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I am pleased to be here today, participating in the ceremony marking 58 years since the raising of the ink flag – that same symbolic act which denoted the end of the War of Independence and made the city of Eilat a part of the State of Israel. The beautiful city of Eilat was undoubtedly the most moving prize possible for the young country which had just been born.
Two military forces took part in the liberation of Eilat. Once force – of the Golani Brigade – moved south along what is today the Arava Road. The Second Force – of Palmach fighters from the Negev Brigade – broke through Mount Negev, on an impassable route. They pushed on without stopping, racked with thirst – in order to plant the blue and white flag on the shore of Eilat.
The Golanis came with a standard flag, sewn and dyed properly. However, the improvised flag of the Palmach fighters was raised first, and it is that flag, as you saw here at El Al, which we remember today. The ink flag became one of the symbols of that period, during which the enthusiasm and devotion to the vision were practically the only tools at our disposal.
These days, when we live in a law-abiding, modern country, with an economy which is among the most advanced in the world, we should remember the days during which just those two qualities – enthusiasm and devotion to the vision – were at our disposal. And we should also remember this: we still need them today.
However, it was not only the IDF soldiers, who presented Eilat to us on a platter, who adhered to the goal – today we must also salute the hundreds of pioneers who came immediately after the soldiers to settle on the quiet beaches of the Red Sea, those who laid the foundations on which this wonderful city was based and developed.
We also present the example of the first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, who left Tel Aviv and settled in Sde Boker in the Negev.
We must remember the benevolence of those 70 wonderful families of Moroccan immigrants who left Marseilles 50 odd years ago and answered the call of the first head of the local council of Eilat, Hanoch Naner, who came to live here – with their consent – as they like to emphasize (and rightly so) – to carry on the mission of the pioneers of the land of Israel.
Over the 58 years which have passed, the three mud huts of the Um Rushrush police have become a city of 57 thousand residents – the number one tourist destination in Israel and a prestigious site on the global tourism map.
To the average Israeli, for all these years Eilat has been the ultimate sanctuary, a place at the end of the world, where people come to forget their troubles. It was almost an extraterritorial area – a city which was an extension of the State of Israel and still somehow a little detached from it.
The murderous terror attack during which three residents of Eilat lost their lives proved that despite the distance and the unique atmosphere of this place, Eilat is part of Israel. Terror, which during the years of the last intifada, tried vainly to complicate our daily lives in Israel and fill us with despair, now attempted to do so in Eilat as well – to destroy the daily routine, instill fear and shatter the free atmosphere which characterizes this city.
It did not succeed here – as it did not succeed in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem or Netanya. Tourists – both foreign and domestic – will continue to visit here and contribute to the ongoing development of the city.
However, tourism is just one of the directions in which it is possible and desirable to advance Eilat. Another direction is that of higher education. The Government of Israel, the energetic and dynamic mayor of Eilat, Mr. Meir Yitzhak Halevi – whom I admire – and the Ministry of the Vice Prime Minister, Minister Shimon Peres, are acting to advance a project of establishing student dormitories for Ben-Gurion University in Eilat. Ben-Gurion University has already opened an extension campus in Eilat, in which 500 students currently study. The intention is to increase that figure to 3,000 in the coming years. Establishing dormitories and attractive study plans will assist us in bringing more and more students to Eilat from the north – with the hope that most of them will become attached to the city and build their futures here when they complete their studies. This will provide a significant contribution to a quality workforce, which will enrich the city and assist in its advancement.
If there are areas in which Eilat could learn from the experience of other cities in Israel, there is at least one area in which Eilat could and should serve as an example. I mean the war which the mayor will declare against the scourge of violence: the program “Eilat – A Violence-Free City”, which was successfully developed and tested in Eilat, at the instigation of Mayor Meir Yitzhak Halevi, and which aroused great interest in light of the increase in the scope and characteristics of violence in the entire country. The achievements of the program – a 75% decrease in violence in schools and a 50% decrease in manifestations of physical violence among teens visiting Eilat – convinced the Ministerial Committee for the Struggle Against Violence to adopt the example of Eilat for a nation-wide implementation. In the first stage, the plan will be copied in ten additional cities across Israel.
58 years after the raising of the ink flag, Eilat today raises the flag of the war against violence. This time, it is not the end of a war, rather the opposite, the beginning of the campaign.
I wish to convey to the residents of Eilat and those who love the city – and there are many in Israel and around the world – that this is a wonderful city, the city of the future, a city which the Government of Israel will do everything it can in order to transform it into a vibrant city, one which attracts visitors from across Israel and the entire world, a city which will serve as an example of beauty, cleanliness and prosperity. Today, as we celebrate 58 years of Eilat being a part of the State of Israel, I wish to say, great days are still ahead.
Good luck.
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