Delegations
Recent Delegations
18-23 September 2011: Delegation to Israel and the Palestinian Authority
Participants: Nadhim Zahawi MP, Kwasi Kwarteng MP, Graham Evans MP, Jessica Lee MP, Angie Bray MP, Chris Kelly MP
CFI led a delegation of six Conservative MPs to Israel for a business and security orientated trip in September. During the visit, the group met with Members of the Knesset and Foreign Ministry officials, with a packed itinerary that included a briefing with Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor, and leader of the opposition Tzipi Livni.
The MPs learned of the closeness of UK-Israel business ties during a visit to Elbit Systems, which provides the British armed forces with the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that play such a crucial role in intelligence-collection in Afghanistan. Her Majesty’s Deputy Ambassador to Israel, Mel McNulty, hosted a business reception and a private dinner for the delegation during which he spoke warmly about UK-Israel bilateral relations.
The visit to Sderot included a whistle-stop visit to a school, during which the MPs spoke with older students about everyday life in the town.
Whilst in Jerusalem, the MPs had the opportunity to explore the historic Old City and were given a tour of the security barrier by the architect of the barrier, Danny Tirza.
On their visit to the Palestinian Authority, the delegation met with Samir Abdullah, from the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute and Samir Hulileh, Chairman of the Portand Trust, before visiting Rawabi in the West Bank, which is set to become the first new Palestinian town.
Other events on the visit included a tour around Israel’s renowned Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, a visit to Better Place the electric vehicle provider and dinner with Israeli journalist, Alon Ben David.
“The trip to Israel is something that every parliamentarian must do. I have been a friend of the Weizmann institute for many years, I was very excited about our visit there. The scientific work undertaken at Weizmann is quite remarkable. The world has benefited directly from breakthroughs in medicine from this remarkable institute and I am confident will benefit many times over again.
The Israeli people are innovative with an incredible work ethic. We saw extraordinary businesses that are growing and investing in a UK manufacturing base. Israeli companies feel confident about investing in the UK when looking at exporting into the EU. This is a nation that is continuing a journey of recovery from the trauma of the Holocaust. Six million people perished at the hands of the Nazis. All six billion human beings must visit and experience Yad Vashem. I come away feeling that there is great hope for peace with the Palestinians. Both sides know what is needed to make peace a reality, it will require leadership and bravery on both sides to get back to the negotiating table and deliver for their peoples. I absolutely believe that the intellectual powerhouse that is Israel can be a real force for good across the whole region". Nadhim Zahawi MP
"My trip to Israel left me with a distinct impression of a modern secular democratic country that makes a significant contribution to the world’s economy through science and technology based high value manufacturing organisations". Graham Evans MP
"The four day visit was time very well spent -- I would recommend to all new colleagues to go. The schedule couldn't have been better or more tightly organised by CFI. We met with representatives of all strands of opinion and were able to make up our own minds on visits to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Ramallah & locations close to Gaza. We saw evidence of Israel's specialisation in high tech and a fast growing private sector underpinned by advanced education & skills provision with several institutes engaged in high-end R&D. I left feeling that the great hope for Israel & the region in terms of peace & stability is economic activity & interdependence based around trade and also the younger generation rejecting violence. As Stuart [CFI Director] always says, we arrived with many questions. We left Israel with well-informed questions!". Chris Kelly MP, September 2011
29 May-3 June 2011: Delegation to Israel and the Palestinian Authority
Participants: Chloe Smith MP, Nigel Adams MP, Aidan Burley MP, James Morris MP, Neil Parish MP and Heather Wheeler MP
CFI led a delegation of six Conservative MPs to Israel for a business and security orientated trip during the recent Whitsun recess.
During the visit, the group met with Members of the Knesset and Foreign Ministry officials, with a packed itinerary that included a briefing with Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, leading Israeli spokesman Mark Regev, in addition to a round-table meeting with MK’s Nachman Shai, Daniel Ben-Simon, Yoel Hasson, Yariv Levin, Anastasia Michaeli, and Majalli Wahabi.
The MPs learned of the closeness of UK-Israel business ties during a visit to Elbit Systems, which provides the British armed forces with the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that play such a crucial role in intelligence-collection in Afghanistan. Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Israel, Matthew Gould, hosted a private dinner for the delegation during which he spoke warmly about UK-Israel bilateral relations.
The group also spent a day exploring Israel’s southern border with Gaza, which included a security briefing at the Erez Terminal crossing, before visiting the Israeli town of Sderot, to see the remnants of rockets fired into the town by Hamas militants in Gaza.
The visit to Sderot included a whistle-stop visit to a school, during which the MPs spoke with older students about everyday life in the town and handed out toys and learning materials to younger children.
Whilst in Jerusalem, the MPs had the opportunity to explore the historic Old City and were given a tour of the security barrier.
