Israel is a Western democracy and a normal country. Nonetheless, Israel has faced abnormal circumstances since its inception. In fact, Israel is the only Western democracy whose existence has been questioned by force, and whose legitimacy is still being questioned independently of its actions.

The recent flotilla crisis in the Mediterranean provided yet another occasion for Israel’s detractors to renew their frenzied campaign. It was so even before the facts of that tragic incident had come to light. Eyes were blind to the reasons why Israel had to respond to the Gaza flotilla’s clear provocation.

Because we believe Israel is subjected to unfair treatment, and are convinced that defending Israel means defending the values that made and sustain our Western civilization, we have decided to launch the Friends of Israel Initiative. Our goal is to bring reason and decency back to the discussion about Israel. We are an eclectic group, coming from different countries and holding different opinions on a range of issues. It goes without saying that we do not speak for the State of Israel and we do not defend every course of action that it decides upon. We are united, however, by the following beliefs, principles and aims:

First, Israel is a normal, Western democracy and should be treated as such. Its parliamentary system, legal traditions, education and scientific research facilities, and cultural achievements are as fundamental to it as to any other Western society. Indeed, in some of these areas, Israel is a world leader.

Second, attempts to question Israel’s basic legitimacy as a Jewish state in the Middle East are unacceptable to people who support liberal democratic values. The State of Israel was founded in the wake of United Nations Resolution 181, passed in 1947. It also arose out of an unbroken Jewish connection to the land that stretches back thousands of years. Israel does not derive its legitimacy, as some claim, from sympathy over the Holocaust. Instead, it derives legitimacy from international law and from the same right to self-determination claimed by all nations.

Third, as a fully legitimate member of the international community, Israel’s basic right to self-defense should not be questioned. Nor should it be forgotten that Israel faces unique security threats—from terror groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, and from an Iran seeking nuclear weapons.

United Nations condemnations of Israel arising from last year’s Goldstone Report on the recent war in Gaza, for example, ignore the security challenges that Israel faces. All democracies should oppose such campaigns, which ultimately undermine the legitimacy not merely of Israel but of the U.N. itself.

Fourth, we must never forget that Israel is on our side in the battle against Islamism and terror. Israel stands on the front line of that fight as a bulwark of Judeo-Christian values. The belief that the democratic world can sacrifice Israel in order to placate Islamism is profoundly wrong and dangerous. Appeasement failed in the 1930s and it will fail today.

Fifth, attempts by people of good faith to facilitate peace between Israel and the Palestinians are always to be supported. But outsiders should beware of attempting to impose their own solutions. Israelis and Palestinians should know how to build a viable peace on their own. We can help them, but we cannot force them.

Sixth, we must be alive to the dangers that the campaign against Israel poses in reawakening anti-Semitism. Hostility to the Jews has been a stain on the Western world’s honor for centuries. It is a matter of basic self-respect that we actively confront and oppose new manifestations of an old and ugly problem.

The Friends of Israel Initiative has come together to encourage men and women of goodwill to reconsider their attitudes toward the Jewish state, and to relocate those attitudes inside the best of Western traditions rather than the worst. We urge them to recognize that it is in our own best interests that an increasingly jaded relationship between Israel and many of the world’s other liberal democracies is rescued and reinvigorated before it is too late for us all.

Mr. Aznar is a former prime minister of Spain. Mr. Trimble is a former first minister of Northern Ireland. Mr. Bolton is a former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Mr. Toledo is a former president of Peru. Mr. Pera is a former president of the Italian Senate. Mr. Roberts is a British historian. Ms. Nirenstein is vice-president of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the Italian Chamber of Deputies. Mr. Weigel is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. Mr. Agostinelli is managing director of the Rhône Group. Mr. Bustelo is a former minister of industry in Spain.

First appeared in the July 8th, 2010 edition of the Wall Street Journal.

