Sunday, July 5, 2015

Costa Rica becomes 33rd country to launch pro-Israel caucus

The launch of the Israel Allies Caucus in the parliament of Costa Rica. (photo credit:ISRAEL ALLIES FOUNDATION)
The 20 Parliamentarians signed a foundation document reaffirming Israel as a Jewish state with Jerusalem as its capital.
(JPost) Costa Rica launched an official Israel Allies Caucus in their parliament last week, becoming the 33rd country in the world to do so, officials present at the event said Sunday.

The caucus was facilitated by The Israel Allies Foundation, an organization dedicated to promoting communication between parliamentarians and legislators around the world over who share a belief that the State of Israel has the right to exist in peace within secure borders.

“The establishment of the caucus demonstrates Costa Rica’s profound support for Israel and the importance it places in its bilateral relationship with the Jewish state,” said the foundation's Latin American coordinator, Leopoldo Martinez.

The Costa Rican Israel Allies Caucus consists of Legislative President, Rafael Ortiz and a dozen other parliament members from five different parties: Karla Prendas, Paulina Ramírez, Sandra Piszk, Juan Luis Jimenez, Juan Marin and Michael Arce of the Liberationist Party; Otto Guevara, the President of the Libertarian Movement; Gonzalo Ramirez, Abelino Esquivel and Fabricio Alvarado, of the two Christian Parties; Victor Morales and Marvin Atencio Zapata, of the Official Party.

"For years, the solidarity and friendship between the people of Costa Rica and Israel has been very clear, but we must constantly nourish and strengthen the relationship," Prendas, the chairwoman of the caucus, told her fellow parliamentarians. "We are here to increase efforts in that direction. That is precisely the reason for this activity."

Twenty parliamentarians, including Ortiz and three members of the board of the Legislative Assembly, signed a foundation document at the meeting that reaffirmed “the right of the State of Israel and the Jewish People to Jerusalem as its eternal capital,” and recommended “that all the countries move their Embassy to Jerusalem.”

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