Israel welcomes the Quartet’s call for direct  negotiations between the parties without preconditions, as called for by both President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu.

While Israel has some concerns, it will raise them at the appropriate time. Israel calls on the Palestinian Authority to do the same and to enter into direct negotiations without delay.

In the Quartet’s statement, they proposed the following steps:

1.   Within a month, there will be a preparatory meeting between the parties to agree an agenda and method of proceeding in the negotiation.

2.   At that meeting, there will be a commitment by both sides that the objective of any negotiation is to reach an agreement within a time frame agreed to by the parties, but not longer than the end of 2012. The Quartet expects the parties to come forward with comprehensive proposals within three months on territory and security, and to have made substantial progress within six months. To that end, the Quartet will convene an international conference in Moscow, in consultation with the parties, at the appropriate time.

3.   There will be a donors’ conference at which the international community will give full and sustained support to the Palestinian Authority state-building actions developed by Prime Minister Fayyad under the leadership of President Abbas.

4.   The Quartet recognizes the achievements of the Palestinian Authority in preparing institutions for statehood as evidenced in reports to the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, and stresses the need to preserve and build on them. In this regard, the members of the Quartet will consult to identify additional steps they can actively support towards Palestinian statehood, individually and together, to secure, in accordance with existing procedures, significantly greater independence and sovereignty for the Palestinian Authority over its affairs.

5.   The Quartet calls upon the parties to refrain from provocative actions if negotiations are to be effective. The Quartet reiterated the obligations of both parties under the Road Map.

6.   The Quartet committed to remain actively involved and to encourage and review progress. The Quartet agreed to meet regularly and to task the envoys and the Quartet Representative to intensify their cooperation, including by meeting prior to the parties’ preparatory meeting, and to formulate recommendations for Quartet action.

Message of the President of the State of Israel, Mr. Shimon Peres

to the Jewish Communities in the Diaspora

on the occasion of the Jewish New Year 5772

Hopefully, the coming New Year will herald the realization of our aspirations for peace, greater security and economic growth, as we continue to strive to safeguard the future of the Jewish people and strengthen the ties between Israel and our Jewish brethren in the Diaspora.

Dramatic changes have swept across our region in the past year, changing the face of the Middle East forever. It has been generated by a young generation that bravely fought to free themselves of the shackles of the oppressive regimes that governed them, putting their lives at risk as they resolutely demanded their basic rights for freedom, democracy, dignity and jobs. Until the dust settles, it is hard to forecast what lies ahead, but along with the risks, the coming year could offer tremendous opportunities and possibilities, and we must have the courage and foresight to seize this window of opportunity to secure a better future. A trend towards democracy and freedom in the region will benefit Israel as well, and we shall closely watch its progress.

Changes have also occurred in Israel. The grassroots social justice movement that has sprouted up across the country has demonstrated that the people of Israel are engaged and socially aware, denoting a spirit of solidarity for each other and their society. They are prepared to fight for a better future for themselves and their children, and it has been an uplifting experience to witness the sight of hundreds of thousands of people peacefully raising their voice in unison for their rights.  Here too an opportunity for change exists and must not be wasted.

Jews in Israel and Jews in the Diaspora share a common bond and destiny; they are responsible for one another. These bonds must never weaken, but always strengthen, and to this end educating Jewish youth about Israel, while cultivating their engagement to Israel, is of paramount importance. No less important is the education of Israeli youth about their brothers and sisters in the Diaspora, making it clear to young and old, in Israel and abroad, that  Israel belongs to all of the Jewish people, and that a strong Israel – Diaspora relationship constitutes the bridge that connects us. Together we can develop a vision for the future of the Jewish people based on the Jewish values of Tikun Olam and peace.

The coming year will be a critical period for Israel, the entire region, and the world, with complex challenges ahead. Standing united while facing existential threats will give us the strength to prevail.  But it will also be a period of opportunities, and I hope we shall take advantage of these opportunities to create a year of promise, growth, and security.

As we look towards a better tomorrow, from Jerusalem I extend my warm and best wishes to the Jewish people around the world for a year of peace, joy, good health and prosperity.

Shana Tova,

Shimon Peres

 

Remarks by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the U.N. General Assembly Location: United Nations Headquarters, New York City, New York Time: 1:29 p.m. EDT Date: Friday, September 23, 2011

MR. : The assembly will now hear a statement by His Excellency Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of the state of Israel. (Cheers, applause.) I have great pleasure in welcoming His Excellency Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of the state of Israel.

PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: Thank you. Thank you.

MR. : I invite him to address the General Assembly.

PRIME MIN. NETANYAHU: Thank you, Mr. President.

