With recent events shining an international spotlight on the situation in Gaza, the Middle East Quartet (United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia), released a statement noting that efforts “have improved conditions over the last year, including a marked increase in the range and scope of goods and materials moving into Gaza, an increase in international project activity, and the facilitation of some exports.” Last week alone, 1,236 truckloads totaling over 29,556 tons of goods were unloaded at the land crossings into the Gaza Strip and transferred to Palestinian and international organizations for distribution. This is in addition to Egypt’s reopening of the Rafah border crossing.  The Quartet commended “the recent approval by Israel of materials for new homes and schools to be constructed by UNRWA.”

The statement continued saying:

“The Quartet recognizes that Israel has legitimate security concerns that must continue to be safeguarded. Members of the Quartet are committed to working with Israel, Egypt and the international community to prevent the illicit trafficking of arms and ammunition into Gaza and believe efforts to maintain security while enabling movement and access for Palestinian people and goods are critical. In this context, the Quartet strongly urges all those wishing to deliver goods to the people of Gaza to do so through established channels so that their cargo can be inspected and transferred via established land crossings. The Quartet regrets the injury and deaths caused by the 2010 flotilla, urges restraint and calls on all Governments concerned to use their influence to discourage additional flotillas, which risk the safety of their participants and carry the potential for escalation.”

The Quartet also called for an end to “the deplorable five-year detention of Gilad Shalit.”

Read the full statement here.

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REMARKS BY PRESIDENT SHIMON PERES ON THE TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY FIFTH INDEPENDENCE DAY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Prime Minister Netanyahu, Ministers, Knesset members, Ambassador Cunningham, Guests and Friends,

There are more than two hundred and thirty five different things I can say about the wonder, the grandeur, the accomplishment and the spirit that is AMERICA -  the powerful nation and generous giver.

It is the history of a mighty – nay, the mightiest – country that never occupied but always contributed.

America is the great nation that was always sensitive to the grim. To the dire. TO the impoverished. And made the world a less dangerous one.

Ready to overcome its flaws.

Some criticize the United States. All of us know that a world without the U.S. would be the greatest mistake of all.

For all of us.

America became for most of us the Indispensable Nation. Then, and now.

THANK YOU AMERICA for what you are – for what you are for us.

WE THANK YOU for standing up for what is right and just and fair.

THANK YOU for defending freedom, safeguarding liberty, searching for peace, protecting democracy, advancing our shared values.

THANK YOU AMERICA for being our friend and our ally.

AND THANK YOU PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, for your leadership, for your deep and moving ongoing and unwavering commitment to the peace and security of our land.

Despite the disparity in size, resources, and power, the United States and Israel share many things.

Core values. a world outlook. a similar fundamental rejection of injustice, and similar aspirations for the world’s future.

Despite the different trajectory of their history, the US and Israel share something fundamental and essential:

We are both, first and foremost, AN IDEA.

We are nations that were established contrary to the trends of history and against conventional wisdom.

We are nations born in defiance of the old order.

We are nations that pursued sovereignty because our founding fathers were discriminated against.

We are nations that seek to set an example, to be a shining light guiding the evolution of a better society and better mankind.

We don’t have a choice but to be exceptional, each in its own way.

We admire your Constitution. It is a uniquely American document, but it is one, we in Israel cherish. And we uphold our Ten Commandments. There is an affinity between them.

Both of us cherish peace with our neighbors. and treasure a democratic new Middle East as a great promise for all of our children. And we shall win.

Thank you Ambassador and Mrs. Cunningham for serving the friendship between our two countries with so much devotion and good will. You served friendship and won friends.

Thank you, Ambassador, for representing the great U.S.A.

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Head of the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency, General Patrick O’Reilly announced on Monday that Israel will integrate its missile systems into a region-wide effort to protect U.S. interests and personnel. The ‘Iron Dome’ system, which is battlefield tested, is the first system in the world capable of shooting down incoming rockets. While Israel’s missile defense systems were originally designed to protect its citizens from Hamas and Hezbollah – terrorist groups which have launched thousands rockets and missiles into Israel the system is extremely advanced, able to intercept large ICBMs launched from Iran.

Israel will be teaming up with its greatest ally and friend, the United States, to develop a region-wide missile defense system to protect the United States and its allies. The regional defense system, in addition to protecting U.S. bases, may also be used to protect U.S. allies, theoretically even ones which do not have diplomatic ties with Israel.

