KKL-JNF’s Latin American Department hosts a dinner honoring Vice President of Argentina Marta Gabriela Michetti, at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem on Sunday, January 14, 2018.
Captivated by the work KKL-JNF has done in Israel, Argentina Vice President Marta Gabriela Michetti said there is an “extraordinary opportunity” for cooperation between her country and KKL-JNF and Israel.
“It is very admirable, the work you have done. I am very impressed by what you have achieved here in 70 years, it is marvelous when I compare the 70 years of Israel and the 116 years of KKL-JNF. The work KKL has done, with the number of trees planted and reservoirs built- it is very impressive,” she said at a festive dinner held her in honor and hosted by KKL-JNF at the King David Hotel on January 14.
“Especially in northern Argentina there is a real need for water for the population, to do more intensive agriculture and to aid the population with projects such as reservoirs and the transfer of knowledge,” she added.
The Vice President was completing her official visit to Israel, where she was accompanied by Martín Etchegoyen, Secretariat of Industry and Services; Guillermo Bernaudo, Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Ramiro Alem, Undersecretary of Tourism Investments, Pablo Quimo, Chief of Staff of the Secretariat of International Economic Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship, and José Ignacio Ortiz Amaya, General Director of International Relations of the Argentine Senate.
Mechitti noted that Israel and Argentina today share the same urge for peace and are constantly working towards that end.
“The world needs peace fundamentally,” she said. “Argentina today has a vocation to find peace and condemns international terrorism.”
KKL-JNF Vice President Hernan Felman, originally from Argentina himself, welcomed Michetti and noted the double honor of welcoming the vice president of his native country to Israel.
“You, Mrs. Vice President are part of a new Argentina, an Argentina of peace, love and justice,” he said.
He related that KKL-JNF has three forests named after Argentina: the Israel-Argentina Friendship Forest, the Bosque Memoria that commemorates the Argentinean Jews who were disappeared during the rule of the military junta, and the Esplanade of General Jose de Dan Martin where, every year, a ceremony is held to honor this heroic liberator of Argentina, Chile and Peru.
In the Israel-Argentina Forest, KKL-JNF is preparing a memorial for the Argentine federal prosecutor Alberto Nisman, the chief investigator of the 1994 car bombing of the Jewish AMIA center in Buenos Aires, who was murdered four days after he formally accused then president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of covering up the role of Iranian officials in connection with the country’s deadliest terror attack.
Felman said they hoped that when Argentine President Mauricio Macri would visit Israel, as he has indicated he would like to do, he would be able to personally inaugurate the memorial.
Shmulik Bass, Director of the South American Department at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ilan Sztuldman, Ambassador of Israel to Argentina; Mariano Enrico, Charge d’Affaires of the Argentinean Embassy in Israel; Nisan Cialic, KKL-JNF Vice President; Amnon Ben Ami, KKL-JNF Director General; Mario Laib, President of the Organization of Latin-American Spanish and Portuguese in Israel (OLEI): Leon Amiras, Head of OLEI, and Ricardo Malamud, Director of the San Martin Institute, were among the guests attending the dinner.
The guests viewed a video which described the works of the KKL-JNF including reforestation, water management, agricultural research, environmental and sustainability education for children and youth, the creation of forest parks, and cooperation with other countries.
“Among our other achievements, we share our knowledge and accumulated experience with the entire world, facilitating exchange amongst nations, governments and individuals,” said Felman.
Felman noted the recently signed Memorandum of Cooperation between Argentina and Israel during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Argentina.
“We hope this will strengthen even more the strong ties which unite our nations and peoples,” he said.
Felman presented Michetti with a framed plaque, a KKL-JNF pin, a book of photographs of Israel and a book explaining the Jewish lifecycle.
“Mrs. President, this is a very small country; if I remember correctly it is the same size as Tucuman, the smallest of Argentina’s provinces. But still, it has much to see; the cradle of the three monotheistic religions, hundreds of places and archaeological sites. One visit is not enough. Already we invite you to come on another visit,” said Felman.