ELNET UK Summer Delegations 2023
Twenty-two peers from across the political divide and eight journalists have had a chance to see the reality of life on the ground in Israel, thanks to initiatives this summer by ELNET UK, with a former leader of the Conservative Party, Lord Michael Howard, commenting on “the remarkable extraordinary achievements of the state”.
In fact, there were three high-level delegation trips in all, with an additional focus on Labour Party researchers and advisers.
The House of Lords delegation, in partnership with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Britain-Israel, was ELNET UK’s first of the year and encompassed members of five different political groupings. It was the largest-ever official delegation of UK parliamentarians to Israel. To learn more about the delegation, please watch the video here.
The second delegation facilitated both broadcast and print journalists.
And the final delegation of the summer was the first of its kind, intended to strengthen relations between the UK Labour Party and Israel, involving 13 representatives from Labour parliamentary offices.
Each of the trips lasted four days. All had an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of Israel, its successes and challenges, and relations with both the Arab world and Palestinians. Significant themes were the Abraham Accords, defence and issues of national security, the threat from Iran, social cohesion and diversity, judicial reform, and prospects for peace building.
The Peers held talks with a Speaker of the Knesset and two members of the ruling Likud party about the proposed judicial reforms, security cooperation and economic partnerships. They also met with Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel to discuss the importance of Israel-UK relations and ensuring the safety and well-being of both nations.
The delegation travelled to Ramallah for a meeting with Dr Zia’s Abu-Amr, Deputy Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, with peace building, statehood, and concerns over payments to terrorists all raised. There was an opportunity to learn about the reality of striving for social cohesion in Israel with briefings by the Vice-President of Hebrew University, the Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem and a visit to the Shimon Peres Centre for Peace. The Peers visited the Old City of Jerusalem, the Holocaust Museum Yad Vashem, and the Gaza border region where they were able to learn about the complex day-to-day challenges of battling terrorism. This included a visit to an Iron Dome Defence Battery, designed to intercept short-range rockets and mortar shells fired from Gaza.
It was a fascinating and eye-opening experience. Lord Howard commented on how it had “given us all a deeper understanding of the challenges that Israel faces… and some of the difficult problems that have to be dealt with.”
The second summer trip provided UK journalists with an engaging programme. The delegates were briefed by an official of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Abraham Accords and the Iran threat, and Superintendent Micky Rosenfeld, of the Israeli Police International Cooperation Unit, on counter-terrorism. They also met Khaled Abu Toameh, an Israeli Arab journalist at the Jerusalem Post, to discuss co-existence and conflict in Israel. One of the takeaways was an opportunity for the journalists to meet their counterparts. A tour of the i24 News Studio gave insight into the complexities of accurate news reporting within the Middle East, and a panel discussion on freedom and censorship included journalists from the Jerusalem Post, Haaretz, and the Galei Zahal radio station and Kan 11 broadcaster.
A pivotal moment during the visit came at the Kerem Shalom border crossing with Gaza. The delegation was able to witness the steady flow of goods despite rockets having been fired at Israel hours earlier, emphasizing how the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian population in Gaza are met at the same time as securing the safety of Israeli citizens. There is no doubt that the participants returned to the UK with a deeper understanding of this troubled border and of the State of Israel more broadly.
For many of the Labour advisers, brought to Israel by ELNET UK, it had been their first trip to the country. The visit started with a tour of the Old City of Jerusalem and a chance to get immersed in its rich and complex historical, political, and cultural heritage. They visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and heard from Ambassadors Joshua Zarka and Daniel Meron on the security challenges posed by Iran and the need for the UK to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). There was a chance to see the Knesset and speak to staff from the Israeli Labour Party. They also discussed trade, healthcare, and innovation with the acting UK Deputy Ambassador to Israel.
The advisers visited Ramallah where they met Khalid Shikaki, the Director of a prominent Palestinian social policy and research think tank, who shared his views on the prospects for peace and the Palestinian political leadership. They heard from the IDF on the country’s security challenges during a visit to the southern Gaza border and spoke to residents under the threat of rockets. Moreover, they saw up close Israeli innovation with a visit to Magen David Adom’s new state of the art underground blood bank and heard from the Save a Child’s Heart Foundation about Israel’s international development expertise.
One participant expressed that their “understanding of Israel and the West Bank has increased significantly…the perspectives we heard, and the places we visited, just cannot be replicated by reading a book back in the UK.”
We are exceptionally pleased with the success of these three visits and their impact on strengthening UK-Israel relations. All three delegations have been followed up here in the UK and we are pleased that so many delegates have testified to a greater level of understanding about Israel, its successes and complexities, than before their trips took place. We look forward to strengthening these relationships further and building additional delegations in the months to come.