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Eight tentacles. Eight predictions. The now infamous “Paul the Octopus” has emerged from the FIFA World Cup with 100% accuracy, predicting all of Germany’s games as well as the final. Like consecutive flips of a coin, with what starts off as a 50-50 chance gets smaller and smaller with each next prediction. The odds of going eight for eight? 0.39 percent. For his next look into the proverbial crystal ball, Paul the Octopus would be smart to predict a two-state solution: lasting peace between Israelis and their Palestinian neighbors.
There is a lot the Jewish people can learn from this psychic, nonkosher specimen. No one would have put money on this psychic octopus, even if the payoff is about 256:1. Then again, two thousand years ago, who would have bet on the Jewish people? Whether it is oil lasting 8 days or an unbelievable statistical anomaly of an octopus having a perfect world cup bracket, the world is full of surprises. Our prediction is that peace is coming and we hope that we have the same clairvoyance  as Paul the Octopus.

Last week, Israel’s Prime Minister, Benyamin Netanyahu reaffirmed not only his desire to engage in direct talks with Mahmoud Abbas, but to arrive at a mutually amicable solution. We don’t want talks for the sake of talks, we want results, and with Netanyahu’s leadership, a solution that brings peace while ensuring Israel’s security is going to happen. If so many people can believe in the power of an octopus randomly choosing a box of food, it is time to believe in leaders. Benyamin Netanyahu is a leader, and he is asking Mr. Abbas to lead with him. As the Prime Minister said, he is ready for “President Abbas to grasp my hand, get into a room, shake it, sit down and negotiate a final settlement of peace between Israel and the Palestinians.”

What Israelis and Palestinians need is faith. At this time, it is far too easy to be skeptical. Direct talks need to happen, and they will happen. Never before in the history of the peace process have there ever been preconditions for face to face talks. And never before in the history of the peace process has there been such an opportunity as we are presented with today.

In the past, talks have not produced the level of results that were needed for both peoples. While Yasser Arafat was ready to happily reject a generous proposition and plunge the region into chaos, Mahmoud Abbas is a moderate leader who above all else, respects Israel’s right to exist. For over a year, the peace process was stalled. In the past, whether in 1979 with Egypt or 1993 with Oslo, we have seen how momentum is the key to success. Direct talks will get the train moving, and for the first time, both sides agree on our destination.

And that is something no one should bet against.

Photo: The Muqata Blog

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Expectations surrounding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fourth White House meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, are running high. The previous conversations between the prime minister and President Barack Obama, though privately friendly and constructive, generated press speculations of tensions in the United States — Israel relationship. The chief source of friction, it was reported, centered on the peace process and the best way to restart talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Since that time, discussions between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, though conducted indirectly through the good offices of U.S. Special Envoy Senator George Mitchell, have begun, and major efforts undertaken to demonstrate the unbreakable security bonds between Israel and the United States. The Obama administration, for example, allocated $205 million to the Iron Dome program that is vital to protecting Israel from Hamas and Hezbollah rockets, as well as far-reaching support for other systems — Arrow III, Arrow II and David’s Sling — designed to intercept longer range missiles from Iran. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and National Security Advisor General Jim Jones delivered widely publicized speeches reiterating the administration’s dedication to Israel’s well-being. And President Obama, in a letter to Alan Solow, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, pledged, “our commitment to Israel’s security is unshakeable and that no wedge will be driven between us.”

Netanyahu’s visit will certainly emphasize the strength of the U.S.-Israel security relationship as well as both countries’ commitment to advancing toward direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians. The prime minister has repeatedly stated his readiness to enter into direct talks with the Palestinian Authority immediately and to swiftly reach agreements on all core issues that will form the foundation of a lasting peace.

To be sure, the president and prime minister’s agenda will comprise other important issues. Views will be exchanged on mutually crucial matters such as the impact of the newly instituted sanctions on Iran and the possibilities of detaching Syria from Tehran’s orbit. The two leaders will certainly review Israel’s recent adjustment of its policies toward Gaza, easing the restrictions on imports to the civilian population while maintaining the naval blockade necessary to deny massive arm shipments to Hamas. A tour d’horizon of Middle East politics — the internal stability of various regimes, the situation in Iraq, the fight on terror — should also be expected.

