Today, 25 June, marks three years since Gilad Shalit was captured by Hamas. On this occasion, a rally was held in New York City’s Times Square at which Vice Prime Minister Silvan Shalom called for the world to act for the resolution of this humanitarian issue. You can see some of the footage of the event in the video above.
When Prime Minister Netanyahu delivered his foreign policy address at bar Ilan University last week, he seemed to be restating what others have previously said. In an insightful opinion piece in the New York Times today, Ari Shavit analyzes the speech and finds in it a new declaration of principles that represents an important turn on the part of the State of Israel.
An excerpt:
Many failed to see what was new in Netanyahu’s vision. For decades, peace professionals and activists believed that when peace comes, Palestine will be demilitarized and Israel will be Jewish. Americans, Europeans and Israelis involved in the peace process took this premise to be self-evident.
But the Palestinians never accepted this premise. They did not agree to limit the sovereignty of their future state so that Israel’s security would be guaranteed. They did not recognize the existence of a Jewish people which expresses its right of self-determination in the Jewish nation-state. They did not go through the profound ideological conversion required so that a real two-state peace could be achieved and sustained.
On June 17th, David Saranga (@DavidSaranga), Consul for Media and Public Affairs at the Consulate General of Israel in New York (@IsraelConsulate), addressed the 140 Character Conference (#140conf) about the use of twitter in Public Diplomacy.
Twitter “allows us to reach people and segments of society that usually we don’t reach,” @DavidSaranga explained at the conference. “There is a lot of room to include dialogue between people.”
To read more about Saranga’s speech at the #140conf, click here.
At the conference, @DavidSaranga announced the launch of twt4peace, a dialogue on twitter encouraging the discussion of topics that concern everyone: environment, minority rights, and education.
Prime Minister Netanyahu appeared this morning on NBC’s Today Show to discuss the recent elections in Iran and the content of his speech yesterday. Here’s what he had to say:
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a major policy speech today at Bar-Ilan University in which he discussed his vision of Israel’s foreign relations, and specifically Israel’s dealings with the Palestinians. We’ve included an excerpt from the speech below, and you can read the entire text here.
In addition, the Prime Minister will be interviewed tomorrow on NBC’s Today Show, which airs tomorrow (Monday) morning at 7 AM EDT.
Honored guests,
citizens of Israel.Peace has always been our people’s most ardent desire. Our prophets gave the world the vision of peace, we greet one another with wishes of peace, and our prayers conclude with the word peace.
We are gathered this evening in an institution named for two pioneers of peace, Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat, and we share in their vision.
Two and half months ago, I took the oath of office as the Prime Minister of Israel. I pledged to establish a national unity government – and I did. I believed and I still believe that unity was essential for us now more than ever as we face three immense challenges – the Iranian threat, the economic crisis, and the advancement of peace.
You can find the rest of the speech at the website of the Prime Minister’s Office.
UPDATE: You can watch the entire speech with simultaneous English translation on YouTube, thanks to the BBC.
This Sunday, Prime Minister Netanyahu will give a major policy address detailing his approach to the Palestinian diplomatic track. He will be speaking at 8 PM Israel time (1 PM US Eastern Time) from Bar-Ilan University. At that time, the University will be streaming live video of the address on its website. We will provide further materials after the speech, when they become available.
A report available through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and published this week discusses the steps taken during 2008 and the beginning of 2009 to bloster Palestinian capabilities. These include helping to improve the Palestinian economy and security capabilities, both in a bilateral and multilateral arenas.
In an op-ed in today’s New York Times, opposition leader Tzipi Livni discusses what it really means to have a democratic government. As she notes, it’s about values, not about just winning elections and holding power. Here’s an excerpt:
The intent here is not to stifle disagreement, exclude key actors from the political process or suggest that democracy be uniform and disregard local cultures and values. The goal is to make clear that the democratic process is not a free pass — it is about responsibilities as well as rights.
In reaction to today’s speech by President Obama in Cairo, the Government of Israel released the following statement:
The Government of Israel expresses its hope that this important speech in Cairo will indeed lead to a new period of reconciliation between the Arab and Moslem world and Israel.
We share President Obama’s hope that the American effort heralds the beginning of a new era that will bring about an end to the conflict and lead to Arab recognition of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people, living in peace and security in the Middle East.
Israel is committed to peace and will make every effort to expand the circle of peace while protecting its interests, especially its national security.
