Israeli resident from Donaghadee: 'Recent rise in anti-semitism has been extremely hard'
Among the people who met the delegation of unionist policitians on their visit to Israel this week was Laura Kafif... who grew up in Donaghadee.
Mrs Kafif told the News Letter that the years since October 7 have been "extremely difficult" in terms of anti-Israeli sentiment across the world.
She works as a housekeeper for an Israeli non-profit organisation called Save a Child's Heart, which has provided cardiac healthcare to around 8,000 children from 73 different countries.
Around 40% of the children it has helped are Palestinian.
She was originally from Belfast before moving to north Down.
Raised as Catholic, the former hairdresser married an Israeli and 30 years ago moved to the country.
She now lives outside Tel Aviv.
Her father was Freddie Gilroy, an Olympic bronze medal boxer for Ireland, from the Ardoyne district of Belfast.
Mrs Katif, 65, discussed her work with Save a Child's Heart with the visiting delegation, and told the News Letter that the idea of "fixing the world" is important in Judaism.
"It's very much built into the religion and the culture, things like volunteering," she said.
"Look at all the countries that needed help.
"When they had the earthquake in Haiti, there was an IDF field hospital there, and actually through that field hospital we brought a child home and back to Israel with the IDF and one of the doctors that was working in the field hospital.
"When there's been earthquakes in Turkey for instance.
"It's not a big friend of Israel currently. Israel was there, helping them."
Asked about the global perception of Israel, she said: "I think the last two years have been very, very difficult – extremely difficult.
"And I think that what's happening around the world, the anti-semitism and all the demonstrations. It's not even a few people – it's a lot.
"It's a lot of countries and a lot different things being said against Israel, which is very difficult to see and very difficult to hear.
"I wasn't born in Israel, but I've lived here over 30 years. My husband is Israeli, my son is Israeli. Some of the comments are horrendous."