JNF UK hosted a reception on 8th September 2016 with Israel’s Defence Minister, Avigdor Lieberman.

Defence Minister Lieberman spoke of his personal story, saying, “people like himself came to Israel with nothing, but have become successful due to various factors, including the readiness of Israeli society to accept and adopt Jewish immigrants”.

On discussing what would bring Jewish people to Israel, Mr Lieberman gave two answers – Israel’s prosperity and increased security, saying, “security is the most important issue for Israel, given the volatility of the region”.

He continued by saying that Israel lives in a very tough neighbourhood with its biggest threat being Iran, but despite this, it has an obligation, which he shares as his personal obligation, to provide the requisite level of security for all its citizens.

During the evening guests were shown a film about JNF’s work in Israel and informed about our current work of building the Negev, town by town

Photo 1: Left to Right – JNF UK Chairman, Samuel Hayek, Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Israeli Ambassador H.E Mark Regev
Photo 2: Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman being interviewed by Alan Mendoza of the Henry Jackson Society