During a lively meeting in the Israeli Knesset between Speaker Yuli Edelstein and 20 ambassadors of the European Union, Edelstein highlighted his flagship ‘Green Knesset’ project, while discuss ways to cooperate on environmental protection and sustainability.
”When we launched the Green Knesset project, it was nice to realize that on the issue of environment there is no coalition or opposition,” Speaker Edelstein told the ambassadors. ”We realized that we have to put our money where our mouth is. The Knesset passes a lot of legislation on issues related to the environment, and we realized that by doing very simple things in the parliament building, such as saving paper, we can achieve a lot.”
After stressing the importance of working together with international countries to save the environment, Edelstein told the ambassadors ”We are glad that we succeeded in generating interest in these issues. This is another good reason to vehemently oppose the evil wind of the various boycotts.”
And with various European countries seeking to participate in the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions (BDS) movement, Edelstein told the representatives “Instead of boycotting – let`s talk! Instead of trying to isolate and remain entrenched in hatred, let us [cooperate] on issues that are shared by all mankind – the environment, sustainability and renewable energy.”
The group was headed by EU Ambassador to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, and was accompanied by two other EU officials as well as ambassadors and representatives from 16 EU states.