YESHA Council Chief Foreign Envoy Oded Revivi on Monday told a forum located only a few blocks away from the AIPAC conference in Washington, DC, that “applying Israeli law on the region of Judea and Samaria will clarify the rules and regulations with relation to daily life in the region and by doing so, demonstrate to the world that on a day-to-day basis we are actively living peacefully and cooperating with our Palestinian neighbors and giving them as well as the Jewish population, clear and legal tools to protect each one’s rights”
Four hundred participants packed the event to support Judea and Samaria in face of delegitimization and boycotts, organized by YESHA Council in partnership with the Ministry of Strategic Affairs and Jordan Valley Municipal Council.
“I stand in front of you and wish to argue that our communities are not the obstacle to peace but rather an integral part of the solution that will bring peace to the region,” Revivi declared, noting that “the industrial areas in Judea and Samaria are living examples of ‘islands of peace’ where Jews and Arabs are standing one alongside the other by the conveyer belt and in other jobs, producing different products. The byproducts of their working together are friendly warm relations, understanding, the building of bridges and true caring one for the other.”
The event focused on solidifying Israel’s connection to her ancestral heartland and building bridges for peace by supporting the industrial zones of Judea and Samaria which employ thousands of Israeli and Palestinians that work together in peace.
Former CEO of the YESHA Council and now Education Minister, Naftali Bennett, told the participants in the forum that “the Palestinian state is off the table… it’s done.. now the big question is how we progress…the world will respect a country that respects itself. We cannot ask for recognition in Judea and Samaria without full Israeli recognition and implementation of Israeli law.”
Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said, “The industrial zones in Judea and Samaria and the your bringing their agricultural produce to Washington is significant and tells not only the story of the settlement but also the coexistence that takes place daily in these areas.”
Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said that “boycotting the settlements in Judea and Samaria is a boycott of the very essence of the State of Israel. Israel cannot survive without Judea and Samaria – it will not be possible to defend it strategically. God forbid, the boycott will develop for the entire State of Israel. We must work together, the Jewish world and its supporters against these attempts to boycott”
Israel’s Consul General to New York Dani Dayan said, “The mother of all delegitimization claims against Israel is that we don’t belong, that we invaded a land to which have we have no claim …in order to shatter that absurd claim there is no better place to prove our right to the land than Judea and Samaria…There are those that say I don’t boycott Israel I just boycott the settlements, to those people I say failure to visit or buy from Judea and Samaria is BDS.”
Minister Gilad Erdan sent a video message saying, “As the Minister in charge of leading Israel’s fight against delegitimization, I’ve set a clear policy: We will oppose any and all forms of the anti-Semitic hate campaign known as BDS and especially those targeting Judea and Samaria.”