Israel Consul General Speaks at KI Town Hall

By MICHAEL AUSHENKER | Contributing Writer

With recent attacks making targets of Paris, France as well as closer to home in San Bernardino, there was an urgency and topicality to last Thursday’s program when Israel Consul General David Siegel participated in a town hall-style discussion with nearly 400 locals at Kehillat Israel Reconstructionist Synagogue.

Titled “Why Israel Matters to the United States,” the conversation was the latest installment in an ongoing series of lectures organized by Palisadian Rick Entin.

Bookended by food-filled receptions in celebration of the fifth night of Chanukah, Siegel articulately responded to questions related to the state of Israel and its role in Middle East and global politics, including such topics as dealing with terrorism and domestic social unrest.

Siegel also proved eloquent and informative in describing positive news from Israel that Americans do not hear about as often in the media—the country’s role as a worldwide leader in technology, science and medicine.

Siegel prefaced last week’s conversation with an introduction, stating, “Israel is not perfect. We shouldn’t sell perfection.”

What Israel is though is the only multi-cultural, multi-religious democracy in the Middle East, as well as a technologically advanced and compassionate country, with more than 30,000 NGOs. Within hours of 2010’s Haiti earthquake, about 240 surgeons and specialists from Israel were on an El Al airliner headed for the devastated country before landing permission was even secured.

Countering the American and European media’s characterization of Israel, often based on sensationalized militaristic events born from the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Siegel noted there is “much darkness, but also some light” as a result of Israel’s innovations in science, medicine, airport and port security, cyber security, climate change and other pressing fields.

“Israel is incredibly important in terms of exporting innovation,” Siegel said.

One of those major innovations comes in the area of water conservation. Topically likening it to the Chanukah miracle of oil lasting eight days that begot the menorah-lighting holiday, Siegel said, “We’re producing twice the amount of water that nature is supposed to provide us with.”

Israel has created a surplus of water, creating incentives to conserve and utilizing drip irrigation over the increasingly obsolete flood irrigation commonly used in California.

With the current situation involving 11 million refugees fleeing Syria (by comparison, there are 12 million people in all of Israel), much of the problems in Syria have originated from a drought, he said.

“The things Israel are trying are important to the region, important to the world,” Siegel said.

After a short overview of various challenges facing Israel, Siegel fielded a range of questions from the audience.

“How have relations changed between the American Jewish community and Israel?” asked one audience member.

A lot, according to Siegel: “The community is more divided than ever before.” That said, “there is room for everyone on this discussion…from the Left or from the Right” and Israel must remain “a bipartisan issue.”

Another attendee brought up Israel walking “a public tightrope” when it comes to issues such as ISIS.

“We’re always on a tightrope. A lot happens over the table, a lot [of negotiating] happens under the table,” Siegel said.

“ISIS is an ongoing problem,” Siegel continued later in the evening. “It needs to be dealt with fast. It’s online, it’s viral.”

A Jewish attendee remarked how he has never felt so uncomfortable and suspicious in his life and singled out the settlements in Palestinian territories. Siegel countered that “Israel is not building new settlements.” At the moment, “there’s a lot of restraint,” to the point where Prime Minister Netanyahu is getting pushback from his own party.

“We all understand that there’s need for a two-state solution,” Siegel continued regarding the Palestinian situation.

Siegel noted—as did a member of the audience who had visited the old city of Jaffa—how Israelis and Arabs co-exist peacefully in Jerusalem.

“Both economies depend on each other,” Siegel said of the intricate complexities involved in such a separation. “It’s a very deep problem.”

“I don’t think we should give up hope,” Siegel said, offering that the best way going forward to encourage coexistence includes cultural exchanges and sporting events such as soccer matches.

“We have to move forward and we have to find a way to do that,” he said.

In a closing “lightning round,” a dozen attendees pitched questions for Siegel to reply to in quick succession, addressing emerging relations and partnerships with Russia and Turkey, Israel’s mixed relationship with major trading partner the United Kingdom, bringing Israeli drought solutions to California and cyber security.

To hear more about these topics and to watch the entire “Why Israel Matters” conversation with Israel Consul General David Siegel, visit ourki.org/videos.