken extraordinary steps to prevent civilian casualties whereas Hamas is cynically seeking as many civilian casualties as possible. It is time for the UN and its leading officials to show some moral backbone, to uphold the principles enshrined in the UN Charter, and to hold Israel to the same standards than any other country battling this sort of existential threat,” he added.
The WJC president also criticized the UN Security Council statement on the conflict, saying: “Once again, the council failed to name the cause of this conflict, or to condemn Hamas’ actions. The UN, instead of defending the values on which the organization was founded seven decades ago, continues to blame Israel for everything and is silent on terror groups such as Hamas.”
Ronald Lauder will be leading a solidarity mission comprised of several dozen international Jewish community heads to Israel later this week to meet with senior Israeli officials, lawmakers and representatives of the military. The delegation is also planning to visit areas that have come under Hamas missile fire.
“The World Jewish Congress stands side-by-side with the people of Israel in this trying time, which we will show by registering our concern in person through this mission. World Jewry will come out in force to show the nations that Israel is in the right, and that it is not alone,” Lauder declared. He said that the feedback from Jewish communities so far had been very positive.
Other Jewish organisations are slated to come to Israel in a show of solidarity with the Jewish State.
The senior leadership of the Jewish Federations of North America and member organizations of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations are all expected to arrive on Sunday and Monday.
The Jewish Federations of North America delegation is to visit affected areas, including Ashkelon, Sderot and the “Gaza envelope” region, and “assure the people of Israel that they are not alone.”
The Conference of Presidents will likewise visit the southern Israel.
“We feel compelled to demonstrate in the most tangible way our deep concern for and solidarity with Israel by being physically present with them. They must know they are not alone and that the Jewish community as well the vast majority of the American people stand with them and pray for their safet y and strive to tell the true story of Israel’s defensive action,” said Robert G. Sugarman, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, and Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO, who will lead the delegation.
“We are gratified that so many people responded on a few hours’ notice to sign up for the mission, and we hope that it will be replicated by communities across the US and around the world.”