Ladies and gentlemen, Israel has extended its hand in peace from the moment it was established 63 years ago. On behalf of Israel and the Jewish people, I extend that hand again today. I extend it to the people of Egypt and Jordan, with renewed friendship for neighbors with whom we have made peace. I extend it to the people of Turkey, with respect and good will. I extend it to the people of Libya and Tunisia, with admiration for those trying to build a democratic future. I extend it to the other peoples of North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, with whom we want to forge a new beginning. I extend it to the people of Syria, Lebanon and Iran, with awe at the courage of those fighting brutal repression.

But most especially, I extend my hand to the Palestinian people, with whom we seek a just and lasting peace. (Applause.)

Ladies and gentlemen, in Israel our hope for peace never wanes. Our scientists, doctors, innovators, apply their genius to improve the world of tomorrow. Our artists, our writers, enrich the heritage of humanity. Now, I know that this is not exactly the image of Israel that is often portrayed in this hall. After all, it was here in 1975 that the age-old yearning of my people to restore our national life in our ancient biblical homeland — it was then that this was braided — branded, rather — shamefully, as racism. And it was here in 1980, right here, that the historic peace agreement between Israel and Egypt wasn’t praised; it was denounced! And it’s here year after year that Israel is unjustly singled out for condemnation. It’s singled out for condemnation more often than all the nations of the world combined. Twenty-one out of the 27 General Assembly resolutions condemn Israel — the one true democracy in the Middle East.

Well, this is an unfortunate part of the U.N. institution. It’s the — the theater of the absurd. It doesn’t only cast Israel as the villain; it often casts real villains in leading roles: Gadhafi’s Libya chaired the U.N. Commission on Human Rights; Saddam’s Iraq headed the U.N. Committee on Disarmament.

You might say: That’s the past. Well, here’s what’s happening now — right now, today. Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon now presides over the U.N. Security Council. This means, in effect, that a terror organization presides over the body entrusted with guaranteeing the world’s security.

You couldn’t make this thing up.

So here in the U.N., automatic majorities can decide anything. They can decide that the sun sets in the west or rises in the west. I think the first has already been pre-ordained. But they can also decide — they have decided that the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Judaism’s holiest place, is occupied Palestinian territory.

And yet even here in the General Assembly, the truth can sometimes break through. In 1984 when I was appointed Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, I visited the great rabbi of Lubavich. He said to me — and ladies and gentlemen, I don’t want any of you to be offended because from personal experience of serving here, I know there are many honorable men and women, many capable and decent people serving their nations here. But here’s what the rebbe said to me. He said to me, you’ll be serving in a house of many lies. And then he said, remember that even in the darkest place, the light of a single candle can be seen far and wide.

Today I hope that the light of truth will shine, if only for a few minutes, in a hall that for too long has been a place of darkness for my country. So as Israel’s prime minister, I didn’t come here to win applause. I came here to speak the truth. (Cheers, applause.) The truth is — the truth is that Israel wants peace. The truth is that I want peace. The truth is that in the Middle East at all times, but especially during these turbulent days, peace must be anchored in security. The truth is that we cannot achieve peace through U.N. resolutions, but only through direct negotiations between the parties. The truth is that so far the Palestinians have refused to negotiate. The truth is that Israel wants peace with a Palestinian state, but the Palestinians want a state without peace. And the truth is you shouldn’t let that happen.

Ladies and gentlemen, when I first came here 27 years ago, the world was divided between East and West. Since then the Cold War ended, great civilizations have risen from centuries of slumber, hundreds of millions have been lifted out of poverty, countless more are poised to follow, and the remarkable thing is that so far this monumental historic shift has largely occurred peacefully. Yet a malignancy is now growing between East and West that threatens the peace of all. It seeks not to liberate, but to enslave, not to build, but to destroy.

That malignancy is militant Islam. It cloaks itself in the mantle of a great faith, yet it murders Jews, Christians and Muslims alike with unforgiving impartiality. On September 11th it killed thousands of Americans, and it left the twin towers in smoldering ruins. Last night I laid a wreath on the 9/11 memorial. It was deeply moving. But as I was going there, one thing echoed in my mind: the outrageous words of the president of Iran on this podium yesterday. He implied that 9/11 was an American conspiracy. Some of you left this hall. All of you should have. (Applause.)

Since 9/11, militant Islamists slaughtered countless other innocents — in London and Madrid, in Baghdad and Mumbai, in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, in every part of Israel. I believe that the greatest danger facing our world is that this fanaticism will arm itself with nuclear weapons. And this is precisely what Iran is trying to do.

Can you imagine that man who ranted here yesterday — can you imagine him armed with nuclear weapons? The international community must stop Iran before it’s too late. If Iran is not stopped, we will all face the specter of nuclear terrorism, and the Arab Spring could soon become an Iranian winter. That would be a tragedy. Millions of Arabs have taken to the streets to replace tyranny with liberty, and no one would benefit more than Israel if those committed to freedom and peace would prevail.

This is my fervent hope. But as the prime minister of Israel, I cannot risk the future of the Jewish state on wishful thinking. Leaders must see reality as it is, not as it ought to be. We must do our best to shape the future, but we cannot wish away the dangers of the present.

And the world around Israel is definitely becoming more dangerous. Militant Islam has already taken over Lebanon and Gaza. It’s determined to tear apart the peace treaties between Israel and Egypt and between Israel and Jordan. It’s poisoned many Arab minds against Jews and Israel, against America and the West. It opposes not the policies of Israel but the existence of Israel.

Now, some argue that the spread of militant Islam, especially in these turbulent times — if you want to slow it down, they argue, Israel must hurry to make concessions, to make territorial compromises. And this theory sounds simple. Basically it goes like this: Leave the territory, and peace will be advanced. The moderates will be strengthened, the radicals will be kept at bay. And don’t worry about the pesky details of how Israel will actually defend itself; international troops will do the job.

These people say to me constantly: Just make a sweeping offer, and everything will work out. You know, there’s only one problem with that theory. We’ve tried it and it hasn’t worked. In 2000 Israel made a sweeping peace offer that met virtually all of the Palestinian demands. Arafat rejected it. The Palestinians then launched a terror attack that claimed a thousand Israeli lives.

Prime Minister Olmert afterwards made an even more sweeping offer, in 2008. President Abbas didn’t even respond to it.

But Israel did more than just make sweeping offers. We actually left territory. We withdrew from Lebanon in 2000 and from every square inch of Gaza in 2005. That didn’t calm the Islamic storm, the militant Islamic storm that threatens us. It only brought the storm closer and make it stronger.

Hezbollah and Hamas fired thousands of rockets against our cities from the very territories we vacated. See, when Israel left Lebanon and Gaza, the moderates didn’t defeat the radicals, the moderates were devoured by the radicals. And I regret to say that international troops like UNIFIL in Lebanon and UBAM (ph) in Gaza didn’t stop the radicals from attacking Israel.

We left Gaza hoping for peace.

We didn’t freeze the settlements in Gaza, we uprooted them. We did exactly what the theory says: Get out, go back to the 1967 borders, dismantle the settlements.

And I don’t think people remember how far we went to achieve this. We uprooted thousands of people from their homes. We pulled children out of — out of their schools and their kindergartens. We bulldozed synagogues. We even — we even moved loved ones from their graves. And then, having done all that, we gave the keys of Gaza to President Abbas.

Now the theory says it should all work out, and President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority now could build a peaceful state in Gaza. You can remember that the entire world applauded. They applauded our withdrawal as an act of great statesmanship. It was a bold act of peace.

But ladies and gentlemen, we didn’t get peace. We got war. We got Iran, which through its proxy Hamas promptly kicked out the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority collapsed in a day — in one day.

President Abbas just said on this podium that the Palestinians are armed only with their hopes and dreams. Yeah, hopes, dreams and 10,000 missiles and Grad rockets supplied by Iran, not to mention the river of lethal weapons now flowing into Gaza from the Sinai, from Libya, and from elsewhere.

Thousands of missiles have already rained down on our cities. So you might understand that, given all this, Israelis rightly ask: What’s to prevent this from happening again in the West Bank? See, most of our major cities in the south of the country are within a few dozen kilometers from Gaza. But in the center of the country, opposite the West Bank, our cities are a few hundred meters or at most a few kilometers away from the edge of the West Bank.

So I want to ask you. Would any of you — would any of you bring danger so close to your cities, to your families? Would you act so recklessly with the lives of your citizens? Israel is prepared to have a Palestinian state in the West Bank, but we’re not prepared to have another Gaza there. And that’s why we need to have real security arrangements, which the Palestinians simply refuse to negotiate with us.

Israelis remember the bitter lessons of Gaza. Many of Israel’s critics ignore them. They irresponsibly advise Israel to go down this same perilous path again. Your read what these people say and it’s as if nothing happened — just repeating the same advice, the same formulas as though none of this happened.

And these critics continue to press Israel to make far-reaching concessions without first assuring Israel’s security. They praise those who unwittingly feed the insatiable crocodile of militant Islam as bold statesmen. They cast as enemies of peace those of us who insist that we must first erect a sturdy barrier to keep the crocodile out, or at the very least jam an iron bar between its gaping jaws.

So in the face of the labels and the libels, Israel must heed better advice. Better a bad press than a good eulogy, and better still would be a fair press whose sense of history extends beyond breakfast, and which recognizes Israel’s legitimate security concerns.

I believe that in serious peace negotiations, these needs and concerns can be properly addressed, but they will not be addressed without negotiations. And the needs are many, because Israel is such a tiny country. Without Judea and Samaria, the West Bank, Israel is all of 9 miles wide.

I want to put it for you in perspective, because you’re all in the city. That’s about two-thirds the length of Manhattan. It’s the distance between Battery Park and Columbia University. And don’t forget that the people who live in Brooklyn and New Jersey are considerably nicer than some of Israel’s neighbors.

So how do you — how do you protect such a tiny country, surrounded by people sworn to its destruction and armed to the teeth by Iran? Obviously you can’t defend it from within that narrow space alone. Israel needs greater strategic depth, and that’s exactly why Security Council Resolution 242 didn’t require Israel to leave all the territories it captured in the Six-Day War. It talked about withdrawal from territories, to secure and defensible boundaries. And to defend itself, Israel must therefore maintain a long-term Israeli military presence in critical strategic areas in the West Bank.

I explained this to President Abbas. He answered that if a Palestinian state was to be a sovereign country, it could never accept such arrangements. Why not? America has had troops in Japan, Germany and South Korea for more than a half a century. Britain has had an airspace in Cyprus or rather an air base in Cyprus. France has forces in three independent African nations. None of these states claim that they’re not sovereign countries.

And there are many other vital security issues that also must be addressed. Take the issue of airspace. Again, Israel’s small dimensions create huge security problems. America can be crossed by jet airplane in six hours. To fly across Israel, it takes three minutes. So is Israel’s tiny airspace to be chopped in half and given to a Palestinian state not at peace with Israel?

Our major international airport is a few kilometers away from the West Bank. Without peace, will our planes become targets for antiaircraft missiles placed in the adjacent Palestinian state? And how will we stop the smuggling into the West Bank? It’s not merely the West Bank, it’s the West Bank mountains. It just dominates the coastal plain where most of Israel’s population sits below. How could we prevent the smuggling into these mountains of those missiles that could be fired on our cities?

I bring up these problems because they’re not theoretical problems. They’re very real. And for Israelis, they’re life-and- death matters. All these potential cracks in Israel’s security have to be sealed in a peace agreement before a Palestinian state is declared, not afterwards, because if you leave it afterwards, they won’t be sealed. And these problems will explode in our face and explode the peace.

The Palestinians should first make peace with Israel and then get their state. But I also want to tell you this. After such a peace agreement is signed, Israel will not be the last country to welcome a Palestinian state as a new member of the United Nations. We will be the first. (Applause.)

And there’s one more thing. Hamas has been violating international law by holding our soldier Gilad Shalit captive for five years.

They haven’t given even one Red Cross visit. He’s held in a dungeon, in darkness, against all international norms. Gilad Shalit is the son of Aviva and Noam Shalit. He is the grandson of Zvi Shalit, who escaped the Holocaust by coming to the — in the 1930s as a boy to the land of Israel. Gilad Shalit is the son of every Israeli family. Every nation represented here should demand his immediate release. (Applause.) If you want to — if you want to pass a resolution about the Middle East today, that’s the resolution you should pass. (Applause.)

Ladies and gentlemen, last year in Israel in Bar-Ilan University, this year in the Knesset and in the U.S. Congress, I laid out my vision for peace in which a demilitarized Palestinian state recognizes the Jewish state. Yes, the Jewish state. After all, this is the body that recognized the Jewish state 64 years ago. Now, don’t you think it’s about time that Palestinians did the same?

The Jewish state of Israel will always protect the rights of all its minorities, including the more than 1 million Arab citizens of Israel. I wish I could say the same thing about a future Palestinian state, for as Palestinian officials made clear the other day — in fact, I think they made it right here in New York — they said the Palestinian state won’t allow any Jews in it. They’ll be Jew-free — Judenrein. That’s ethnic cleansing. There are laws today in Ramallah that make the selling of land to Jews punishable by death. That’s racism. And you know which laws this evokes.

Israel has no intention whatsoever to change the democratic character of our state. We just don’t want the Palestinians to try to change the Jewish character of our state. (Applause.) We want to give up — we want them to give up the fantasy of flooding Israel with millions of Palestinians.

President Abbas just stood here, and he said that the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the settlements. Well, that’s odd. Our conflict has been raging for — was raging for nearly half a century before there was a single Israeli settlement in the West Bank. So if what President Abbas is saying was true, then the — I guess that the settlements he’s talking about are Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jaffa, Be’er Sheva. Maybe that’s what he meant the other day when he said that Israel has been occupying Palestinian land for 63 years. He didn’t say from 1967; he said from 1948. I hope somebody will bother to ask him this question because it illustrates a simple truth: The core of the conflict is not the settlements. The settlements are a result of the conflict. (Applause.)

The settlements have to be — it’s an issue that has to be addressed and resolved in the course of negotiations. But the core of the conflict has always been and unfortunately remains the refusal of the Palestinians to recognize a Jewish state in any border.

I think it’s time that the Palestinian leadership recognizes what every serious international leader has recognized, from Lord Balfour and Lloyd George in 1917, to President Truman in 1948, to President Obama just two days ago right here: Israel is the Jewish state. (Applause.)

President Abbas, stop walking around this issue. Recognize the Jewish state, and make peace with us. In such a genuine peace, Israel is prepared to make painful compromises. We believe that the Palestinians should be neither the citizens of Israel nor its subjects. They should live in a free state of their own. But they should be ready, like us, for compromise. And we will know that they’re ready for compromise and for peace when they start taking Israel’s security requirements seriously and when they stop denying our historical connection to our ancient homeland.

I often hear them accuse Israel of Judaizing Jerusalem. That’s like accusing America of Americanizing Washington, or the British of Anglicizing London. You know why we’re called “Jews”? Because we come from Judea.

In my office in Jerusalem, there’s a — there’s an ancient seal. It’s a signet ring of a Jewish official from the time of the Bible. The seal was found right next to the Western Wall, and it dates back 2,700 years, to the time of King Hezekiah. Now, there’s a name of the Jewish official inscribed on the ring in Hebrew. His name was Netanyahu. That’s my last name. My first name, Benjamin, dates back a thousand years earlier to Benjamin — Binyamin — the son of Jacob, who was also known as Israel. Jacob and his 12 sons roamed these same hills of Judea and Sumeria 4,000 years ago, and there’s been a continuous Jewish presence in the land ever since.

And for those Jews who were exiled from our land, they never stopped dreaming of coming back: Jews in Spain, on the eve of their expulsion; Jews in the Ukraine, fleeing the pogroms; Jews fighting the Warsaw Ghetto, as the Nazis were circling around it. They never stopped praying, they never stopped yearning. They whispered: Next year in Jerusalem. Next year in the promised land. (Applause.)

As the prime minister of Israel, I speak for a hundred generations of Jews who were dispersed throughout the lands, who suffered every evil under the Sun, but who never gave up hope of restoring their national life in the one and only Jewish state.

Ladies and gentlemen, I continue to hope that President Abbas will be my partner in peace. I’ve worked hard to advance that peace. The day I came into office, I called for direct negotiations without preconditions. President Abbas didn’t respond. I outlined a vision of peace of two states for two peoples. He still didn’t respond. I removed hundreds of roadblocks and checkpoints, to ease freedom of movement in the Palestinian areas; this facilitated a fantastic growth in the Palestinian economy. But again — no response. I took the unprecedented step of freezing new buildings in the settlements for 10 months. No prime minister did that before, ever. (Scattered applause.) Once again — you applaud, but there was no response. No response.

In the last few weeks, American officials have put forward ideas to restart peace talks. There were things in those ideas about borders that I didn’t like. There were things there about the Jewish state that I’m sure the Palestinians didn’t like.

But with all my reservations, I was willing to move forward on these American ideas.

President Abbas, why don’t you join me? We have to stop negotiating about the negotiations. Let’s just get on with it. Let’s negotiate peace. (Applause.)

I spent years defending Israel on the battlefield. I spent decades defending Israel in the court of public opinion. President Abbas, you’ve dedicated your life to advancing the Palestinian cause. Must this conflict continue for generations, or will we enable our children and our grandchildren to speak in years ahead of how we found a way to end it? That’s what we should aim for, and that’s what I believe we can achieve.

In two and a half years, we met in Jerusalem only once, even though my door has always been open to you. If you wish, I’ll come to Ramallah. Actually, I have a better suggestion. We’ve both just flown thousands of miles to New York. Now we’re in the same city. We’re in the same building. So let’s meet here today in the United Nations. (Applause.) Who’s there to stop us? What is there to stop us? If we genuinely want peace, what is there to stop us from meeting today and beginning peace negotiations?

And I suggest we talk openly and honestly. Let’s listen to one another. Let’s do as we say in the Middle East: Let’s talk “doogli” (ph). That means straightforward. I’ll tell you my needs and concerns. You’ll tell me yours. And with God’s help, we’ll find the common ground of peace. (Applause.)

There’s an old Arab saying that you cannot applaud with one hand. Well, the same is true of peace. I cannot make peace alone. I cannot make peace without you. President Abbas, I extend my hand — the hand of Israel — in peace. I hope that you will grasp that hand. We are both the sons of Abraham. My people call him Avraham. Your people call him Ibrahim. We share the same patriarch. We dwell in the same land. Our destinies are intertwined. Let us realize the vision of Isaiah — (speaks in Hebrew) — “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light.” Let that light be the light of peace. (Applause.)

END.

Ahmadinejad Speech – Israel Response

Iran’s president once again, as in his previous appearances in New York and elsewhere, brought a message of hostility towards the family of nations as well as threats to global peace and security.

This should come as no surprise. Less than two weeks ago Ahmadinejad – so cordially hosted today by the UN  – reiterated his hollow assertion that the terror attack of 9/11 was a western plot, a decade after more than 3,000 innocent people lost their lives. He has reiterated this infamy today, facing the Nations.

Iran’s disdain for the international community is clear, and is exemplified by its continued serial disregard for six Security Resolutions calling on it to cease its nuclear and missile programs – as well as its arms transfers to terrorists.  For the past 10 years Tehran has defied the insistence of the International Atomic Energy Agency to come clean about its military nuclear program. Its meddling in the internal affairs of countries near and far flies in the face of respect for territorial sovereignty. A chronic violator of human rights, its cynical attempt to be elected to bodies established to fight human rights violations of all kinds is by now well known. For these reasons alone the international community should not have dignified the Iranian president with this platform to speak.

Tehran’s hostility for the Jewish state and people is also plain for all to see. Iranian leaders repeatedly call for Israel’s destruction, deny the Holocaust, and openly support terrorist organizations in word and deed – as demonstrated by its involvement in the 1994 bombing in Buenos Aires of the AMIA Jewish community center, a tragedy which still cries out for justice to be done.

12:28 pm The first panelists assemble, they include Israel Consul General in New York Ambassador Ido Aharoni, Executive Vice President of the JCRC Mr. Michael Miller, Minister MK Yuli Edelstein, and Rannen and Kasaey, two Israelis who will share unique stories and perspectives.

12:30 Ambassador Aharoni: “We expect the Palestinians to recognize our right to exist just as we recognized theirs”

12:35 Mr. Michael Miller: “I hope we all enjoy this open dialogue this afternoon”

12:37 Minister Edelstein is asked by the moderator whether the world is right to be “baffled” by Israel’s recent actions in trying to block the Palestinian’s UDI bid. Minister Edelstein: “We are prepared to negotiate a solution There is only one way to reach ANY understanding. I don’t know when negotiations will start and when they will end. One thing I know for a fact, they won’t end if they don’t start.”

12:45 Raneen Khoury, an Israeli-Arab from Nazareth talks about coming to New York. When she told people she was coming this week, people joked she was coming with Abu Mazen. Raneen emphasizes the importance of open dialogue, saying,”I’m a Christian, and I could have been a Druze or a Muslim or a Jew. But what matters above all else is I’m a person.”

12:51 Kasay Damosa is speaking now, telling the amazing story of her mother from a small Jewish village in Ethiopia. Kasaey “My family and I started the journey to Israel through Sudan in 1983. We got to Sudan and that was one of the hardest things we had to face. We were basically stuck in the refugee camp for 9 months.” While there, she says they could not tell people they were Jewish, as Sudan is a Muslim country.

1:00 Q&A has begun, see @israelconsulate for the full play by play

1:30 First panel has ended, we’ll be posting all the open debate later today on this page, but for now, head on over to twitter.com/israelconsulate to get a snapshot of the discussion

2:24 Next panel is about to start, and it should be a good one – focusing on REAL people. Read about the panelists here

2:26 We’re going to start with Adam Assad, who is a Druze-Israeli. He’s a 19 year old studying International Relations, “I want to complete the puzzle of Israeli society. I want to show you the Druze community in Israel.” “I just applied to get a new job in Haifa, and people told me, you can’t get this job because you are an Arab, you are Druze. I applied to the job and did all the interviews and my friend Masjid and I, we got the job. Out of 10 people who applied, 2 got the job – a Muslim and myself. I’m not saying Israel is perfect, in every society there is inequality, but it’s about the person”

2:34 Next up is Clara Cohen, born in Argentina, who says “I never had to choose between being Argentinian or a Jew. I can be both in Israel. I can bring my Argentinian heritage to Israel”

2:44 Hadas speaking now about her father, an Ethiopian rabbi. Her journey to Israel meant walking at night, and sleeping by day, but she was two, so someone probably carried her she jokes.

