BDS is nonexistent in our country, Mexican Jewish leader says in Israel
The BDS movement is an unknown phenomenon in Mexico, the president of the country’s Jewish community said Monday as a delegation he was leading wrapped up a 10-day visit to Israel.
The group consisted of the presidents of Mexico’s Jewish communities on a trip organized by the Central Committee, the organization of Jewish communities in Mexico.
Committee president Salomon Achar told The Jerusalem Post Israel has a positive image in Mexico, and that these visits are important in strengthening that.
“In Mexico, universities and hospitals and investors don’t know about BDS,” he said. “Instead of BDS, they want student exchanges and academic exchanges. The hospitals wants to have ties with Israeli hospitals, and we bring this to the table every time we meet with somebody else.”
Mexico’s Jewish community comprises some 45,000 people.
“We try to come here every few years with Mexico’s Jewish leadership to learn about the innovation here, social demographics, government criterion on different issues, to get in touch with society and to strengthen the bond between Israel and Jews in the Diaspora,” Achar said.
The trip featured a variety of tours and meetings, including visits to Hevel Eshkol, the Golan Heights, Birthright Israel’s Innovation Center in Tel Aviv and hospitals and universities.
Achar said the community has very strong ties with Israel and is supportive of the state.
“We are concerned about the success of projects in Israel because it also protects Diaspora communities around the world,” he said.
The delegation received a security briefing that was delivered by Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv. Dahan addressed Israel’s handling of both domestic and international terrorist threats.
During the meeting, he also spoke of the importance of strengthening the connection between Israel and Mexico, which he hailed as “a key country in the world economy and in Latin America in particular.”
This meeting followed a trip to Mexico by Dahan in May, during which he met with members of the Jewish community who sought to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties between the two countries, particularly cooperation in the fields of technology, agriculture and security.
According to diplomatic sources, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering a visit to Mexico to meet with President Enrique Peña Nieto.