Israel agrees to join U.S., Australia anti-whaling coalition

Israel has decided to join the coalition of anti-whaling nations that oppose motions to increase whale hunting quotas, the Foreign Ministry and U.S. Embassy confirmed Thursday.

The Israeli decision followed a direct plea from the United States to help it and its allies maintain a 20-year-old moratorium on commercial whaling. Japan, one of only three whaling nations in the world today, along with Norway and Iceland, has been attempting to reverse the ban.

"The U.S. believes that countries such as Israel can help make a difference in ensuring the long-term conservation of whale species and opposing attempts to weaken or minimize regulations for future whaling operations," - Stewart Tuttle, the U.S. Embassy spokesman in Tel Aviv