Students Hear How Fijian Soldiers Boost Israelis
Fijian soldiers protecting Israel’s border gives us the confidence and we know that our friends are here to help us. This was highlighted by the outgoing Pacific’s Island adviser from the Israeli Embassy in Canberra, Yaron Sultan Dadon, during his visit to Gospel High School on Thursday. Mr Dadon was on a visit to Fiji before being posted back to Jerusalem.
He said they were always thankful for the amazing work that Fijian soldiers were doing in Israel protecting their borders in Sinai, Golan Heights and Lebanon.
“These Fijian soldiers are part of us and the job that they are doing on the borders gives us confidence and we know that our friends are here to help us. This is beautiful because the connection will last forever.”
Mr Dadon enlightened GHS students on how Israel invested more on education through their young people.
With the challenges of no soil, deserts, no rain and limited resources, Mr Dadon said they used knowledge to tackle these hurdles. When their students return from studying in other developing nations, Israel banks on their knowledge for the development of the homeland.
He said for the past several years, they have been offering full scholarships to other countries to study in Israel under the MASHAV programme.
“Israel is a very small country and limited in our resources, but what we offer is knowledge,” Mr Dadon said. “What we gained from the 1950s, now we are sharing our knowledge with our friends for free. Especially, to countries that lack natural resources. Every innovation that we had on agriculture, we are sharing with countries that struggle with lack of water and recourses. They gain a lot from our knowledge on irrigation systems and developing agriculture in their countries.”
Mr Dadon encouraged Gospel High School students and teachers to apply for scholarships in Israel under the MASHAV programme and he has guaranteed them assistance.
“Fijians are welcome to Israel,” he said.
One of his initiatives during his term was the visa-free travel between Israel and several Pacific Island States including Fiji. It grants a special relationship status between the Pacific states and Israel. It grants any Pacific islander wishing to visit Israel to stay in Israel for 90 days without requiring a visa. That also goes for Israelis wishing to visit these Pacific states including Fiji.
“You don’t need a visa to go to Israel. There are very few countries that do that, but today you travel to Israel. You don’t need to worry about visa, you are our friends and friends don’t need permission to come,” he said. There were many other initiatives that Mr Dadon highlighted on the Israeli projects in Fiji during his time. This includes its assistance at Vuma Village on Ovalau in 2016 when Israel helped rebuild many homes after the destruction of Cyclone
Gospel High School principal Immanuel Prasad thanked the Lord for the opportunity. He said it was God’s unending blessings to the school.