21 Elul, 5762
Jerusalem

Jewish Agency Student Delegates to Johannesburg Defend Israel in All of Today's Sessions

Jewish Agency Delegation will Not Profane the Sabbath at Johannesburg Despite Mass Demonstartions

Tonight Jewish Agency organizes International Jewish Environmentalists Conference at Johannesburg.

Today's (29 August) sessions of the WSSD took place without significant anti-Israel polemic. The students of the Jewish Agency Delegation participated in all sessions of today's WSSD NGO Conference, making it a point to demonstrate their presence and ask professional questions at each session. The students showed expertise in the subject matter presented. On several occasions when challenged by Palestinians the students parried the attacks did not let their interlocutors divert the sessions into Israel bashing.

Tonight, the Jewish Agency will conduct an International Conference of Jewish Environmentalists from throughout the world, in the context of the Agency's P2P (People to People) department, which creates Diaspora-Israel partnership on the basis of individual affinities or common professional interest. Should such partnership of like-minded Jewish environmentalists be created this would be a unique manner of cementing relationships and contributing to Israeli and global ecology. The initiative is led by Ms. Lisa Gann-Perkal of the Jewish Agency P2P Department.

The Jewish Agency delegation in consultation with the members of other Jewish groups and the Jewish community decided that they would not profane the Sabbath even though a mass anti-Globalization march involving tens of thousands of marchers is scheduled for Saturday. South African Police have already lined the march route to curtail any violence or foul play. Though the march is to highlight environmental concerns, it had been feared that the presence of such large numbers of demonstrators might facilitate Palestinian militants into diverting the march into a manifestation of anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic sentiment and degenerate it into violence. Consequently the students of the Jewish Agency delegation were fully prepared for such a contingency.

Jewish Agency delegation head Amos Hermon said that as representative of the Jewish People the Jewish Agency delegation will not profane the Sabbath.

Tomorrow, Friday, 30 August, Amos Hermon, who is also Chairman of the Jewish Agency's Education Commission, will tour Jewish Schools together with Minister Tsahi Hanegbi. They will review Jewish Agency contributions to curriculum enrichment.

Tomorrow night, a demonstration in behalf of indicted terrorist is expected to take place. It is believed that the organizers have no doubt planned to take advantage of the Shabbat to present their views without opposition.

For additional information: 
Yehuda Weinraub 053-927017
Amos Hermon: 067-733000 (Israeli cell phone operative in South Africa)
Lisa Gann-Perkal: +27-82-3777161