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Good morning,
I am very pleased to be here and to see you. I believe that if you count the various communities represented here from so many countries – Karakas, Sydney, Melbourne, South America, Europe – you will find that I have met many of you over the years, either here in Jerusalem or in one of our smaller cities, in Tel Aviv, and many times also in the places which you come from, all across the Jewish world.
These meetings with you, in Johannesburg, Canada, South America, Australia or any other place, were, for many years, an essential component in shaping my Jewish worldview, as a person growing into Israeli and Jewish politics.
When I came to Jerusalem from Binyamina over 40 years ago, I was under the impression, which was probably slightly exaggerated, that I already knew everything. But then I began studying at the Hebrew University and later I became a student of life and politics. I slowly got to know the Jewish people. Knowing the Jewish people means knowing a remarkable, unique phenomenon, unlike any other phenomenon on earth. There is no such nation, no such history, no such solidarity, no such commitment or responsibility. While the geographical distance between our people is often huge, the connection between them is so impressively and amazingly quick, because something deep inside their inner veins, something that cannot be detected on the outside, but can be felt on the inside, connects these people, even if they cannot speak with each other because one speaks Portuguese and the other speaks English, either Australian English or South African English or British English or American English, and these are all different languages. This fact is completely irrelevant, as behind the language is a vibe of Jewish energy which is derived from ancient sources, ancient history, unending memories and prayers, and mainly never-ending yearning.
I was once asked: what is the one thing which characterizes the Jewish ethos? This is not a simple question, and it probably has many answers. Different people answer it differently. In my heart, in my Jewish heart, I feel that the strongest, the deepest, the most typical ethos of the Jewish people throughout the generations has been this ethos of yearning. Our entire lives, throughout the entire history of our nation, we have been yearning for something that we have yet to achieve. The establishment of the State of Israel is, to a certain extent, the fulfillment of a considerable portion of this nation's collective historic yearning, which has accompanied us our entire lives. But this is only a part of it. Even when we live in this land, we continue to long for something, because we know that the incredible history of this nation – which is truly unprecedented and there is nothing like it in any other nation in the world – is only the opening chapter for what still awaits this nation, and we want to know already what it is and we are impatient and we know that it is coming, but because it has not come yet, we still long to see it. But we do know one thing, and this I can tell all of you. It will happen here in this country, because this country is the only place that is ours. You come from many countries and I respect the countries from which you come. The places I know best are wonderful places, with culture and tolerance, societies which embrace you, people who respect you, and political and public systems which are very happy to have a Jewish community, and it is fun to live in those places. This is all true, but there is only one place in the world, only one in the entire world, which belongs to all of us, and you are now in this place. This is our country and this is our city. It is and will forever remain Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.
Until we realize all our dreams and until our yearnings end, we, as a state, have a not so simple confrontation. Someone once said that the job of Prime Minister is a very difficult one. I think they may have overstated it slightly. It is not so difficult, but I can guarantee you one thing – it is not easy, it is not easy at all, because this is a country which faces a reality like none other anywhere in the world. I just had a very long meeting to discuss a certain group of Jews that we are trying to bring to Israel. Think about it – which other state has succeeded in increasing its population by a 1000% in sixty years and make it ten times larger than it was when it was established? Only one state – the State of Israel. Which other country in the world absorbed so many people from so many countries, with so many cultures and so many languages and succeeded somehow in instilling in them a sense of collective belonging that no force in the world could break? There is only one state in the world that can take pride in this achievement, and it is us, the State of Israel. Technically we are celebrating sixty years today, and the historic event of sixty years ago, when Ben-Gurion announced Israel's first independence day on May 14, 1948, will probably be shown many times on every channel on television, and will most likely also be translated into your languages. It was a historic day, the first independence day of the State of Israel. But what is it that characterizes this country, and there is nothing like it anywhere else in the world? The State of Israel is not celebrating only what happened sixty years ago, because each year we fight anew for our independence, as if it never existed. Each year on independence day, we celebrate another independence day which we preserved and defended, and we celebrate our success in overcoming all the threats and dangers, and the fact that we prevailed and developed and have grown stronger than ever before. Each year we celebrate what we achieved in that same year. Why? Maybe because the State of Israel is the only state in the world which has been threatened with annihilation since its inception, and each year it must guarantee that those threatening it will fail. There are many countries which live in far greater distress than we do, many countries living in a state of poverty which cannot be compared to the astonishing economic achievements which have characterized the State of Israel in recent years.
We are a modern, sophisticated, innovative, powerful nation, with technology, Nobel prizes, science, academics, social and artistic systems of the highest standards in the modern world, but we are the only country in the world which is constantly forced to confront the threat of annihilation. Our enemy wears a different identity and a different language each time, but the threat stays the same, the intimidation stays the same. Only the language changes and the circumstances change. What remains unchanged is our inner strength to face all these threats and tell all our enemies, without boasting, or arrogance, but with confidence – and I say this to you and I ask that you take it with you and spread it throughout your communities, wherever you are – the people of Israel is strong, the State of Israel is strong, no enemy can destroy us. We will not allow it, we will not put ourselves in a position where someone could effectively threaten us with annihilation, because if there is one thing that has changed since the establishment of the State of Israel sixty years ago, it is not that Jews here are entirely safe from harm or danger, there are dangers here like there are in any other place, but in this place the Jewish people can fight, and when we need to fight, we fight, and when we fight, we win. Therefore, we live with confidence, derived from the strength of our faith, our inner strength and the knowledge that we can produce for ourselves the tools which will guarantee the existence of the State of Israel, without anyone in the world being able to undermine its existence or, G-d forbid, eliminate it.
I want to thank you personally. I know you, I know that a considerable part of your agenda – the private, individual agenda of each and every one of you – is dedicated to the State of Israel, not while you are here, but while you are there. I know how much everything that happens here affects what happens to you there. I know how much you care, how deeply involved you are emotionally with what happens in the State of Israel and how much you want to help. So I tell you, we are very proud. We are proud of the State of Israel, we are proud of Israel's achievements, we are proud of you. We are proud of our connection with you, we are proud of your love for the State of Israel, we are proud of the young Jews who grow up with you and who will some day come and live with us here, because this is their future and you know it. Mostly, we are proud of our Zionism – proud that we grow up in this country, fight for it, defend it, build it, develop it, advance it and guarantee that the independent, sovereign and proud Jewish State of Israel will continue to exist for eternity.
Hag Sameach. Be proud that you can be here with us on this holiday, to celebrate with us the victory of the independent State of Israel on its 60th anniversary. Hag Sameach.
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