While Iron Dome is an Israeli program, it was done in cooperation with a number of U.S. security firms, having even been tested on U.S. soil. Israel and the United States are both committed to the security of the other, and the Jewish State is more than happy to be taking the lead on this one.

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Stanley Fischer, Governor of the Bank of Israel, is one of the world’s most respected economists, credited with, among many things, helping Israel bear the brunt of the 2008 global financial crisis. Israel’s economy was not only surviving, it was thriving. Before being at the helm of Israel’s fiscal policy, he served as chief economist at the World Bank, Vice Chairman of Citigroup, and was the first Deputy Managing Director of the IMF.

Over the weekend, Mr. Fischer formally announced his candidacy to lead the IMF. While the selection process is a political one, Mr. Fischer has received official support from Israel’s Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, who said “were it purely professional it would be hard-pressed to find a better person than Fischer.”

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad also threw his support behind Mr. Fischer, saying the Israeli would make a ”great managing director” for the IMF and is a “superb human being.”

“He is supremely qualified for the job. Indeed, it’s difficult to see how one can be more qualified,” continued Fayyad.

The Palestinian Prime Minister knows a thing or two about economics, receiving his PhD in the subject from the University of Texas, as well as working for the IMF in the 1980s.

Mr. Fayyad’s support for an Israeli official to lead such an important institution is as much a testament to Mr. Fischer’s resume as it is to the character of the PA’s economic guru. The recently announced “reconciliation” between the government in the West Bank, led by Fatah and the terrorist group Hamas which controls the Gaza Strip is threatening the moderate Fayyad’s political status. While Fayyad has been nominated to continue as Prime Minister in the so-called “unity government,” Hamas has voiced its rejection, declaring they will not support Salam Fayyad as a member of the new government, as he is seen by many as being pro-Western.

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President Barack Obama:

Prime Minister Netanyahu has now been here seven times during the course of my presidency, and I want to indicate that the frequency of these meetings is an indication of the extraordinary bond between our two countries as is the opportunity for the prime minister to address congress during his visit here. I know that's an honor that's reserved for those who have always shown themselves to be a great friend of t united states and is indicative of the friendship between our countries. We just completed a prolonged and extremely useful conversation touching on a wide range of issues. We discussed, first of all, the changes that are sweeping the region and what has been happening in places like Egypt, in Syria, and how they affect the interests and security of the United States and Israel as well as the opportunity for prosperity, growth, and development in the Arab world. We agreed that there is a moment of opportunity that can be seized as a consequence of the Arab spring but also acknowledged there's significant perils as well and it's going to be important for the united states and Israel to consult closely as we see developments unfold. I outlined for the prime minister some of the issues that I discussed in my speech yesterday, how important it was going to be for the united states to support political reform, support human rights, support freedom of speech, religious tolerance, and economic development, particularly in Egypt as the largest Arab country as well as Tunisia, the country that first started this revolutionary movement that's taking place throughout the middle east and north Africa. We also discussed the situation in Syria, which is obviously of acute concern to Israel given its shared border, and I gave more details to the prime minister about the significant steps we are taking to try to pressure Syria and the Assad regime to reform, including the sanctions that we placed directly on president Assad. We continue to share our deep concerns about Iran, not only the threat that it poses to Israel h but also the threat that it poses to the region and the world if it were to develop a nuclear weapon. We upgraded our strategy to continue to apply pressure both through sanctions and our other diplomatic work and I reiterated my belief that it is unacceptable for Iran to possess a nuclear weapon. We also discussed the hypocrisy of Iran suggesting it somehow supports democratization in the middle east when, in fact, they first showed the oppressive nature of that regime when they responded to the own peaceable protest that took place inside Iran almost two years ago.

Finally, we discussed the issue of a perspective peace between Israelis and Palestinians. And I reiterated that we discussed in-depth the principles that I laid out yesterday. The beliefs that our ultimate goal has to be a secure Israeli state, a Jewish state, living side by side in peace and security with a functioning and effective Palestinian state. Obviously there are some differences between us in the precise formulations and language, and that's going to happen between friends,  but what we are in complete accord about is that a true peace can only occur if the ultimate resolution allows Israel to defend itself against threats. And that Israel's security will remain paramount in u.s. Evaluations of any perspective peace deal. I said that yesterday in the speech, and I continue to believe it.

