AJC Concludes Leadership Mission to Israel

News provided by

Jun 30, 2010, 01:09 ET

JERUSALEM, June 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- An AJC leadership delegation just concluded a three-day visit to Israel.

The 20-member delegation met with top Israeli officials, including President Shimon Peres, Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor, Minister of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Yuli Edelstein, and Kadima leader Tzipi Livni.

The group also met with top officials in the Prime Minister's Office and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon; American Ambassador to Israel James Cunningham; the head of the Jewish Agency for Israel, Natan Sharansky; and Cypriot, Indian and Polish diplomats based in Israel.

The talks focused on Israel's bilateral ties with the United States and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, as well as key regional challenges currently confronting the state.

There were also meetings with Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolai Mladenov, both of whom were on official visits to Israel and are friends of AJC.

"The AJC delegation's visit, just before Prime Minister Netanyahu's upcoming trip to Washington and in the wake of the terror flotilla, turned out to be an ideal time to be in Israel," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "The leaders, officials and diplomats we spoke with profoundly impressed upon us the serious threats Israel is facing--including growing challenges to its very legitimacy by those who seek to deny the Jewish people the right of self-determination. At the same time, as always, the AJC group was inspired by Israel's remarkable dynamism, vibrancy and resilience."

The delegation included AJC President Robert Elman, lay leaders from across the country, AJC Director of Government and International Affairs Jason Isaacson, and Ed Rettig, Acting Director of AJC Jerusalem.

Several members of the delegation were in Jordan just prior to Israel, where they met with King Abdullah and senior government officials. The delegation continues to Rome for meetings with high-level Italian leaders.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee