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Boston City Councilor Flynn heads to Israel for ‘educational seminar’
Flynn said he was selected for the American Israel Education Foundation Seminar in Tel Aviv this week.
Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn is in Israel this week to attend a conference discussing the ongoing war, he announced Wednesday.
Flynn said he was selected for the American Israel Education Foundation Seminar in Tel Aviv. The seminar covers “critical issues” in Israel since Oct. 7 including the war against Hamas, the security of Israel’s northern border, and Iran’s nuclear weapons.
“I was selected to join a delegation of leaders across the United States to learn more about the unprecedented attack on Israel civilians by the terrorist group Hamas, how this has since impacted the local Israeli and Palestinian communities, and what this means for security and stability in the region,” Flynn said.
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The AIEF is affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, a leader of the United States’s pro-Israel lobby. Their endorsed politicians include House Speaker Mike Johnson, as well as Massachusetts Reps. Katherine Clark, Jake Auchincloss, Bill Keating, and Richard Neal.
The conference ends Thursday, Flynn said, and included “a wide array of viewpoints.” The conference group met with members of the Israeli legislature, American officials, military leaders, and journalists.
In October, the City Council failed to pass resolutions either in support of Israel’s actions since the Oct. 7 attack or calling for a ceasefire. Last week, Auchincloss asked the council to approve a $13.3 million anti-terrorism bill that failed last month. He said the war in Israel has “heightened our region’s need for counter-terrorism security measures” to protect Jewish people.
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Flynn said his goal is to continue battling antisemitism in Boston.
“The impact of the Israeli-Hamas War has had wide reverberations around the world, and especially here in the United States, where we have witnessed a sharp increase in antisemitism. While tensions and frustrations remain high on this international issue, on a local level, we must continue to stand with our Jewish American neighbors and call out and denounce antisemitism when we see it.”
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