Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein (Likud) will leave for New York Wednesday night, as a representative of Israel for the Fourth Global Conference for the Chairmen of Parliaments, part of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) of the United Nations (UN).
Edelstein is expected to address the UN podium to present the “Green Knesset” conservation project. He will call on more than 100 parliamentarians to cooperate with Israel in promoting environmentalism, initiating projects on behalf of regional cooperation in various fields, including: conserving water, fostering sustainable agriculture, preserving food sources, and more.
During his visit Edelstein will hold a meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, and will meet with members of the US Congress and chairman of many parliaments, including Canada, China, Germany, and Italy.
“The UN event is an opportunity for the Israeli Knesset to reveal the technological advances for our environment, and our willingness to use them for the benefit of extensive cooperation with many countries,” he stated before takeoff.
Edelstein added that the visit will take place in the shadow of the agreement on the Iranian nuclear program, and that he will use the time as an important platform to explain the dangers that the agreement contains within it for Israel and the entire world.
“I intend to talk with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and other parliamentary chairman to express Israel’s resolute opposition to Iran achieving international legitimacy for its nuclear program, despite [the fact that it] systematically violates the terms set by the international community,” Edelstein stated.
“If world leaders internalize an acceptance of internal legitimacy for Iran, it will increase its terror machine and not only will we in Israel suffer from it, but the whole world will, too.”