But, the strategic and political issues and the quest for peace will not be the exclusive focus of the Obama-Netanyahu discussions. Israel is today America’s twentieth largest customer in the world — bigger than Saudi Arabia, Argentina, and Russia — and a major partner in scientific research and development. The two leaders may explore ways to expand this cooperation, especially in the fields of sustainable agriculture and alternative energy.

The U.S.-Israel relationship is not, however, confined to a rapport between two individuals or even the governments they head. Rather, it is an alliance between two peoples with deep spiritual and democratic roots.

This kinship transcends occasional policy differences and partisan politics. Indeed, the bipartisan nature of American support for Israel was recently reaffirmed in Congressional letters upholding Israel’s right to self-defense and recognizing its commitment to peace. These statements received overwhelming support from both sides of the aisle and reflect unwavering backing for Israel among the American public.

The visit of an Israeli prime minister to Washington is always a source of popular interest. When Benjamin Netanyahu enters the White House on Tuesday, no doubt a great many cameras will follow him and commentators will parse his and President Obama’s every word. Observers can be assured, however, that the interaction, whether in public or behind the scenes, will be characterized by cooperation, candid communication and respect. Those are the cornerstones of any alliance and especially one as multi-faceted and historic as that between the United States and Israel.

Michael Oren is Israel’s ambassador to the United States.

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Photo: Wikimedia Commons

For decades the Middle East has been continuously in turmoil, with a de facto state of war for many countries exacerbated by internal politics. Today we have the most important conflict emerging which will shape every corner of the Middle East. On one side of this conflict are Islamic extremist groups who are pushing for the implementation of Shariah, or Islamic law. Their goal is the creation of a unified Islamic Kingdom (Caliphate) which most Muslims acknowledge has not existed since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. On the other side stands the moderate camp, which despite their positions as leaders in government, shield themselves from progressives and liberalizing forces in order to keep the status quo which has kept them in power for decades.

The internal political map and dynamics inside Lebanon, a small but important state in the Middle East, always reflected the regional forces and conflicts in a very clear and sharp way.

The Extremist camp led by Hezbollah, supported by Iran and Syria are at odds with the March 14th camp, which was successful in expelling Syria from Lebanon and recently brought the killers of former Prime Minister Rafik Al Hariri to justice in international court

In May of 2008 the Lebanese government, led by the March 14 Alliance sacked Wafeek Shukiera, a military officer who had been passing sensitive intelligence and national security secrets to Hezbollah. In doing so, the moderate Lebanese government was able to disable the underground telecommunications network linking Hezbollah with the Lebanese army. To say this was a wildly successful operation would be an understatement.

The effects of this move were enormouse. The government of the March 14th Alliance and their allies ended the occupation of West Beirut by Hezbollah without involving the Lebanese army in a bloody urban skirmish or subjecting its citizens to Hezbollah attacks..

Walleed Junblat, one of the leaders of the March 14th Alliance and Prime Minister Saad Al Hariri were applauded by the United States, Europe, and Lebanon’s moderate allies in the region. Yet, they felt deserted by their internal allies.

In contrast, Hezbollah and their counterparts received and are still receiving full support economically, logistically, and morally from their sponsors. Their power is only augmented by their sophisticated weapons brought by Iran and Syria, in clear violation of UN Resolution 1701.

Lebanon now feels abandoned and alone, a country where an international terrorist organization not only has the most influence, but is well equipped by Iran and Syria to plunge the country into another civil war. With only a pat on the back coming from the West for their work in countering Hezbollah, the Lebanese government is losing faith that the world will come to their side in case of an emergency. The consequences will be dire.

As a result, the question of Hezbollah’s weaponry is not an issue that is acceptable in Lebanese political discourse. Only two years ago, this was a central issue. Today, Lebanese do not even discuss the influence Syria and Lebanon have in their country – not out of disinterest, but fear. Further more, the leaders of the March 14th Alliance, Prime Minister Hariri and Junblat, both of whom had their fathers assassinated by the Syrian Regime, are forced to proverbially bow down to Syrian President Assad.

The fight for Lebanon is not over, but the moderates are losing as the extremists hold sway. As in many countries in the region, moderate forces need to be empowered with the full economic and political support of the Western world to stand a chance against the likes of Hezbollah. Because right now, the Lebanese government and its people are on the pitch, and they desperately need a goal.

Raslan Abu Rukun is Israel’s Deputy Consul General in Philadelphia and the first Arab-Israeli diplomat to hold the position.

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Yasser Kashlak, organizer of another flotilla which will be leaving from Beirut, has been found to be a friend of Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah. Said Mr. Kashlak in a letter for Nasrallah, “In the name of the Palestinian people… we stress that we are taking the path of resistance.”

One of the ships, Miriam, is being led by Samar al-Hajj, who is the wife of a Lebanese officer who served a prison sentence for his involvement in the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. Three weeks ago, to celebrate the officer’s release, al-Hajj met with Hezbollah’s Nasrallah to thank him for his support.

There are a lot of unknowns about the incoming Lebanese ships. However, according to international law, Israel has the right and the obligation to redirect ships trying to break the law. Israel can then bring them to an Israeli port for inspection.

Please stay tuned for future updates. To read more, click here.

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Photo: IDF Spokesperson

Israel is setting up a commission led by former Supreme Court Justice Jacob Turkel to investigate actions taken by the State of Israel to prevent vessels from reaching the coast of the Gaza Strip on May 31st, 2010.

In addition to Justice Turkel, the Commission will have two members and two foreign experts who will serve as observers. The members of the Commission will be Shabbtai Rosen and Amos Horev, experts on international law.

The foreign observers will include Lord David Trimble, Nobel Peace laureate from Northern Ireland and Brig. Gen. Ken Watkin, a former judge advocate general of the Canadian Forces.

Said U.S. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, “today, the Government of Israel took an important step forward in proposing an independent public commission to investigate the circumstances of the recent tragic events on board the flotilla headed for Gaza.”

He went on to say that Israel “meets international standards and is capable of conducting a serious and credible investigation, and the structure and terms of reference of Israel’s proposed independent public commission can meet the standards of a prompt, impartial, credible, and transparent investigation.”

The cabinet has already approved the proposal, which you can read in its entirety here.

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“If you will it, it is no dream.” With these words Theodor Herzl concluded his novel “Old-New Land” in 1906.  Indeed, 42 years later it was no longer only a dream.  Millions of Jews once again had a homeland. It’s a uniqueness in world history, for no other people that were sent for extinct were able to reassert its sovereignty and its national life.  For 2000 years, the Jewish people were yearning to return to its homeland.  It was because of this dream and this history that they willed the dream to be a reality, “If you will it, it is no dream.”

Once the Jewish people established their new state, they made the dessert bloom.  It was not only a resurrection of a nation but also of its land.  It was because of the strong belief of “If you will it, it is no dream.”

Since the first hours of Israel’s national revival of its land, and until this very day, the Jewish people were forced to defend its land and its people; to fight the ones who denied its very existence and right of self-determination.  Israel found itself out-numbered by its enemies.  The Jewish people paid a high price for its independence, but succeed in turning back the incoming forces because they believed that: “If you will it, it is no dream.”

From a scarce economy based on agriculture, Israel became one of the strongest economies in the world.  Our inventions and innovations are found everywhere – from cell phones and solar panels to medications and research.  We managed to grown and succeed because we believe that: “If you will it, it is no dream.”

Since Israel’s independence, it has been a vibrant democracy, where every citizen, regardless of color, religion or gender, has the right to vote and to be elected. Israeli newspapers are filled with discussion of Israeli politics and you can hear arguments regarding policy at every street corner, in every cab, and at every marketplace.

Israel is a place where gay couples walk hand-in-hand along the shores of Tel Aviv and Hassidim dance at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. It is the place where Muslim women place a ballot to elect new municipal leaders and members of the Knesset because all citizens of Israel believes that: “If you will it, it is no dream.”

For 62 years, Israel has extended its hand for peace to all its Arab neighbors. Some, like Egypt and Jordan, have taken our hand and have, understanding that peace benefits all.  We are hoping for the day that all our neighbors understand this and accept our ever standing offer of peace.  We understand that this is not easy and that great emotion exists on both sides. However, a solution must come.  Israel understands this.  It is our will to come to a peace agreement with our Palestinian neighbors which will end the conflict between our nations: A Palestinian state for the Palestinian nation and a Jewish state for the Jewish nation.  If you will it, it is no dream.

Happy Birthday Israel.

By Joel Lion, Spokesperson and Consul for Media Affairs at the Consulate General of Israel in New York

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The only Christian TV station in the West Bank has been shut down by the Palestinian Authority after 14 years on the air. Al-Mahed “Nativity” TV sits just a stone’s throw from the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, believed by many Christians, Muslims and even Jews to be the site of Jesus’ birth.

As stated on its own website, Al-Mahed’s “Nativity” TV’s mission is “to help in building a Palestinian civil society, based on the principles of freedom, democracy, pluralism, anti-discrimination and equality of all in front of the law.”

According to the station’s general manager Samir Qumsieh, Al-Mahed “Nativity” TV was shut down for not paying additional money for a “license,” despite having operated with great Palestinian support for over a decade. While silencing voices may be par for the course in Hamas-controlled Gaza, this decision by the PA in the West Bank is disturbing and hopefully not a portent of things to come.

To read more, click here.

Photo provided by Flickr. Used under Creative Commons License.

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Nearly 62 years ago, the United Nations recognized the right of the Jews, an ancient people 3,500 years-old, to a state of their own in their ancestral homeland.

I stand here today as the Prime Minister of Israel, the Jewish state, and I speak to you on behalf of my country and my people.

The United Nations was founded after the carnage of World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust.  It was charged with preventing the recurrence of such horrendous events.

Nothing has undermined that central mission more than the systematic assault on the truth. Yesterday the President of Iran stood at this very podium, spewing his latest anti-Semitic rants.  Just a few days earlier, he again claimed that the Holocaust is a lie.

Last month, I went to a villa in a suburb of Berlin called Wannsee. There, on January 20, 1942, after a hearty meal, senior Nazi officials met and decided how to exterminate the Jewish people. The detailed minutes of that meeting have been preserved by successive German governments. Here is a copy of those minutes, in which the Nazis issued precise instructions on how to carry out the extermination of the Jews.   Is this a lie?

A day before I was in Wannsee, I was given in Berlin the original construction plans for the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Those plans are signed by Hitler’s deputy, Heinrich Himmler himself.  Here is a copy of the plans for Auschwitz-Birkenau, where one million Jews were murdered.  Is this too a lie?

This June, President Obama visited the Buchenwald concentration camp.  Did President Obama pay tribute to a lie?

And what of the Auschwitz survivors whose arms still bear the tattooed numbers branded on them by the Nazis? Are those tattoos a lie?  One-third of all Jews perished in the conflagration.  Nearly every Jewish family was affected, including my own.  My wife’s grandparents, her father’s two sisters and three brothers, and all the aunts, uncles and cousins were all murdered by the Nazis.  Is that also a lie?

Yesterday, the man who calls the Holocaust a lie spoke from this podium.  To those who refused to come here and to those who left this room in protest, I commend you.  You stood up for moral clarity and you brought honor to your countries.

But to those who gave this Holocaust-denier a hearing, I say on behalf of my people, the Jewish people, and decent people everywhere: Have you no shame?  Have you no decency?

A mere six decades after the Holocaust, you give legitimacy to a man who denies that the murder of six million Jews took place and pledges to wipe out the Jewish state.

What a disgrace!  What a mockery of the charter of the United Nations!  Perhaps some of you think that this man and his odious regime threaten only the Jews.  You’re wrong.

History has shown us time and again that what starts with attacks on the Jews eventually ends up engulfing many others.

This Iranian regime is fueled by an extreme fundamentalism that burst onto the world scene three decades ago after lying dormant for centuries.  In the past thirty years, this fanaticism has swept the globe with a murderous violence and cold-blooded impartiality in its choice of victims. It has callously slaughtered Moslems and Christians, Jews and Hindus, and many others.  Though it is comprised of different offshoots, the adherents of this unforgiving creed seek to return humanity to medieval times.

Wherever they can, they impose a backward regimented society where women, minorities, gays or anyone not deemed to be a true believer is brutally subjugated. The struggle against this fanaticism does not pit faith against faith nor civilization against civilization.

It pits civilization against barbarism, the 21st century against the 9th century, those who sanctify life against those who glorify death.

The primitivism of the 9th century ought to be no match for the progress of the 21st century.  The allure of freedom, the power of technology, the reach of communications should surely win the day.    Ultimately, the past cannot triumph over the future. And the future offers all nations magnificent bounties of hope.   The pace of progress is growing exponentially.

It took us centuries to get from the printing press to the telephone, decades to get from the telephone to the personal computer, and only a few years to get from the personal computer to the internet.

What seemed impossible a few years ago is already outdated, and we can scarcely fathom the changes that are yet to come. We will crack the genetic code.  We will cure the incurable.  We will lengthen our lives.  We will find a cheap alternative to fossil fuels and clean up the planet.

I am proud that my country Israel is at the forefront of these advances – by leading innovations in science and technology, medicine and biology, agriculture and water, energy and the environment. These innovations the world over offer humanity a sunlit future of unimagined promise.

But if the most primitive fanaticism can acquire the most deadly weapons, the march of history could be reversed for a time. And like the belated victory over the Nazis, the forces of progress and freedom will prevail only after an horrific toll of blood and fortune has been exacted from mankind. That is why the greatest threat facing the world today is the marriage between religious fanaticism and the weapons of mass destruction.

The most urgent challenge facing this body is to prevent the tyrants of Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Are the member states of the United Nations up to that challenge? Will the international community confront a despotism that terrorizes its own people as they bravely stand up for freedom?

Will it take action against the dictators who stole an election in broad daylight and gunned down Iranian protesters who died in the streets choking in their own blood? Will the international community thwart the world’s most pernicious sponsors and practitioners of terrorism?

Above all, will the international community stop the terrorist regime of Iran from developing atomic weapons, thereby endangering the peace of the entire world?

The people of Iran are courageously standing up to this regime.  People of goodwill around the world stand with them, as do the thousands who have been protesting outside this hall. Will the United Nations stand by their side?

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The jury is still out on the United Nations, and recent signs are not encouraging. Rather than condemning the terrorists and their Iranian patrons, some here have condemned their victims. That is exactly what a recent UN report on Gaza did, falsely equating the terrorists with those they targeted.

For eight long years, Hamas fired from Gaza thousands of missiles, mortars and rockets on nearby Israeli cities. Year after year, as these missiles were deliberately hurled at our civilians, not a single UN resolution was passed condemning those criminal attacks.  We heard nothing – absolutely nothing – from the UN Human Rights Council, a misnamed institution if there ever was one.

In 2005, hoping to advance peace, Israel unilaterally withdrew from every inch of Gaza.  It dismantled 21 settlements and uprooted over 8,000 Israelis.  We didn’t get peace.  Instead we got an Iranian backed terror base fifty miles from Tel Aviv.   Life in Israeli towns and cities next to Gaza became a nightmare. You see, the Hamas rocket attacks not only continued, they increased tenfold. Again, the UN was silent.

Finally, after eight years of this unremitting assault, Israel was finally forced to respond. But how should we have responded? Well, there is only one example in history of thousands of rockets being fired on a country’s civilian population.  It happened when the Nazis rocketed British cities during World War II. During that war, the allies leveled German cities, causing hundreds of thousands of casualties.   Israel chose to respond differently.  Faced with an enemy committing a double war crime of firing on civilians while hiding behind civilians – Israel sought to conduct surgical strikes against the rocket launchers.

That was no easy task because the terrorists were firing missiles from homes and schools, using mosques as weapons depots and ferreting explosives in ambulances. Israel, by contrast, tried to minimize casualties by urging Palestinian civilians to vacate the targeted areas.

We dropped countless flyers over their homes, sent thousands of text messages and called thousands of cell phones asking people to leave. Never has a country gone to such extraordinary lengths to remove the enemy’s civilian population from harm’s way.

Yet faced with such a clear case of aggressor and victim, who did the UN Human Rights Council decide to condemn? Israel.  A democracy legitimately defending itself against terror is morally hanged, drawn and quartered, and given an unfair trial to boot.

By these twisted standards, the UN Human Rights Council would have dragged Roosevelt and Churchill to the dock as war criminals.  What a perversion of truth.  What a perversion of justice.

Delegates of the United Nations,

Will you accept this farce?

Because if you do, the United Nations would revert to its darkest days, when the worst violators of human rights sat in judgment against the law-abiding democracies, when Zionism was equated with racism and when an automatic majority could declare that the earth is flat.

If this body does not reject this report, it would send a message to terrorists everywhere: Terror pays; if you launch your attacks from densely populated areas, you will win immunity. And in condemning Israel, this body would also deal a mortal blow to peace.  Here’s why.

When Israel left Gaza, many hoped that the missile attacks would stop.  Others believed that at the very least, Israel would have international legitimacy to exercise its right of self-defense. What legitimacy?  What self-defense?

The same UN that cheered Israel as it left Gaza and promised to back our right of self-defense now accuses us –my people, my country – of war crimes?  And for what?  For acting responsibly in self-defense.  What a travesty!

Israel justly defended itself against terror.  This biased and unjust report is a clear-cut test for all governments. Will you stand with Israel or will you stand with the terrorists?

We must know the answer to that question now. Now and not later. Because if Israel is again asked to take more risks for peace, we must know today that you will stand with us tomorrow. Only if we have the confidence that we can defend ourselves can we take further risks for peace.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

All of Israel wants peace.

Any time an Arab leader genuinely wanted peace with us, we made peace. We made peace with Egypt led by Anwar Sadat.  We made peace with Jordan led by King Hussein.  And if the Palestinians truly want peace, I and my government, and the people of Israel, will make peace. But we want a genuine peace, a defensible peace, a permanent peace. In 1947, this body voted to establish two states for two peoples – a Jewish state and an Arab state.  The Jews accepted that resolution.  The Arabs rejected it.

We ask the Palestinians to finally do what they have refused to do for 62 years:  Say yes to a Jewish state. Just as we are asked to recognize a nation-state for the Palestinian people, the Palestinians must be asked to recognize the nation state of the Jewish people.   The Jewish people are not foreign conquerors in the Land of Israel.   This is the land of our forefathers.

Inscribed on the walls outside this building is the great Biblical vision of peace: “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation.  They shall learn war no more.” These words were spoken by the Jewish prophet Isaiah 2,800 years ago as he walked in my country, in my city, in the hills of Judea and in the streets of Jerusalem.

We are not strangers to this land.  It is our homeland. As deeply connected as we are to this land, we recognize that the Palestinians also live there and want a home of their own. We want to live side by side with them, two free peoples living in peace, prosperity and dignity.

But we must have security.  The Palestinians should have all the powers to govern themselves except those handful of powers that could endanger Israel.

That is why a Palestinian state must be effectively demilitarized.   We don’t want another Gaza, another Iranian backed terror base abutting Jerusalem and perched on the hills a few kilometers from Tel Aviv.

We want peace.

I believe such a peace can be achieved.  But only if we roll back the forces of terror, led by Iran, that seek to destroy peace, eliminate Israel and overthrow the world order.  The question facing the international community is whether it is prepared to confront those forces or accommodate them.

Over seventy years ago, Winston Churchill lamented what he called the “confirmed unteachability of mankind,” the unfortunate habit of civilized societies to sleep until danger nearly overtakes them.

Churchill bemoaned what he called the “want of foresight, the unwillingness to act when action will be simple and effective, the lack of clear thinking, the confusion of counsel until emergency comes, until self-preservation strikes its jarring gong.”

I speak here today in the hope that Churchill’s assessment of the “unteachibility of mankind” is for once proven wrong.

I speak here today in the hope that we can learn from history — that we can prevent danger in time.

In the spirit of the timeless words spoken to Joshua over 3,000 years ago, let us be strong and of good courage.  Let us confront this peril, secure our future and, God willing, forge an enduring peace for generations to come.

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To learn more about these efforts, visit: Supporting Palestinian Capacity
Building: Israel’s Efforts in Supporting the Palestinian Economy, Civil Affairs and
Security Reforms

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