In November 2019, the Israel Ibero-America Chamber of Commerce (CILIB) invited to Israel an Ibero-American delegation made up of representatives from Costa Rica, Spain and Andorra. The Ibero-American mission to Israel coincided with the third edition of the Concert for Peace and included visits to the Knesset, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Yad Vashem and Gordon Academic College in Haifa.
This article brings together the agenda of that visit as reported in the news published by the Chamber (formerly the Multilateral Chamber of Commerce and Cooperation Israel Ibero-America) and links to each of those stories.
An Ibero-American mission to Israel with an institutional profile
More than a conventional trade mission, the trip brought together political and institutional leaders from Ibero-America with the aim of strengthening bilateral relations with Israel. The Chamber, founded in Israel in 2019, works in foreign trade, training and cooperation between Israel and the Ibero-American countries, and the agenda combined parliamentary, academic, cultural and remembrance meetings.
According to the story on the delegation’s visit to the Knesset, the government delegation was made up of:
- Congresswoman Ana Karine Niño, Chair of the International Affairs Committee of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica;
- Ivonne Acuña, Chair of the Government and Administration Committee of the Legislative Assembly and former candidate for Vice President of the Republic of Costa Rica;
- Congressman Giovanni Gómez, Vice Chair of the Full Legislative Powers Committee of the Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica;
- Marta Pascal, Senator for Catalonia in the Kingdom of Spain;
- Jordi Gallardo, Minister of the Presidency and Economy of the Principality of Andorra.
They were joined by Professor Julio César González, delegate of Costa Rica’s National Technical University (UTN), a public university focused on development and training in new technologies, according to the account of the visit to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The mission’s agenda in Jerusalem and Haifa
The Knesset, Israel’s Parliament
On Wednesday, November 27, 2019, the delegation visited the Knesset, where it met with Israeli Knesset member Omer Barlev, who led the organization of the visit, and with other members of Parliament. The meeting included an open dialogue on how to strengthen bilateral relations between Israel and Costa Rica, as well as among Israel, Andorra and Spain.
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of the State of Israel. It has 120 members and is based in Jerusalem.
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
At the Hebrew University, inaugurated in 1925 and whose founders included Albert Einstein, the delegation was received by Professor Barak Medina, Rector of the university, and by Professor Leonardo Senkman, a member of the Institute of Ibero-American Studies. Together they carried out a historical analysis of relations between Israel and Ibero-America, with special attention to Costa Rica.
Yad Vashem, Holocaust remembrance
During the visit to Yad Vashem, Congresswoman Ana Karine Niño, as head of mission, and Senator Marta Pascal laid a floral arrangement, and Minister Jordi Gallardo lit the Eternal Flame in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. The head of mission signed the guest book and addressed the audience on behalf of the Costa Rican legislative delegation.
Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, was established in 1953 by a law of the Knesset and is located on the Mount of Remembrance in Jerusalem.
Gordon Academic College in Haifa and educational technology
The delegation also visited Gordon Academic College in Haifa to learn about its developments in educational technology, particularly the tools that help teachers and schools apply the STEAM model, which integrates science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics.
The story reports that the Costa Rica Support and Promotion Office (OSPCR) and the ADHIE Development Association signed a cooperation agreement with the college to promote the transfer of these tools to Costa Rica and Andorra.
The Chamber’s opening cocktail reception in Israel
The Chamber held the opening cocktail reception of the Chamber in the State of Israel on November 27, 2019, at 8:00 p.m., at the Eyal Hotel in Jerusalem; it also served to welcome the Ibero-American delegation invited to the Concert for Peace.
The Concert for Peace, the reason for the trip
The delegation traveled to Israel as guest of honor at the third edition of the Concert for Peace, dedicated to the 71st anniversary of the abolition of Costa Rica’s army. This annual OSPCR cultural program, held in Jerusalem, commemorates the fact that Costa Rica abolished its army on December 1, 1948, a decision enshrined in Article 12 of the 1949 Political Constitution.
During the concert, Congresswoman Ana Karine Niño delivered a speech on behalf of the Legislative Assembly delegation, and Minister Jordi Gallardo highlighted the similarities between Andorra and Costa Rica, two states without an army. Also in attendance was the Peace Secretary of the Presidency of Guatemala, Bernardita Lourdes Xitumul Piox.
Performers on stage included the OSPCR music ensemble, the Sephardic music group Los Ladinos, musicians Yehuda Glantz and Mariel Piven and maestro Francesco Lotoro, who remembered the victims of the Shoah and performed “El Duelo de la Patria.”
From Jerusalem to San José: the mission’s continuity
The relationship begun on this mission continued. In March 2020, the Chamber and the OSPCR organized the Government of Andorra’s first official visit to Costa Rica, which, according to the news stories on that agenda, took place thanks to the third edition of the Concert for Peace. One example is the meeting between Costa Rica’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister Jordi Gallardo.
Timeline of the 2019 Ibero-American mission to Israel
- November 2019: visit to Gordon Academic College in Haifa and educational technology agreement.
- November 27, 2019: visit to the Knesset and meeting with Knesset member Omer Barlev.
- November 2019: meeting at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
- November 27, 2019: the Chamber’s opening cocktail reception at the Eyal Hotel in Jerusalem.
- November 2019: commemorative ceremony at Yad Vashem.
- November 2019: 3rd Concert for Peace, with the Costa Rican legislative delegation, the Andorran minister, the Peace Secretary of Guatemala, the OSPCR ensemble, Los Ladinos, Yehuda Glantz and Mariel Piven and Francesco Lotoro.
The Chamber, Israel and Ibero-America
The Israel Ibero-America Chamber of Commerce promotes institutional, academic, cultural and economic ties between Israel and the Ibero-American countries. See the Israel country profile, the Costa Rica country profile and the history of the Concert for Peace.