And I think that it is possible for us to shape a deal that allows Israel to secure itself, not to be vulnerable, but also allows it to resolve what's obviously been a wrenching issue for both peoples for decade now. I also pointed out, as I said in the speech yesterday, that it is very difficult for Israel to be expected to negotiate in a serious way with a party that refuses to acknowledge its right to exist. And so for that reason, I think the Palestinians are going to have to answer some very difficult questions about this agreement that's been made between Fatah and Hamas. Hamas has been and is an organization that is resorted to terror, that has refused to acknowledge Israel's rights to exist.

It is not a partner for a significant realistic peace process. And so as I said yesterday during the speech, the Palestinians are going to have to explain how they can credibly engage in a serious peace negotiations in the absence of observing the core principles that have been put forward previously. So overall I thought this was an extremely constructive discussion. And coming out of this discussion, I once again can reaffirm that the extraordinarily close relationship between the united states and Israel is sound and will continue and that together hopefully we are going to be able to work to usher in a new period of peace and prosperity in the region that is going to be going through some very profound transformations in the coming weeks, months, and years. So Mr. prime minister, welcome. Great to see you.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:

Thank you. Mr. President, first, I want to thank you and the first lady for the gracious hospitality that you have shown me, my wife, and our entire delegation. We have an enduring bond of friendship between our two countries, and I appreciate the opportunity to have this meeting with you after your important speech yesterday. We share your hope and your vision for the spread of democracy in the middle east. I appreciate the fact that you reaffirmed once again now and in our conversation and in actual deed the commitment to Israel's security. We value your efforts to advance the peace process. This is something that we want to have accomplished. Israel wants peace. I want peace. What we all want is a peace that will be genuine, that will hold, that will endure. And I think that we both agree that a peace based on illusions will crash eventually on the rocks of middle eastern reality and that the only peace that will endure is one that is based on reality, on unshakable facts. I think for there to be peace, the Palestinians will have to accept some sic realities. The first is that while Israel is prepared to make generous compromises for peace, it cannot go back to the 1967 lines because these lines are indefensible, because they don't take into account certain changes that have taken place on the ground, demographic changes, that have taken place over the last 44 years. Remember that before 1967 Israel was all of nine miles wide. Half the width of the Washington beltway, and these were not the boundaries of peace. They were the boundaries of repeated wars because the attack on Israel was so attractive. So we can't go back to those indefensible lines and we're going to have to have a long-term military presence along the Jordan. I discussed this with the president. I think that we understand that israel has certain security requirements that will have to come intplace in any deal that we make. The second is -- echoes something the president just id, and that is that israel cannot negotiate with a Palestinian government that is backed by Hamas. Hamas, as the president said, is a terrorist organization committed to Israel's destruction. It's fired thousands of rockets on our cities, on our children. It's recently fired an anti-tank rocket at a yellow school bus killing a 16-year-old boy. And Hamas has just attacked you,  president, an the united states for ridding th world of bin laden. So Israel obviously cannot be asked to negotiate with a government that is backed by the Palestinian version of al qaeda. I think President Abbas has a simple choice. He has to decide if he negotiates or keeps his pact with Hamas or makes peace with Israel, and I can only express what will I said to you just now, that I hope he makes the choice, the right choice, of choosing peace with Israel. The third reality is that the Palestinian refugee problem will have to be resolved in the context of a Palestinian state but certainly not in the borders of Israel. The Arab attack in 1948 on israel resulted in two refugee problems. Palestinian refugee problem and Jewish refugees, roughly the same number, who were expelled from Palestine. Tiny Israel absorbed the Jewish refugees but the vast arab world refused to absorb the Palestinian refugees. Now 63 years later the Palestinians say to us and they say to Israel, accept the grandchildren really and the great grandchildren of these refugees. Thereby wiping out Israel's future as a Jewish state. So it's not going happen. Everybody knows it's not going to happen, and I think it's time to tell the Palestinians forthrightly it's not going to happen. The Palestinian refugee problem has to be resolved. It can be resolved. And it will be resolved if the palestinians choosto do so in a palestinian state. That's a real possibility. But it's not going to be resolved within the jewish state. The president and I discussed all these issues and I think we may have differences here and there, but I think there's an overall direction that we wish to work together to pursue a real, genuine peace between Israel and its Palestinian neighbors, a peace that is defensible.  president, you are the leader of a great people, the American people, and I'm the leader of a much smaller people --

