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How One Sri Lankan Wants to Change the Narrative About Israel
Shanuka Elangasekara. Photo: screenshot.
The country has 22 million people. The majority are Buddhist, with Hindu, Christian, and Muslim minorities. Her team works tirelessly across the nation, to muster support across cultures for the Jewish State, which she hopes will eventually “change diplomatic policy and forge an alliance with Israel.”
Elangasekara’s passion for Israel began back in 2000, when she was a law student, but it became full-time when she began the Israel Sri Lanka Solitary Movement in 2019. Since then, it has garnered a lot of attention at the local level. She explained that many among Sri Lanka’s Buddhist majority are pro-Israel.
Elangasekara notably held a gathering on the 75th anniversary of Israeli independence, and another one after the October 7th massacre, where participants planted 1,200 trees to symbolize the lives lost.
“My goal is to reach the grassroots in Sri Lanka,” she said. “We have to change the distorted biased negative narrative the world upholds. There needs to be a gathering of nations around Israel and for Israel.”
Indigenous Vedda chiefs have attended her events, as have others in Sri Lanka.
“Sri Lanka and the Jewish world have had ties for many millennia” She said. “I can’t explain why our people and my staff have such a faithful passion for Israel, through several decades.”
Although Sri Lanka’s last Jew is believed to have died in 2016, there has been a historic Jewish presence there, according to sources, and it is believed that they all assimilated over time.
One of her team members, Krishantha Rathnaweera, said that his unexplainable love for Israel “just manifested when he was 12,” and he has been very supportive since.
Also notable in her work is hosting students and trying to use education to build an appreciation for Israel in the next generation.
There has been pressure on Sri Lanka to shut down Israeli embassies due to protests from pro-Palestinian agitators. Everyone in her group opposed the move, however. “Our histories are intertwined and there is much potential we can reach together,” she argued.
“When non-Jews spread the truth about Israel, it might be impactful” she suggested. She lamented that the lack of support and collaboration from Israelis has been discouraging to her team, as they have done a lot of dedicated work to improve the bonds. They hope this will change eventually.
She cited sectors that could improve if the nations had better bilateral ties, such as agriculture, archaeology, healthcare, and education. She also said that ongoing defense collaboration for the security of Israelis in Asia could be improved. There was recently a major threat against Israelis in the country.
Her team invites Israeli tourists to come visit her office to see what they’re doing firsthand to improve the relationship. Elangasekara feels that they can create a strong support base among the “Buddhist belt in Asia” and beyond.
The post How One Sri Lankan Wants to Change the Narrative About Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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