EJC President Dr Ariel Muzicant, together with European Jewish leaders and Austrian lawmakers, arrived in Israel on Sunday, October 29th, to express their full solidarity and unconditional support for the Jewish state in the wake of Hamas’ brutal attacks.
On Monday, October 30th, the EJC delegation met with IDF Spokesperson Colonel Olivier Rafowicz, who briefed them on the ongoing situation in the war with Hamas and its short-term and long-term expected developments.
Subsequently, they had a meeting with the Mayor of Sderot, Alon Davidi, and former Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister, Amir Peretz, in the Town Hall of Sderot to understand how the war had affected the city and its inhabitants. They visited Sderot and witnessed first-hand the destruction caused by Hamas.
In Tel Aviv, the delegation had painful and emotional meetings with the families and friends of those murdered by Hamas or held hostage in the Gaza Strip. They were joined in these meetings by Israeli diplomat Daniel Shek and the Chairperson of the Center Organisations of Holocaust Survivors and politician Colette Avital.
On their second and last day, the members of the EJC delegation held a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at his Jerusalem residence, where they expressed their full solidarity and support for the State of Israel in its fight against terror and discussed the significant rise of antisemitism in Europe and around the world since Hamas’ massacre on October 7th.
President Herzog expressed his gratitude for the unconditional support of European Jewish communities for the State of Israel and called on national governments to defend their Jewish citizens amid the current surge of violent antisemitism.
The EJC delegation also visited the editorial offices of the Jerusalem Post and Israel National News and conducted interviews with Israeli and international media about their visit.
They visited Reichman University in Herzliya, where they discussed the ongoing EJC initiative, the « Information and Communication Center for Israel » (ICCI), and its work to counteract the dissemination of false narratives in the media against Israel in Europe and beyond.
The members of the EJC delegation also held a meeting with a leading expert in Israeli defense and security, Raphaël Jerusalmy, who is a former military intelligence officer. During the meeting, they discussed the geopolitical aspects of the conflict with Hamas.