It's a great people, too. It's the ancient nation of Israel, and, you know, we've been around for almost 4,000 years. We've experienced struggle and suffering like no other people. We've gone through expulsions and Pogroms and massacres and the murder of millions, but i can say that even at the dearth -- even at the nader of the valley of death, we never lost hope and we never lost our aim of re-establishing sovereign state in our ancient homeland, the land of Israel. And now it falls on my shoulders as the prime minister of Israel at a time of extraordinary instability and uncertainty in the middle east to work with you to fashion a peace that will ensure Israel's security and will not jeopardize its survival. I take this responsibility with pride but with great humility cause, as I told you in our conversation, we don't have a lot of margin for error, and  president, history will not give the Jewish people another chance. So in the coming days and weeks and months, I intend to work with you to seek a peace that will address our security concerns, seek a genuine recognition that we wish from our Palestinian neighbors, and give a better future for Israel and for the entire region, and i thank you for the opportunity to exchange our views and to work together for this common end. Thank you, Mr. president.

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The following is an excerpt from a piece originally published in the May/June 2011 edition of Foreign Policy by Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, Michael B. Oren.

What is the definition of an American ally? On an ideological level, an ally is a country that shares America’s values, reflects its founding spirit, and resonates with its people’s beliefs. Tactically, an ally stands with the United States through multiple conflicts and promotes its global vision. From its location at one strategic crossroads, an ally enhances American intelligence and defense capabilities, and provides ports and training for U.S. forces. Its army is formidable and unequivocally loyal to its democratic government. An ally helps secure America’s borders and assists in saving American lives on and off the battlefield. And an ally stimulates the U.S. economy through trade, technological innovation, and job creation.

These benefits of the U.S.-Israel relationship are of incalculable value to the United States, far outweighing any price. Americans know that Israelis have always stood by them, ready to share technology, intelligence, and innovation — ready to aid them in conflict and to make the painful sacrifices for peace. Israel may be one of a handful of countries that fully fits the definition of ally, but its willingness to support the United States unwaveringly makes it the partner par excellence, America’s ultimate ally.

To read the full piece, click here.

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On Friday’s edition of The Washington Post, a remarkable, yet long overdue admission came from South Awifrican jurist Richard Goldstone, author of the wildly inaccurate and inflammatory “Goldstone Report.” In the Op-Ed, Goldstone says that in hindsight, his report to the UN should not have reached the conclusions it did as far as Israel is concerned. Goldstone wrote, “If I had known then what I know now, the Goldstone Report would have been a different document.”

Since the report was released in September of 2009, Israel’s enemies have gone to the Goldstone Report, almost as a reflex, as “proof” that Israel targets civilians. Israel has always known that claim to be false, but the Goldstone Report did not wait for Israel’s investigations into its actions during Operation Cast Lead before releasing a bias, and factually outrageous narrative of Israel’s efforts to stop the launching of terror attacks by Hamas. In his Op-Ed, Goldstone stated that, had they had this evidence then, “it probably would have influenced our findings about intentionality and war crimes” on the part of Israel.

Another lie that has been debunked since the Goldstone Report was published were the actual number of civilian casualties. The Goldstone Report, relying on bias Palestinian sources and again, not waiting for Israel as a democratic state to take the time necessary to produce its objective findings, exaggerated the amount of civilian deaths. In reality, as admitted by Richard Goldstone himself, “Israeli military’s numbers have turned out to be similar to those recently furnished by Hamas,” i.e. the majority of casualties were indeed combatants.

While Goldstone himself admits that “our mission was in no way a judicial or even quasi-judicial proceeding,” the inaccuracy of the Goldstone Report has hampered Israel’s ability to defend its citizens and caused its reputation among the democratic world to be unfairly tarnished.

Prime Minister Netanyahu reacted saying, “Everything we said has proven to be true: Israel did not intentionally harm civilians, its institutions and investigative bodies are worthy, while Hamas intentionally fired upon innocent civilians and did not examine anything. The fact that Goldstone backtracked must lead to the shelving of this report once and for all.”

Israel’s ambassador to the US Michael Oren stressed this evening that Judge Goldstone’s Washington Post article reconfirms Israel’s right of self defense against Hamas terror out from Gaza.

In this article, Judge Goldstone contrasts the deliberate targeting of civilians by Hamas and its refusal to investigate its own war crimes with Israel’s efforts to avoid civilian casualties and to fully investigate charges of IDF misconduct. Unfortunately, Judge Goldstone reached these conclusions only now, after his report seriously impaired the ability of Israel–and of all democratic states– to defend themselves, and furnished a major victory for terror.

