This month I had the incredible opportunity to travel with several of my colleagues to Israel on a Parliamentary mission with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.
The purpose of this trip was for us to gain a better understanding of the region and the unique issues it`s people face, and to establish relationships with businesses and governments that can be beneficial to Thunder Bay—Rainy River.
We landed in Jerusalem and took a tour of the Old City, the Israeli Parliament, and Israel's National Holocaust Museum, Yad Vashem.
It was an extremely powerful visit, and we were thankful to have the chance to see the amazing work Yad Vashem is doing to educate the world about the events of the Holocaust and preserve the memory of its victims.
Next we visited Hand in Hand, a Centre for Jewish-Arab Education. Hand in Hand promotes diversity and brings together thousands of people of all cultures and ethnicities throughout Israel. It was very inspiring to see the work they are doing to promote inclusion and equality in their country.
Over the week we also had the chance to meet with several Israeli officials to discuss everything from security and international relations to the economy and business. The knowledge gained from these meetings was extremely valuable, and I think all of us returned to Canada better informed about Israel and the Middle East.
I was very excited to be a part of this CIJA mission to Israel.
This trip provided the opportunity to strengthen the relationship between Canada and Israel, which would be mutually beneficial for both countries. Israel is a country that is working very hard to promote diversity amongst its people, and there are many situations in which this work could be applied to situations at home.
