On February 5th, the President of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) Alexander Mashekvich spoke at the opening ceremony of the 2nd Policy Conference of the European Friends of Israel, which gathered around 500 European Parliament members, as well as representatives from the respective parliaments of most European countries.

Alexander Mashekvich headed the Trustee Council of the Policy Conference, which also included, along with a number of other donors, EAJC Vice Presidents Alexander Bronstein, Mark Shabad, and Edward Shifrin. Thanks to their support, the conference was impressively large scale and representativity. This was noted with thanks by EFI President Gunnar Hokmar.

President of Israel Shimon Peres greeted the European guests in the capital of the Jewish state, and noted the importance and timeliness of the conference. In his speech, the head of state explained the status of Israel in a quickly changing world, and called for Europeans to be the Israeli's allies in achieving a fair and strong peace.

The EAJC leader underscored in his salutation speech that Israelis and Europeans are bearers of the same values: freedom, democracy, and social responsibility. He especially noted that today, when Europe is home to a campaign of delegitimization for the Jewish state, those who consider themselves bearers of these values must show their solidarity to Israel, which was unambiguously shown by the European Friends of Israel through their gathering in Jerusalem.

According to the organizators of the EFI meeting in Jerusalem, its main results should be the strengthening of political, economic, and humanitarian ties between Europe and Israel, a growth of mutual understanding and a strengthening of partnership for securing of peace and democracy.