Congressman Brad Sherman Statement on Meeting with Israel Economy Minister Nir Barkat
Yesterday, I met with Israel’s Economy Minister Nir Barkat in my Washington D.C. office for an hour and a half. I began by expressing my sympathy for the 1,200 Israelis murdered on October 7th during Hamas’s horrific massacre and the roughly 134 hostages who remain in Hamas captivity.
I told Minister Barkat that due to a number of factors, including the propaganda efforts of Qatar, latent antisemitism and mistakes made by the Israeli government, Israel is losing a world-wide public relations battle to baby killers.
Clearly, Israel needs a new approach. The delegitimization effort poses a real threat to the survival of the Jewish state.
For the benefit of the Palestinians, and for the benefit of Israel, I have for many months urged the Israeli government to open the Karni and Erez crossings. I commend Israel for opening the Erez crossing earlier this week.
I told Minister Barkat that Israel must demonstrate to a skeptical world its dedication to fully meeting the food aid needs of Gaza. Israel's record in the last few days has been improved, with 400 trucks of food aid entering on Monday. However, Israel will benefit if the number of food trucks far exceeds what aid agencies think is sufficient.
I urged Minister Barkat to have Israel inspect trucks seven days a week, something I've been urging for many months. The IDF has thousands of soldiers who are not Jewish and are capable of doing inspections on Shabbat.
The detention facilities where Israel holds Palestinians should be models of humane treatment that Israel is proud to show the world press. This might not be what an ambitious politician would propose to Israeli voters, but is part of what is necessary for Israel’s survival.
Much of our conversation focused on the expansion of settlements east of Israel’s security barrier, and the rejection of a two-state solution by some political players in Israel. I believe these factors pose an existential threat to Israel being accepted in the world of nations, and plays into the hands of Hamas’ worldwide delegitimization campaign.
Minister Barkat claimed that he can convince the Saudis and the Emirates that justice is achieved for the Palestinians under the following condition: Jews will be free to settle on the West Bank wherever they can find vacant land, but Arabs who live on the West Bank or Gaza will not be allowed to move to Israel. I see no evidence that any Arab government will accept this.
I look forward to convincing the Minister that only a two-state solution, in which each state can control who lives on its territory, can lead to a resolution of this conflict. In the meantime, I hope I persuaded him that Israel should inspect trucks bound for Gaza seven days a week, and to send more trucks than aid agencies request.
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