Tomorrow, Thursday, September 22nd, the Consulate General of Israel in New York, in partnership with the Jewish Community Relations Council and Israel’s Ministry for Public Diplomacy and the Diaspora is launching a very special event, one in which you can take part in!

We’re calling it “Open Tent” and it’s exactly what it sounds like. With everything going on this week at the United Nations, Israel realizes how important it is to have an honest, open dialogue. A free, no taboo discussion on Israeli society and the future of the Jewish state.

In addition to speakers ranging from Minister MK Yuli Edelstein, the event will feature leading experts from a wide array of disciplines. Most importantly, this event is about YOU! Your voice, your questions, and your involvement.

One of the panels you should be most excited about focuses on Multi-Culturalism in Israel. Realizing that diversity creates both challenges and opportunities, we want to give our followers on social media the chance to talk to real Israelis from a variety of backgrounds. No question is off limits. What do they think about the upcoming UN vote? What role do minorities play in a Jewish state?

Below, you can read a little about some of the faces of Israel we’ll be talking with tomorrow. You can submit questions you would like to ask them or Minister Edelstein below, on our Facebook page, or send us a tweet @israelconsulate.

 

Raneen Khoury

Born and raised in the city of Nazareth, Raneen has lived in the midst of Israeli co-existence, always trying to progress Arab – Jewish relations within Israel through various co-existence projects such as the establishment of the National Service Organization.

Currently she is the manager of “Lehava” project whose aim is to decrease the digital gap within Israeli society.

 

Adam Asad

Adam is a 19 year old Druze from Sajour, a village situated in the North of Israel. Throughout university, Adam was involved in community work with Muslims, Jews and Christians.   Adam is currently an English teacher and in pursuit of his second degree, a BA degree in International Relations at the University of Haifa.

 

Kasaey Keren Damoza

I was born in a small village in the Ghondar region of Ethiopia to a family of six. In 1983, my family and I set out on our journey to the land of Israel, passing through the Sudanese desert and Red Cross camps. I served at the Israeli Defense Force as a communication officer and discharged as a lieutenant. Now,I am finishing my Masters in Management of Non-Profit Organizations at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

 

Clara Cohen

36 years old.  Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Moved to Israel at the age of 21. Works as Director at Latin America & Spain Department in a privately owned company.

 

 

Hadas Yossef

Born in Ethiopia, at two years old she began the journey to Israel with her family by foot, all the way from Ethiopia through Sudan.

After completing her studies in Architecture at the Bezalel High Institute for Arts, Hadas began working as a professional architect at one of the biggest firms in Israel.

Yesterday, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told the Palestinian Donors Conference (Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee) held at the United Nations that Israel is interested in continuing to assist Palestinian economic development, but this position could be affected if the Palestinians unilaterally declare a state.

“Future assistance and cooperation could be severely and irreparably compromised if the Palestinian leadership continues on its path of essentially acting in contravention of all signed agreements, which also regulate existing economic relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority,” Ayalon told the conference, which was hosted by Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, B. Lynn Pascoe, and chaired by Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Ghar Store. The Palestinians were represented by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

Ayalon laid out all of Israel’s activities that have assisted the continued growth in the Palestinian economy during the past few years, and how cooperation with Israel is essential for the Palestinian Authority’s institution building. However, the Deputy Foreign Minister warned the Palestinians that all of this will be affected by the Palestinian initiative to bypass negotiations and impose their demands on the international community.

“The Palestinian Authority’s path of unilateralism and reneging on its commitments bodes extremely ill, not just for a peaceful resolution to our conflict, but for the immediate future,” Ayalon said. “If the Palestinian Authority is staking a path, not just against its signed commitments, but against the norms and standards of international peace-making, then it will prove very hard for the State of Israel to continue a process abandoned by its partners and co-signatories.”

Ayalon warned that unilaterally declaring statehood will have legal ramifications for any future cooperation between Israel and the Palestinians. “The State of Israel signed the Oslo Accords with the Palestinian Liberation Organization, which created the Palestinian Authority. Israel will have absolutely no obligations towards a so-called Palestinian state, especially one created artificially in this building, in breach of these very accords,” Ayalon told the donors conference.

Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister called on the international community to use its influence to call on the Palestinians to refrain from taking unilateral steps damaging for the peace process. “The international community and especially donors to the Palestinian Authority should ask for minimal standards of diplomatic practice by the Palestinians,” Ayalon said. “They should do their best to turn the Palestinian leadership away from confrontational and provocative unilateral steps and lead them back to the negotiating table where they will find waiting an Israeli government intent on finding solutions to all the outstanding issues with a view to arriving at a real and lasting end to our conflict.”

Ayalon called on the Palestinians to immediately return to the negotiating table: “It is incumbent on the Palestinian leadership to return to the path of negotiation, compromise and cooperation and lead its people towards the goals set by the international community – two states for two peoples, living in enduring peace and security.”

Deputy Foreign Minister Ayalon also called on the international community to demand the immediate release of Gilad Shalit.

Deputy Foreign Minister Ayalon met earlier in the day at the UN with Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, B. Lynn Pascoe, in the presence of Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosor. Ayalon told Pascoe that it was essential not to let the Palestinians turn the UN into a rubber stamp for Abu Mazen’s whims. If the Palestinian plan succeeds, the UN will lose status and its ability to preserve stability and order in the world, Ayalon warned.

(Communicated by the Foreign Ministry Spokesman)

Israel is sending medical supplies to Nairobi, Kenya, to assist in treating casualties of the fuel-line explosion on 12 September.  In that disaster, more than a hundred people died and hundreds were injured.

As details of the disaster became known, Gil Haskel, Israel’s ambassador to Kenya, offered Israel’s assistance to the heads of Kenyatta National Hospital, where most of the injured are hospitalized. The director of the hospital welcomed the offer and a list of needed medical supplies was formulated.

Israel will send medical supplies for long-term treatment, in accordance to the list, including more than 360 kilograms of medicines for treating burns, bandaging equipment, infusion sets, ointments and painkillers. The aid is expected to arrive in Kenya on Thursday,  September 15th.

The supplies were mobilized and dispatched by the Foreign Ministry’s MASHAV – Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation.

 

Today, the Government of Israel released its report ahead of the upcoming meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC) next week. The AHLC was  established fifteen years ago by the Government of Norway to coordinate international aid for the purpose of building and strengthening the capabilities and institutions of the Palestinian Authority. In addition to being chaired by Norway, it is co-sponsored by the E.U. and U.S.

In its report, the Government of Israel reiterated that the bilateral track with the Palestinians as the only way to reach a sustainable solution, based on two states for two peoples. The Government of Israel wishes to maintain the existing legal framework, as long as circumstances allow.

On the economic side, Israel’s policy in the West Bank has contributed significantly to growth in the past year. Trade between Israel and the PA continuously increased by 7% throughout the first half of 2011, an increase reflected by a 6% increase in tax revenue collection transferred to the PA. A higher volume of commercial goods was shipped from the West Bank via the land crossings to Israel. In the first half of 2011, there was a 31.32% increase in commercial movement of goods via the Allenby Bridge. Palestinian imports (except Israel) amounted to NIS 3,127,395,640, a 17.44% increase compared to the corresponding period last year. Palestinian exports (except Israel) amounted to USD 45,458,095 in the first half of 2011, a 23% increase compared to the first half of 2010.

Still, Israel noted in its report that “The PA now faces a financial crisis. The factors fueling the crisis include: the Palestinian budget’s ongoing dependency on foreign aid and the shortfall in aid in 2011; the PA’s inability to finance the shortfall through bank loans; the lack of sufficient internal resources to generate income; and a relatively large public sector which consumes a large portion of the budget.”

Israel calls for “ongoing international support for the PA budget and development projects that will contribute to the growth of a vibrant private sector, which will provide the PA an expanded base for generating internal revenue.”

It is important to note that Israel maintains bilateral dialogues with the PA on a variety of matters, including: financial and customs services, water and sewage infrastructure, the legal system and the rule of law, the agriculture sector, and the electricity network.

The situation in the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by Hamas, has rapidly improved, largely due to Israel’s June 20, 2010 Civilian Policy. In the Gaza Strip, in the first half of 2011, real GDP growth amounted to 28%.  Unemployment dropped to 25.6% one of the lowest rates in recent years. All this, despite the fact that between August 15 and 25, 2011, 149 rockets (of 200 fired) and 19 mortar shells fell in Israeli territory. During the summer escalation, Palestinians from Gaza continued to be granted access to enter Israel for medical treatment, as the crossings remained open despite the terror attacks launched from the Gaza Strip.

The amount of trucks allowed to enter Gaza daily, which stands at 300, actually exceeds their current need of around 230-250. As of June 2011, there is an 87% increase in the quantity of goods entering the Gaza Strip on a daily basis, and as of September 1st, there have been over 230,000 tons of construction materials which have entered Gaza so far this year. You can read the full report here.