Colombia Will Shun “Palestine”

A high-level delegation of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) and the Latin American Jewish Congress (LAJC) led by WJC President Ronald Lauder, has met with the president of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos Calderon.

The leaders thanked Santos for his support to the Jewish community and the State of Israel.

Lauder told the Colombian president: “We value your friendship and courage for Israel and the Jewish people. We also appreciate that you have withstood pressure from fellow Latin American leaders to prematurely recognize a Palestinian state.”

Santos assured the Jewish leaders that his government would stand firm on this issue. He said that as a matter of principle Colombia would not follow other governments in the region which had recently recognized a yet-to-be-established unilaterally declared Palestinian state.

He emphasized that the only path to peace in the Middle East was through direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.

WJC Secretary-General Designate Dan Diker expressed gratitude for Colombia’s strong stance on this issue and said that “a return to the borders prior to 1967 would intensify the current instability across the Middle East region while posing a security threat to Israel by radical Islamists that also has ramifications for the wider world, including Latin America”.

During the meeting, President Santos spoke warmly of his admiration for the Jewish people and for Israel’s achievement in the fields of high tech, specifically biotechnology and information technology. WJC President Lauder extended an invitation to the Colombian leader to give the keynote address at the meeting of the World Jewish Congress Governing Board in Jerusalem this coming June.

Latin American Jewish Congress President Jack Terpins expressed appreciation for Bogotá’s commitment in fighting the growing influence of the Iranian regime on the continent.

Also present at the meeting at the presidential palace Casa de Nariño in Bogotá was the chairman of the WJC Governing Board, Eduardo Elsztain, who praised Santos as a man of truth and principle. The meeting also included senior representatives of the Colombian Jewish community.