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Prime Ministers Speech at the Reality and Vision Conference on the Occasion of Shimon Peress 80th Birthday /Translation. |
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| 22/09/2003 |
Mr. Shimon Peres,
Honored Guests,
State Leaders from around the world,
Honored audience,
Addressing the issue of vision in Israel, the land of the prophets, means addressing something tangible, without which one cannot comprehend the ancient Jewish history.
106 years ago in Basel, Benjamin ;ev Herzl established the Jewish State. He did so with the words:If you will it, it is no fairytale;.
55 years ago, David Ben Gurion, another visionary a great visionary - decided to declare the establishment of a Jewish state, in a situation which, according to many experts - among them international military and security experts -was hopeless.
The experts were wrong - and the visionary was right.
Vision is one of the most meaningful and valuable contributions the People of Israel have made to humanity through its prophets. The Jewish prophets fought for the values of morality and social justice. They faced up to kings and rulers and demanded a spiritual revolution. However, when their hopes for immediate reforms failed, they set for their people and by means of the Book of Books, for the entire world -an ideal for a future society and world for which we must strive relentlessly. A society which decrees;Surely you should break your bread for the hungry and bring the moaning poor to your home; when you see a naked person clothe him; and do not hide yourself from your kin;.
This insistence -not accepting reality as it is, and striving for a better future -has been imbued in the People of Israel from the outset, and its very name;Isra-El; - struggled with the Divine -implies it. As we recall, the name Israel was given to Jacob by an angel, after Jacob fought, or ;strove with G-d;, the entire night, as the Bible says. At the end of that night, the angel blessed Jacob and gave him his new name. Zev Jabotinsky wrote thus: The name serves to teach us that according to the Biblical viewpoint, it is not at all a sin to strive with G-d Man must not accept the fact that the world will always remain;as it is, but constantly strive to improve it and attempt at all times to repair the defects in the world order, which G-d has left filled with shortcomings, probably in order to keep man struggling and striving to reform for the benefit of mankind.”
The Zionist vision is aimed at reforming the world in which the Jewish People lived during 2000 years when there was no Jewish sovereignty - and has achieved its goal.
There was no sovereignty, but there was always a Jewish presence - there was never a day, even after the destruction and great rebellion, when there wasn’t a Jewish foothold in the Land of Israel.
Approximately 120 years have elapsed since the revival of the Jewish National Movement - Zionism - and the achievements and magnitude of the human, social, cultural and economic revolution created by the Zionist enterprise are unprecedented in the entire world.
Guests from abroad often find it difficult to grasp when we present to them, in facts and numbers, the story of the State of Israel: one of the smallest countries in the world and among the most meager in natural resources. A nation which, despite its limited population, is considered an international leader in numerous and diverse fields.
Through judicious use of our greatest and only natural resource - our human capital -Israel has attained international accomplishments in the fields of medicine, computer sciences, telecommunications and bio-technology. Israeli engineers are considered among the best and most skillful in their field, and Israeli ingenuity is manifested in the number of patents registered in Israel -the highest in the world in relation to the size of the population.
Israeli agriculture is a shining example worldwide. Today, Israeli agricultural experts teach farmers on all continents how to better exploit the land which they have always cultivated.
The pioneer Zionist settlement has transformed arid wilderness into a blossoming garden -and did so primarily by power of faith. Today’s Israeli pioneers take part in the international effort to conquer outer space -and little Israel is one of only eight countries whose satellites are currently circling above us, in outer space.
Israel generates envy and reverence for the quality and quantity of its culture consumers and the quality of its creators and performers -in the fields of dance, theatre and literature.
And one cannot overlook the miracle of the revival of the Hebrew language -the only ancient language in the world which has again become a language spoken daily. Today, Hebrew is as alive and vibrant on the street, at sports grounds and hit parades, as it is in the voices and pens of authors, poets and academicians.
We are no less proud of our achievements in immigrant absorption. Already during its War of Independence, Israel -the state of the Jewish people -opened its gates to masses of Jews who were persecuted in their countries of origin and found a home here. During the 90’s -in an unprecedented absorption operation -a million new immigrants, most of them from the Former Soviet Union, were absorbed by a population of a little over 4 million. In a comparable enterprise -280 million American citizens would, over a period of ten years, have absorbed over 70 million immigrants. In Israel this was done smoothly, with a million Israeli newcomers integrating into their homeland, and an overwhelming majority becoming an inseparable part of this country speedily and naturally, astonishing all those observing this process.
We are proud of Israel being an exemplary democracy, a law-abiding country, zealously preserving human liberties, despite continuous threats to the State and citizens of Israel. Despite the threats and security constraints, Israel is a free, open and enlightened country – still a lonesome island in a region which has no respect for democratic values.
We have accomplished all this while being forced to hold the sword in one hand to protect the lives and safety of Israeli citizens. Not because we wanted to, but because we were compelled to by our enemies.
Indeed, tremendous achievements -but we are not yet satisfied. We do not yet accept this world, our world, “as it is”.
As a peace-seeking nation, we constantly strive to become a nation which maintains good neighborly relations with all the countries and peoples surrounding us -concurrently with an uncompromising defense of the security of our state and citizens.
This vision is constantly before our eyes -and we will do everything in our power to turn it into a reality. But it is obvious that for this purpose, we must first firmly insist on the strengthening and security of the State of Israel. Only once the enemies of peace realize that they cannot defeat us or break our spirit, will they understand that the only way to put an end to the bloody conflict between us - a conflict which has taken such a heavy toll in blood from both parties -is by abandoning the path of terror and violence and accepting the principle of peaceful coexistence.
This is also true with regard to our other national vision - the vision of Israel as a just and equitable society, which provides fair and equal opportunities to all its citizens -regardless of status, gender, origin and place of residence. This vision has not yet been fully realized.
Once these visions have materialized, Israel will be internationally renowned not for being a nation which struggles daily for its security, but for its achievements in the fields of science, research, medicine, technology, music, theatre, dance and literature, sophisticated industry and agriculture. Only then will we truly fulfill the vision of Prophet Isaiah: “I will make you a light unto the nations, so that My salvation may extend to the ends of the earth”.
We are still to realize all these dreams, because we are absolutely unwilling to forfeit them. But the pre-condition is the continuation of that unique combination which characterized the great founders and builders of this land: adherence to the vision -with a sober view of the reality surrounding us.
The Zionist vision was transformed into a reality through the enlistment of all inner forces of this nation -the courage, faith and adherence to the cause. All these are still with us today. Through them we will also realize the vision of a just society and the vision of peace - and we will not wait until the end of time.
With your permission, I wish to conclude with a number of words on the man in whose honor we have gathered here this evening -Shimon Peres. Like his grand master and teacher, David Ben-Gurion, Shimon Peres is a man of vision and action. He has initiated enterprises which propelled the State of Israel toward its future. He made a decisive personal contribution to the building of Israel’s defensive force and the establishment of the Aircraft Industry, one of the most advanced of its kind in the world.
Through all the years that we have known each other, I have never concealed my great admiration for his personality, broad-mindedness and intellect. Although we belong to different political camps, I know that the two great visions which I have presented here -the vision of a just society and the vision of peace -are his visions also. And I know that in the future -as in the first 80 years of his life -Shimon will make his unique contribution to their realization. Let us hope that Israeli society will continue to benefit from his wisdom, experience, visionary fervor and ability to get things done -until he is 120, eventhough where you’re concerned, 120 is not enough.
Thank you and Shana Tova.
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