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| Mr. Speaker, Reuven Rivlin,
Members of Knesset,
I would like to say a few words about the death of our colleague, Sara Doron. She was a minister in Begin’s and Shamir’s governments. She was a member of Knesset in this house for 15 years. She was president of the Maccabee Health Fund. She was also the chairwoman of the Likud party. But before that, she was a member of the liberal party. During the national unity, she was part of the movement called “the national liberal movement”. Sara Doron perfectly embodied these two words – she was nationalistic and she was liberal. She was nationalistic in the sense of a very profound commitment to the Zionist idea and to the nation of the Jewish people. She was liberal in that she always sought out progress, enlightenment and reform.
I remember that we spoke about this a great deal. I got to know her over the years. I had the opportunity to speak to her many times. She was enlightened, smart and very educated.
Earlier, I spoke with Minister Meridor. He described her very well: a good, wise and very moral woman. I believe that perhaps the best thing we can do to commemorate her is to try and be more like her and educate people to follow in her path.
Next week, I will travel to the United States for the annual meeting of the Jewish Federations of North America. I believe that several of you, including the head of the opposition and several ministers, will also be there. This is important because strengthening the connection between the Israeli people – all sectors of the nation – with this significant portion of the Jewish people is essential to our existence. The connection with the Jews of North America, not only at the leadership level, but also with the young generation is crucial.
I am proud that my government adopted the program that Yossi Beilin and several leaders of the American Jewish community – Michael Steinhardt and Charles Bronfman – established: Birthright. Birthright brings young people to Israel. The government also supports MASA, the program established later on, as well as Nefesh B’Nefesh – these are all exceptional programs.
So far, over the past ten years, we have helped fund the program that brought young Jews from around the world to Israel. One quarter of a million young Jews have visited Israel so far. Given the powerful forces tearing Jewish identity apart, this is one of the most important corrective forces that has appeared in the Jewish world. That is why I attribute tremendous importance to the range of connections we have with this community, not only on a political or an ongoing level, but at this more basic level of identity and strengthening identity. We contribute to them, and of course they contribute to us. I see this as one of the most important tools for our people, and certainly I will convey that during this meeting.
Of course, I will also meet with senior officials of the US administration, including Vice President Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. I greatly appreciate the efforts being made by President Obama’s administration to find a way to advance the political process. I know we have the desire to advance it, and we are taking action, as we have in the past. I am certain that the United States shares this desire and they too have taken and continue to take steps.
I hope that the Palestinian Authority will also demonstrate such a desire, and that they are not looking for excuses to avoid talks with us that would advance security and peace between us. There are countless preconditions that could be imposed as an obstacle to talks. We put them aside, and we expect the Palestinians to put them aside as well.
I will give you an example of what I mean from our side. This morning, the Cabinet held a discussion. During the discussion, work being carried out for almost six months was presented, work that is led by Minister Yaalon, to try and measure as objectively as possible the level of incitement in the Palestinian Authority. There are some unpleasant things happening there. I do not refer to the statements by this or that individual. I am talking about official schoolbooks, about the media controlled by the Authority.
The most serious characterization that arose from the materials the Minister showed us was not an argument about borders or certain settlements, but rather the negation of the State of Israel’s right to exist in any borders. This is not expressed in one single article or unusual statement, but all the time. To say the least, this does not advance reconciliation between peoples or increase our desire for a peace agreement. This is no small matter. This too was an official obligation that the Palestinians made.
By the way, the Wye Agreement, and later on the Roadmap, both outline a series of obligations. I mention this here not to dwell on this matter, but rather to demonstrate the fact that preconditions could be brought up and could be tied to all sorts of previous agreements. This could be done. We chose not to do so, and I am not doing so now. I promise you that I have brought up and will continue to bring up this matter, and it should be mentioned. It too must be given a real answer in the framework of the peace process. For now, I raise this to demonstrate the fact that we need to begin talks without preconditions and to complete them, or at least try to complete them.
Anyone with any common sense can see that this process demands fairness and telling the truth. It did not fail because there was a lack of activity by the Israeli government. If it failed, it failed because of an assumption made by the Palestinian Authority that perhaps they could circumvent or avoid the need for direct negotiations by moving straight on to international dictates or coercion, out of the assumption that they would get the credit, despite the actions taken and statements made by the Israeli government, simply because they believe that there is an international choir which would perhaps be joined by people within Israel who say: “Don’t confuse me with the facts. Israel is guilty of something or other, and therefore we don’t have to enter into this process”. I believe that we all share a national need to change the Palestinians’ perception, to clarify to them that there is the broadest possible consensus in this regard and that we will seriously examine whether or not we have partner for peace and security, because these two things go together, as I said here on many previous occasions.
I believe this is one of the problems. MK Wilf expressed another problem well, one that is not only recent, but that has existed for the past decade. I must say, you impressed me. Your words were right and they were true. They were not said because of some momentary self-interest, and they felt true. This is the most important problem that Israel is facing. It is the attempt to negate our legitimacy.
People say: “It is not unjustified to say that the willingness to enter into this process somewhat weakens the attempt to delegitimize Israel”, although in my opinion it is not just a procedural matter, but should be fully exhausted and lead to an agreement. There is some truth to this statement. If one has to pay endless costs just for the luxury of having a process, it is like a man standing on a street corner. What I’ll tell you now is a recipe for immediate popularity. Stand on a street corner. If you have some money in your pocket, try this: give 100 shekels to the first person passing by, and to the second and the third. Everyone will crowd around you and everyone will come to you and pat you on the back and tell you you’re a heck of a guy. But soon enough, you’ll be in a situation where you’ll be bankrupt.
Therefore, this effort, the negotiations we are conducting over this piece of land where we are standing, from which we grew and where our future is – we cannot be spendthrifts, overly generous or frivolous. There must be a stance in the face of the claims constantly being waged against us, without just cause. This does not mean we cannot use certain tactics. However, I believe that we know the truth. It is the truth. The truth is that there is great willingness on Israel’s part for a genuine peace process. The truth is that there is not a similar willingness on the part of the Palestinian Authority. I believe that, given the assumptions I outlined, and hopefully not because of a desire to avoid decisions and genuine compromises with the State of Israel, the desire to confront that same propaganda and incitement I mentioned, to face it as we have had to do with our own people, and say: this is the cost of an agreement – and the cost of an agreement is first and foremost to recognize that we will be here. We have not seen these conditions ripen. I hope we will be convinced otherwise. However, in order to know if it can happen, we need to enter into the process, and there need be no argument about this, and there certainly should be no self-flagellation or blame laid on us or about us, because it is simply not appropriate or right. more
Source: Prime Minister's Office
My Note:
(A Vote for Barack Obama is a vote for ALIYA!)
Bee Sting
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