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Biblical understanding about Israel
ECI joined mass rally in Rome
- Delegitimization of Israel needs to be countered with historical facts and truth
Rome, Italy, 7 October, 2010 – A massive pro-Israel rally led by government ministers and parliamentarians on Thursday night demanded an immediate end to the vicious campaign of delegitimization which is currently being waged against the state of Israel.
”This campaign is different from the traditional warfare which the Jewish state has faced right from its inception as an independent state,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a video message to those present. He went on to say that ”today’s war is not being fought with bullets but with lies and distortions of truth. The battle fields are international institutions, such as the International Criminal Court in the Hague and the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, where the only true democracy in the Middle East is being accused of violations of international law by UN member states with some of the worst human rights records in the world.”
”If we lose this war against Israel, we all lose,” said former Spanish Prime Minister José Maria Aznar, who stressed that ”Israel and Europe share the same roots and the same values.”
Many speakers affirmed Italy’s key role in supporting Israel in recent years by its decisions as EU president in 2003, to put Hamas on the EU terrorist list and to be the first European nation to pull out of the Durban II conference in April 2009.
”Solidarity with Israel can sometimes be more important than European unity,” asserted Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini in his speech.
European Coalition for Israel was the only Christian organization to be invited to speak at the rally, which consisted primarily of politicians and intellectuals.
In his speech ECI director Tomas Sandell reminded the audience of the central role Italy played in the creation of the Jewish state, which was reconstituted in the Italian city of San Remo in April, 1920 by a decision of the Supreme Council of the Allied powers.
”Let us remind those who want to discredit the modern state of Israel that the legal rights of the Jewish state were already recognized in 1920 and incorporated in international law in 1922. These legally binding provisions have since been confirmed by both the League of Nations and the United Nations. These facts make Israel one of the most ”legitimate” nation states in the world.”
He concluded his speech by saying that ”we as Christians and as Europeans have historically failed the Jewish people. Yet now is the time for us to stand up for Israel and to do so in time.” He ended by quoting the Book of Ruth in saying ”Your God is our God.” Furthermore, ”Your civilization is our civilization and your values are our values. If Israel falls we all fall. But together we can stand – together we will stand.”
The mass rally was organized by the Italian organization ”For the truth for Israel” and was chaired by its founder MP Fiamma Nirenstein. Among the speakers were Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, Former Spanish Prime Minister José Maria Aznar, and a long list of Italian members of parliament and members of European Parliament. Both the President of Italy Silvio Berlusconi and the President of Israel Shimon Peres had sent their personal messages in support to the meeting. ECI was represented by chairman Harald Eckert and director Tomas Sandell.
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