During the Summer Recess, I visited Israel and the West Bank with eight of my newly elected colleagues. My week in the region was most illuminating; whether it was the visit to the Netiv Ha’asara moshav in Southern Israel, where families live under the constant threat of rocket fire from Gaza, or the visit to Rawabi and the Palestinian entrepreneurs trying to regenerate and invest in an area with high-levels of unemployment.
Our visit encompassed a thorough exploration of the military, diplomatic, political, economic, and social challenges facing Israel and the Palestinian Authority today.
For a country faced with so many existential threats, defence and security were a recurring theme. Discussing the construction of the security barrier around the West Bank with Col. Dany Tirza was particularly absorbing as he described the realities of countless suicide bombings against civilians in Jerusalem and right across Israel during the Second Intifada. The barrier continued to play a key role in thwarting terrorism, with 80 attempted suicide bombings prevented in 2014 alone.
Importantly, the itinerary afforded us the opportunity to hear from all sides and the many shades of opinion in between. Nothing in this region is simply black or white. In Ramallah, for example, we met with businessmen who spoke of their everyday concerns, including restricted access to water in the area.
I was especially grateful for the time that Knesset Members of the Likud, Labor and Meretz parties made to speak to us about their experiences at the heart of the political system during budget day in the Knesset. The strength of Israel’s democratic credentials was on show through the sheer scope of views expressed by the different political parties.
Our visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, where the shocking stories of the 6 million Jewish victims are preserved, was unspeakably poignant and impressed the need for remembrance and permanent vigil.
Amongst all the strife in the region and the needless loss of life through mindless terrorism, I was struck by the compassion, innovation, and hope of the many people that I met. Common humanity prevails. Save a Child’s Heart, a charity based at the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon, near Tel Aviv, provides free life-saving heart surgery to children from Gaza, the West Bank, and developing countries all over the world, who suffer with congenital heart disease. Here, we saw no division between Israeli and Palestinian but only charity and tenderness.
I have returned to the UK reflecting on the causes, effects, and complexities of an issue which has defined generations of politicians. I’m grateful to Conservative Friends of Israel for its professionalism, balance, and comprehensiveness in contributing to a peaceful and lasting solution through education and openness.