The recent spate of terror attacks, including the massacre of the Fogel family in Itamar, must, even as Judge Goldstone now insists, be condemned in the strongest of terms by all international organizations. These include the UN Human Right Council which, as
Judge Goldstone only belatedly admits, is deeply biased against Israel. As Israel and the democratic world continue to face terrorist threats from Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran, the Goldstone Report must be utterly discredited.

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First appeared in the March 29th edition of The Wall Street Journal

“Gadhafi unilaterally forfeited his nuclear weapons program by 2004, turning over uranium-enriching centrifuges and warhead designs. A dictator like him—capable of ordering the murders of 259 civilians aboard Pan Am Flight 103 and countless others in many countries including his own—would not easily concede the ultimate weapon. Gadhafi did so because he believed he was less secure with the bomb than he would be after relinquishing it. He feared that the U.S., which had recently invaded Iraq, would deal with him much as it had Saddam Hussein.

A similar fear, many intelligence experts in the U.S. and elsewhere believe, impelled the Iranian regime to suspend its own nuclear weapons program in 2003. According to these analysts, the program resumed only when the threat of military intervention receded. It continues to make steady progress today.

Now is the moment to dissuade the Iranian regime from obtaining a nuclear weapon that might deter any Libya-like intervention or provide the ayatollahs with a doomsday option. If Gadhafi had not surrendered his centrifuges in 2004 and he were now surrounded in his bunker with nothing left but a button, would he push it?”

To read the complete Op-Ed, click here.

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The following appeared on Tuesday, March 15th in the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.

You shall not kill!

By Burak Bekdil

It was 2010, and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was speaking, as tempered as always, to a crowd as tempered as the prime minister could be.

“These [people] even see babies in their cradles as a threat. They have killed babies in their mothers’ arms,” he boomed.

“These people,” naturally, were the Israelis.

Addressing Israel’s leaders from a public rally in Turkey, Mr. Erdoğan said in both Turkish and English: “You shall not kill.” Then he showed his linguistic capabilities and went on: “You still don’t get it? Then I shall speak to you in your own language: Lo tir’tsach!” He was referring to the sixth of the 10 commandments in the Old Testament.

In various other speeches, Mr. Erdoğan claimed that his fits of anger toward the death of children were “indiscriminative” of race and religion. “Wherever, whenever,” he often said, “a child has been killed,” he would fiercely stand against the murderers. All the same, he has been mute since Saturday.

In the early hours of Saturday, a Palestinian broke into a house in the settlement of Itamar and stabbed to death a couple and their three children, aged 3 months, 4 years and 10 years old. The slain bodies were discovered by the couple’s 12-year-old daughter who was not at home when the murder was committed.

To read the full article, click here.

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With the 112th United States Congress well underway in Washington, DC, Israeli diplomats have been busy meeting with Congressmen on Capitol Hill discussing U.S.-Israel trade and partnership, as well as the recent developments in the Middle East.

On Tuesday, Minister of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Yuli-Yuel Edelstein, Director General of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs Brig. Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser, and Ambassador Michael Oren joined members of Congress for a bipartisan seminar on “The Drastically Changing Middle East – and the Israeli Constant” hosted by Jerusalem Conference for International Policy.

Senator Inhofe

Giving introductory remarks for the seminar, Ambassador Oren traced the multi-faceted and interminable relations between U.S. and Israel, tracing it back to the pilgrims’ pledge to restore the Jews to their ancestral homeland. In today’s international arena, strategic alliance has proven key to furthering innovation and security for both nations, he added.

Speaking on the changes in the Middle East, Minister Edelstein said, “I am hopeful about being able to live in a family of democracies [in the region], but I’m cautious,” noting the influences of radical regimes and  Israel’s security as a primary concern.

Senior Congressmen including Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtien, Representative Gary Ackerman, Senator James Inhofe, Representative Eliot Engel, and more, also attended the seminar and reaffirmed their commitment to Israel.

“You cannot be a good American and not support Israel,” said Congressman Michael Grimm.

Last month, Ambassador Oren also met with Speaker of the House John Boehner, where the Ambassador expressed deep appreciation for the Speaker’s unwavering friendship with Israel and his firm leadership of Congressional initiatives in support of the Jewish state. Speaker Boehner’s commitment to Israel is especially valued at this time of change in the Middle East and as Israel continues to confront the threats of terror and Iranian nuclearization.

Speaker Boehner said, “Israel is one of America’s strongest allies  We share common values, and fight common enemies in the form of violent extremism.  The people of Israel have sacrificed for the sake of peace and stability.  With change coming rapidly to the Middle East, the United States is committed to standing by our close ally to maintain peace and stability in the region.”

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