MK Haskel to head Knesset’s Foreign Affairs subcommittee
Likud MK Sharren Haskel was appointed the new head of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Public Diplomacy subcommittee on Monday.
The panel, which falls under the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, oversees Israel’s foreign affairs and public diplomacy, as well as Israel’s plans for cooperation with other nations of the world.
Haskel, 34, speaks English and French fluently and is the chairwoman of the Knesset’s parliamentary friendship groups with Australia, Chile and Tajikistan. She is the Europe-area representative to the International Parliamentary Union Forum of Young Parliamentarians, where 176 countries are represented. She has also led delegations of MKs around the world.
Before becoming an MK, she was a veterinary nurse and Israel’s national debating champion and served as a combat soldier in the Border Patrol.
“At a time when there is an organized campaign against Israel, against the Jewish People, in days of antisemitic terrorist attacks and anti-Israel steps, the subject of public diplomacy and strengthening international ties should be an important part of our political activities,” Haskel said.
Haskel expressed support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies, which she said “have borne unprecedented diplomatic fruit, and allowed the creation and renewal of ties with countries that were hostile to Israel in the past.”
Her new position is an opportunity to contribute to those efforts, Haskel added.