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Emmanuel Nahshon, a spokesperson at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (Photo: CMC/IWN)
Emmanuel Nahshon, a spokesperson at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (Photo: CMC/IWN)
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JERUSALEM, Dec. 20, CMC — Israel says it will no longer accept a situation in which some countries quietly enjoy the benefits of relations with Jerusalem while speaking out against the Jewish nation in public.

Emmanuel Nahshon, a spokesperson at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, made the position of the Benjamin Netanyahu government clear during an exchange with journalists from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) here last week.

The media professionals were on a one-week visit to the Holy Land, sponsored by Fuente Latina, a registered U.S. non-governmental organisation focused on educating Latin American audiences about Israel and the Middle East by “providing factual information and analysis”.

Nahshon told the group that Israel innovations make it an attractive partner to countries.

“…Israel has well-known expertise and know-how in certain areas and some years ago, we would be willing to accept a situation in which, under the table the relations would be excellent, with any given country, but above the table, these countries will vote against us and express in a very harsh way against us,” Nahshon told reporters but did not identify any country in particular.

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“The Israel of today, of 2016, is no longer willing to accept this double standard. We are no longer willing to accept this situation in which countries, on the one hand, enjoy the benefits of good relations with us, but, on the other hand, do not express it publicly. This is also an expression of how the world has changed and evolved,” he said.

Nahshon said that Jerusalem is looking to improve relations with the 15-member CARICOM grouping and has annually extended invitations to leaders from the 15-member bloc to visit, but none have so far accepted.

Israel
Israel is widely regarded as a leader in technological innovation. (Photo: CMC/IWN)

CARICOM often votes against Israel at the United Nations because of the action of Middle East’s sole democracy on it neighbour, Palestine, with which it has land a decades-old conflict, mainly over land.

In November, the United Nations passed six resolutions on Palestinian and Middle East issues, ranging from Jerusalem to the United Nations special information programme on the question of Palestine.

In November 2013, Amiram Magid became Israel’s first ambassador to CARICOM.

Speaking at the ceremony in which the envoy presented his credentials, CARICOM Secretary General, Irwin LaRocque said that he looked forward to the development of a more structured and formal mechanism for cooperation between Israel and CARICOM.

“CARICOM has much to gain and learn from Israel and, as in any meaningful partnership, I am sure that Israel has much to learn from the Caribbean Community” he said, adding that there were two important areas in which CARICOM could benefit from a strengthened relationship at the regional level: protected agriculture and water management.

And, in February, as CARICOM accredited a new Israeli envoy, the Middle-Eastern state reaffirmed its commitment to assist CARICOM to achieve its ideals.

Mordehai Amihai-Bivas, plenipotentiary representative of Israel to CARICOM, describing relations between Jerusalem and CARICOM as “natural”, adding that through the Israeli Agency for International Development Cooperation, dozens of professionals from the region have advanced their training in agriculture, healthcare, education, alternative energy and sustainable development, over the past year.

He said Israeli will expand that cooperation with entrepreneurial training for young people in four CARICOM member states.

Amihai-Bivas acknowledged the existential threat of climate change faced by CARICOM, noting that small islands states are affected by rising sea levels, reduced rainfall and strong hurricanes.

This reality, however, he said, presented a unique opportunity for CCARICOMnations to become leaders in sustainable development.

3 replies on “Israel rejects ‘double standards’ in relations with countries”

  1. Double Standard! Look who’s talking! I don’t think any CARICOM leader could openly support Israel because of its treatment of the Palestinian people. I kept wondering who was paying for Kenton’s lavish trip to Israel and now I know. Israel is trying to buy CARICOM nations’ vote in the UN. At one point I was going to warn Kenton to be careful because Israeli discriminates against black people, even black Jews from continental Africa.
    Emmanuel Nahshon has a nerve trying to bully, buy and force CARICOM people to support his illegitimate, racist and bigoted country. They complain about what Hitler did to the Jews in Germany and yet they are doing the same thing to the Palestinian people.
    Here is a link to a document I wrote several years ago. Nothing has changed and Israel is still stealing and occupying Palestinians lands. https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7723869498106466434#allposts
    If the blog doesn’t show up I will post the entire document I wrote many years ago.

  2. Remember that all the ALBA member leaders will be obliged to toe the Venezuelan and Cuban line of shunning, badmouthing and trying to destroy the Israelis.

    If we remember when the Israeli ambassador came to SVG with a little delegation Gonsalves refused to meet with them. It is a shame considering that Gonsalves ancestors were Portuguese Jews which he will never publicly admit.

    Germanys Adolph Hitler was of Jewish extraction he tried to kill them all but only managed to kill 6 million.

    Irans Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ancestors were Jewish he denies that there was ever a holocaust and that any Jews were killed by the Hitler regime.

    Venezuelas Hugo Chavez was anti-Semitic and tried to chase all the Jews out of Venezuela. From the moment Hugo Chávez took power in 1999, tension existed between the government and Jewish population. It got worse and Chavez chucked the Israeli ambassador out of the country. Chavez outwardly embraced the Palestinians and it now turns out that he shipped arms including Iranian missiles to the Palestinians to kill Israelis with.

    Cubas Fidel Castro’s mother had Jewish ancestors.

    So I see no chance of Israel getting a fair hearing in the Caribbean.

  3. Folks I learned recently that the name Myers has Jewish links. My grandfather Kenneth Myers was a white man but I have no proof that he was Jewish. What I do know is that three white brothers loved to mingle with black women.
    This does not hinder me from being critical of Israel and its treatment of the Palestinians. I can’t be critical of Ralph and his treatment of Vincentians and then turn around and give Israel a passing grade. That would prove I like the double standard system and I don’t – trust me. Israel doesn’t have a friend in the UN – well except the US and that partnership is showing some strains today. I hope Obama join the rest of the world and tell Israel it’s illegal to keep stealing the Palestinians lands.
    Lets’ keep in mind that it was the double standard and abuse that created ISIS and Al-Qaida. Just listen to what the guy in Germany was shouting after he killed the Russian ambassador. He was outraged because of what Russia did to the innocent children in Aleppo.
    Recently I learned that I might have lost my Face book account because of issues I addressed in this article. They hate it when folks point out the double standard system in today’s world and how it has created terrorists groups. I warned that the same thing can happen in SVG. Little did I realize that it wasn’t the Internet Crazies’ that would create havoc in SVG – just some crazy doods?

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