Conservative pundit Glenn Beck will advise MKs on fighting the delegitimization
of Israel abroad during a trip to Israel in July.
Knesset Immigration,
Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee chair MK Danny Danon (Likud) invited
Beck, a Fox News and radio host and an outspoken supporter of Israel, to address
the committee on how to recruit friends of Israel in the US to defend Israel’s
right to exist.
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“When we face an international wave of hatred of Israel
and Jews – which is expressed in Facebook pages and films calling for our
destruction – it’s good that Israel has talented friends that can contribute to
our public-relations efforts,” Danon said.
The Likud MK added that the
July 11 committee meeting with Beck will focus on September’s UN General
Assembly, where the Palestinian Authority has said it will unilaterally declare
statehood.
“September isn’t just a crisis,” Danon explained. “It’s an
opportunity to explain to the world that we are not occupying
anything.”
MK Nachman Shai (Kadima) criticized Danon’s “impressive use of
his committee for his own political needs.
“Danon is deviating from his
mandate [as chairman of the Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs
Committee] in a way that I think is problematic,” Shai, a former Army Radio
commander and Israel Broadcasting Authority chairman, said.
“The Diaspora
is something specific. It means Jewish communities, not ‘abroad’ in general,” he
added. “The Immigration Committee shouldn’t be discussing hasbara.
“I
wouldn’t say no to Beck, I would be happy to host him,” Shai added, “but I don’t
understand what he’s doing in the Knesset Immigration Committee.”
Beck’s
scheduler, Jonny Daniels, told The Jerusalem Post that Beck’s July visit will be
filmed, in anticipation of the pundit’s mega event in August.
“The
committee meeting will be filmed for Beck’s online show,” Daniels, who is also
an adviser to Danon, said, “as will his visits to historical sites all over
Israel that are significant for Jews and Christians.”
Daniels also said
that Beck will visit Tamar Fogel, 12, whose parents and three siblings were
murdered by terrorists in Itamar in March.
Beck hopes to attract speakers
from both major American political parties for his August 24 event. Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain and Senator Joseph Lieberman, an Independent
Democrat who caucuses with the Democrats, have both said they will attend the
event.
The event, called “Restoring Courage,” will take place at the
Southern Wall excavation site in the Old City of Jerusalem. The Fox News
commentator’s website states the event will “unite the people of the world in
standing with Israel and remind us of the need to have faith, honor and courage
in our own lives.”
Gill Hoffman contributed to this report.
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