On their visit to the Palestinian Authority, the delegation met with Samir Abdullah, previous Minister of Housing, and had lunch with a group of leading Palestinian businessmen, before visiting Rawabi in the West Bank, which is set to become the first new Palestinian town.
Other events on the visit included a tour around Israel’s renowned Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, a business visit to Israel HealthCare Ventures to learn about Israel’s high-tech medical industry, and dinner with Israeli journalists, Alon Ben David and Yaron Deckel.
“Our recent visit to Israel was an amazing visit to the country and extremely well organised! We visited the Gaza Strip and saw the border post between Gaza and Israel, the equipment and technology provided at the border post is second to none in the world. We also visited a police station where we saw evidence of the rockets that are being fired into Israel from Gaza, some homemade from ‘lampposts’, some custom built in Iran. When we visited Jerusalem we met with the man who designed and produced the fence and wall through Jerusalem that has reduced the amount of terrorist violence perpetrated against Israel by 99%. We also met with Palestinian businessmen in Ramallah so as to get a very balanced view of what is happening throughout the region. Our meeting with Israeli Members of Parliament in the Knesset from political parties representing both the left and the right of Israeli politics was extremely interesting and informative. I would thoroughly recommend to all of my Parliamentary colleagues if they have not visited Israel that they should do so in the very near future”. Neil Parish MP
“The CFI trip to Israel was without doubt the best organised study trip I have ever been on; it was jam packed from start to finish, full of well organised and interesting visits and meetings, from senior Israeli politicians to Palestinian businessmen, Police Chiefs to Ambassadors, journalists and commentators. I learnt a huge amount in a short space of time, and could not have asked for a more varied and fascinating few days. My main take away will be the widespread desire for peace, Israel’s need for security, and the prosperity of the West Bank – which must be the model for Gaza to follow. I sincerely hope our generation of politicians can help to finally bring peace to this region of the world, and would recommend the CFI trip to anyone interested in Israel, from the casual observer to the Middle East expert”. Aidan Burley MP
“The trip was packed to the minute, with no time wasted at all. We were given every opportunity to learn about the situation on the ground. No question was off-limits and the openness of all the people we met gave me hope for the future for peaceful recognition and continued economic growth. I am so impressed with the sheer ‘get up and go’ of the people and companies we met. I expect living under such a constant fear really concentrates the mind to live every moment to the full”. Heather Wheeler MP
“It was a huge eye opener and having come away I feel far better informed about the current situation. It is clear there is so much misinformation being pedalled around so such trips are hugely worthwhile”. Nigel Adams MP
To view all the photos from our recent delegation please add
James Cfi on Facebook.
20-25 February 2011: Delegation led by CFI Parliamentary Chairman Rt Hon James Arbuthnot MP
Participants: Guto Bebb MP; Bob Blackman MP; Phillip Lee MP; Jack LoPresti MP; Andrew Percy MP; James Wharton MP; Chris White MP
CFI’s Parliamentary Chairman, Rt Hon James Arbuthnot MP, recently led a delegation of seven newly elected MPs to Israel for a business and security orientated trip. The delegation, our first since last year’s General Election, had a schedule as fully packed as ever.
Whilst in Israel the group met with Members of the Knesset and Foreign Ministry officials. The itinerary included a briefing with Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, in addition to a round-table meeting with MK’s Daniel Ben-Simon, Danny Danon, Yoel Hasson and Anastasia Michaeli, which provided the MPs with a fascinating insight into the nature of coalition politics!
The MPs learned of the closeness of UK-Israel business ties during visits to electric-vehicle manufacturers Better Place and Elbit Systems, which provides the British armed forces with the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that play such a crucial role in intelligence-collection. Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Israel, Matthew Gould, hosted a reception of leading Israeli businessmen and women.
The group also spent a day exploring the north of Israel, visiting the Golan Heights and Galilee, and receiving fascinating IDF briefings on the situation inside Lebanon and Syria. Whilst in Jerusalem, the MPs had the opportunity to explore the historic Old City and were given a tour of the security barrier.
On their visit to the Palestinian Authority, the delegation met with Dr. Ghassan Khatib, Director of the Government Media Centre, and had lunch with a group of leading Palestinian businessmen. The delegation was also given a tour around Rawabi in the West Bank, which is set to become the first new Palestinian town.
"Every time I come to Israel with the CFI I see something new and completely different. It's always an interesting time to go to Israel and this visit was no exception. Visiting Ramallah shortly after we had had a meeting with the Deputy Foreign Minister of Israel, showed the contrasting difficulties that both the Israelis and the Paslestinians had to contend with. We also had a fascinating overview of some of the Israeli hi-tech business opportunities. I came away with the feeling that while politics is so difficult, maybe better trading links between Israelis and Palestinians and between Israel and the United Kingdom may be one extremely helpful way to try to bring prosperity and peace to the region." Rt Hon James Arbuthnot MP, Parliamentary Chairman of CFI, February 2011
