IDU Mission to Israel
In February, an IDU delegation visited Israel upon the invitation of IDU Vice Chairwoman and Minister of Intelligence Gila Gamliel. With hundreds of hostages still captive in Gaza, Israel is a country and a people confronting two acute terrorist threats, Hamas in the South and Hezbollah in the North. The delegation traveled to Kfar Aza, a Kibbutz that was attacked and heavily destroyed on October 7th, where they bore witness to Hamas’ brutality, the strength of the community in its response, and the work Israel is doing to recover from the worst slaughter of Jewish people since the Holocaust. The group spoke to two mothers whose children are still held by Hamas, and a young man who not only survived the attack on the Nova music festival but went back to save dozens of others.
In Jerusalem, the group met with prominent Israeli government officials, including Speaker of the Knesset Amit Ohana, Knesset member and former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Dannon, and Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Combatting Antisemitism Amichai Chikli, before holding a joint meeting with Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Intelligence, Israel Katz and Gila Gamliel respectively. The discussions were centered on Israel’s response to the Hamas attack, the importance of global support for Israel as it fights a multi-front war for its existence, and the role Iran plays in threatening security and stability in the region and around the world.
On the final day, the group met with the Government Spokesperson Eylon Levy, and received a military briefing from former Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Jonathan Conricus, as well as from former General (ret.), former National Security Advisor Uzi Dayan and former Commander of Military Intelligence Yossi Kupervasser. IDU Chairman, the Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper met with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and expressed our support for Israel and its people.
Thank you to our IDU member Likud for organizing this visit.