Apologies have been received from Deputy Shatter. I remind members and those in the Visitors Gallery to please ensure their mobile phones and BlackBerry devices are turned off completely because they interfere with the sound recording equipment. I would be grateful if everyone complied with that request.
The minutes of the meeting on 28 October 2009 have been circulated. Are there any matters arising?
I refer to the proposal to bring in Colonel Travers again next week. We originally asked the Israeli ambassador to attend. Did he respond to us when we initially inquired of the Israeli Embassy what date would suit him?
No, not to the letter we sent. That was a separate matter, but we have had a proposal for a person to attend instead of the person who attended previously. Is that what Senator Daly is referring to?
We originally asked the Israeli ambassador to attend, but he said he was not available.
The ambassador was not available. We wrote to him, as agreed.
Has he responded to us indicating an alternative date?
Not yet.
It was not the case that he did not wish to attend to discuss the Goldstone report, the problem is that he was not available.
We offered him another opportunity to attend.
Did he respond to us?
No, not yet.
It was my understanding the Israelis offered to send a representative. I note that the person who is to attend on behalf of the Israeli Embassy is a British army colonel.
Yes. We have just received that letter.
I saw it. That is why I raise the issue. My understanding from the minutes was that the embassy would send an Israeli representative, not a mercenary from the British army.
That is what we have been offered. We will go into that issue in detail when we discuss correspondence. At this stage we will note the fact that the Senator does not accept that the person offered is a suitable alternative.
My understanding of our discussion was that the Israelis would send a representative of the State of Israel, not someone from the British army who would not be able to rebut anything in the report on the invasion of Gaza by the Israeli defence forces. As I understand it——
At first we were only given a name but now we have received a curriculum vitae and it has become clear that he has not been to Gaza and that he does not have any connections there. It appears he is not suitable for the mission we had envisaged. We will have to contact the Israeli ambassador and let him know the views of the committee on the matter. I note that the Senator is objecting to——
I am not objecting, but I would like a representative of the State of Israel to come before the committee at the same time as Colonel Travers. That is what I understood would happen. The reason I raise the matter in discussing the minutes is it was my understanding from them that we had asked for a representative of the State of Israel to attend at the same time——
The Senator is correct in that respect. That is what was said. Now that we have received the curriculum vitae of the man whom it was suggested would attend, it appears he does not have any connection with Israel and that he is not from the Israeli army, although he comes from an army background. We will get in touch with the ambassador again. We can discuss the matter in detail when we come to deal with correspondence.
I suggest the report be discussed. I do not know whether it should go ahead next Wednesday, or whether we should wait for the Israelis to come back with a representative.
I support Senator Daly.
We will have to request the Israeli ambassador to provide us with an alternative, as the person concerned does not seem to be suitable.
I wonder if the Chairman could phrase this differently in order that it would not just be an alternative but an appropriate person.
Yes.
I do not recall seeing the CV. Has it been circulated?
We did not have it. The name was given to us.
Will it be circulated to us?
Yes. In preparing for the meeting next week the office staff downloaded the CV.
I serve notice that I will be raising an issue that I raised on the Adjournment in the Seanad where the Minister for Defence justified acquiring arms from a discredited Israeli company which has been involved in monitoring the war and the invasion of Gaza. It has been blacklisted by the Norwegian Government on ethical grounds.
The Senator is giving notice that he wants to raise this issue.
I am giving notice that I will be raising it next Wednesday.
I support Senator Daly. I ask the Chairman to review the proposal for us to meet on 18 November with Colonel Travers to discuss the Goldstone report because the crucial ingredient was the presence of the Israeli ambassador. If he will not be present, we should reconsider whether we should have the meeting.
I appreciate that. It is what we plan to do now that we have received this information.
If the Israelis are not willing to send a representative and state this before the weekend, we should bring in Colonel Travers anyway. The presentation was cut short the last day. It is a huge report and some said they did not have the time to go through it in detail. If the Israelis are not willing to send a representative of the State of Israel, they should declare this before Friday.
I understand that, but the only difference is that the Senator suggests we go ahead and meet Colonel Travers at a second meeting anyway——
Only if the Israelis say they are not willing to send a representative of the State of Israel at any time.
Fair enough, if the result of our further communication is negative. The minutes of our correspondence are correct, but we will come back to the issue later. Are the minutes agreed? Agreed.
We have to deal with one item concerning a decision taken by the Joint Committee on European Scrutiny on 3 November. It is proposed that this decision be noted. Is that agreed? Agreed.
Before we begin to discuss today's business, I acknowledge the work of Ms Jill Gray who has been with the committee since January 2007. She is moving to the Bills Office and this is her last meeting with us. I take the opportunity to thank her for her hard work and dedication during her time with the committee and wish her every success in her new appointment. She has been very helpful to us.
The Chairman speaks for all of us.
