MK Ben Barak at OSCE PA Meeting: When Israel Fights in Gaza, We Fight for Europe

By Aryeh Stern

​On Feb. 22–23, a Knesset delegation attended the winter meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE PA) in Vienna. The Knesset representatives were led by MK Ram Ben Barak (Yesh Atid), chair of the Knesset Delegation to the OSCE.

Addressing a plenary session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, Ben Barak said, “Radical Islamic terror is attacking us almost everywhere in the world. In most of the cases, we see that the one standing behind the attacks is the Shia Republic of Iran. For them to fight the Western and free world, even cooperation between the Shiites and the Sunnis is possible. Terror has no borders and the cooperation between states is the formula for success.

“Israel has been fighting Hamas and Islamic Jihad since the terrible terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023. They murdered 1,200 people — women, children, men, and old people. Murdered and kidnapped people from their beds.

“I want to be clear — Israel is fighting your fight. When Israel fights in Gaza, we are fighting for Europe and other countries. There is no compromise with terror organizations. It is a common interest of the Arab world and the free world to fight the fanatic movements that use terror to expose their radical ideas,” Ben Barak said.

During the visit, Ben Barak held meetings with Pia Kauma, President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and Member of the Parliament of Finland, and with the national delegations to the OSCE PA of Cyprus, Austria, Romania, and the United States.