Israel

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 neighbours with whom we have made peace. I extend it to the people of Turkey, with respect and goodwill. 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. Most especially, I extend my hand to the Palestinian people, with whom we seek a just and lasting peace. In Israel, our hope for peace never wanes. Our scientists, doctors and innovators apply their genius to improving the world of tomorrow. Our artists and 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 was branded, shamefully, as racism. It was right here in 1980 that the historic peace agreement between Israel and Egypt was not praised, but denounced. It is here, year after year, that Israel is unjustly singled out for condemnation. It is singled out for condemnation more often than all the nations of the world combined. Twenty-one out of 27 relevant General Assembly resolutions condemn Israel, the one true democracy in the Middle East. This is an unfortunate part of the United Nations institution. It is the theatre of the absurd. It not only casts Israel as the villain, it often casts real villains in leading roles. Al-Qadhafi’s Libya chaired the Commission on Human Rights. Saddam’s Iraq headed the Conference on Disarmament. One might say that is the past. Well, here is what is happening now — right now, today. Hizbullah- controlled Lebanon now presides over the Security Council. This means, in effect, that a terror organization presides over the body entrusted with guaranteeing the world’s security. One could not make this up. Here in the United Nations, automatic majorities can decide anything. They can decide that the sun rises in the west. They can also decide — they have decided — that the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Judaism’s holiest place, is occupied Palestinian territory. 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 37 11-51185 visited the great rabbi of Lubavitch. He said to me — and I do not want anyone here to be offended, because from personal experience of serving here, I know there are many honourable men and women, many capable and decent people, serving their nations here — but here is what the rebbe said to me. He said, “You will 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. As Israel’s Prime Minister, I did not come here to win applause. I came here to speak the truth. 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 can achieve peace not through United Nations 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. The truth is that the Assembly should not let that happen. 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 11 September 2001, it killed thousands of Americans and left the twin towers in smouldering ruins. Last night, I laid a wreath on the 9/11 memorial. It was deeply moving. However, as I was going there, one thing echoed in my mind: the outrageous words of the President of Iran at this rostrum yesterday. He implied that 9/11 was an American conspiracy. Some left this Hall; everyone should have. Since 9/11, militant Islamists have slaughtered countless other innocents in London and Madrid, in Baghdad and Mumbai, in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and 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 that is precisely what Iran is trying to do. Can we imagine that man who ranted here yesterday armed with nuclear weapons? The international community must stop Iran before it is too late. If Iran is not stopped, we will all face the spectre 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. That 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. The world around Israel is definitely becoming more dangerous. Militant Islam has already taken over Lebanon and Gaza. It is determined to tear apart the peace treaties between Israel and Egypt and between Israel and Jordan. It has poisoned many Arab minds against Jews and Israel, and against America and the West. It opposes not the policies of Israel but the existence of Israel. Now, some argue that if we want to slow down the spread of militant Islam, especially in these turbulent times, Israel must hurry to make concessions, including 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 do not 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”. There is only one problem with that theory. We have tried it and it has not worked. In 2000, Israel made a sweeping peace offer that met virtually all the Palestinian demands. Chairman Arafat rejected it. The Palestinians then launched a terror attack that claimed 1,000 Israeli lives. 11-51185 38 In 2008, Prime Minister Olmert afterwards made an even more sweeping offer. President Abbas did not 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 did not calm the militant Islamic storm that threatens us. It only brought the storm closer and made it stronger. Hizbullah and Hamas fired thousands of rockets against our cities from the very territories we had vacated. When Israel left Lebanon and Gaza, the moderates did not defeat the radicals; the moderates were devoured by the radicals. And I regret to say that international troops, including those of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon and the European Union Border Assistance Mission in Gaza, did not stop the radicals from attacking Israel. We left Gaza hoping for peace. We did not freeze the settlements in Gaza; we uprooted them. We did exactly what the theory says. We got out, went back to the 1967 borders and dismantled the settlements. I do not think people remember how far we went to achieve this. We uprooted thousands of people from their homes. We pulled children out of their schools and their kindergartens. We bulldozed synagogues. We even moved loved ones from their graves. And then, having done all that, we gave the keys of Gaza to President Abbas. The theory says that it should have all worked out, and that President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority could now build a peaceful state in Gaza. We all remember that the entire world applauded our withdrawal as an act of great statesmanship and a bold act of peace. But we did not 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 from this rostrum that the Palestinians are armed only with their hopes and dreams. Yes, they are armed with their 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 it might be understand, given all this, why Israelis rightly ask, “What is to prevent this from happening again in the West Bank?” Most of the major cities in the south of our country are within a few dozen kilometres from Gaza, but in the centre of the country opposite the West Bank, our cities are a few hundred metres or at most a few kilometres from the edge of the West Bank. So I want to ask: Would anyone here bring danger so close to their cities and families? Would they act so recklessly with the lives of their citizens? Israel is prepared to have a Palestinian State in the West Bank, but we are not prepared to have another Gaza there. And that is 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. We read what these people say and it is as if nothing happened. They just repeat the same advice and 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. It is better to receive bad press than a good eulogy, and better still would be a fair press whose sense of history extends beyond breakfast and that 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 nine miles wide. I want to put that in perspective for all of us in this city. It is about two-thirds the length of Manhattan. It is the distance between Battery Park and Columbia University. And let us not forget that the people who live in Brooklyn and New Jersey are considerably nicer than some of Israel’s neighbours. So how does one protect such a tiny country, surrounded by people sworn to its destruction and armed to the teeth by Iran? Obviously, one cannot defend it from within that narrow space alone. Israel 39 11-51185 needs greater strategic depth, and that is exactly why Security Council resolution 242 (1967) did not require Israel to leave all of 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? The United States has had troops in Japan, Germany and South Korea for more than a half a century. Britain has an air base in Cyprus. France has forces in three independent African nations. None of those States claim that they are not sovereign countries. 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. The United States 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 kilometres from the West Bank. Without peace, will our planes become targets for anti-aircraft missiles placed in the adjacent Palestinian State? And how will we stop the smuggling into the West Bank? It is not merely the West Bank; it is the West Bank mountains, which dominate the coastal plain below where most of Israel’s population sits. How could we prevent the smuggling into those mountains of missiles that could be fired at our cities? I bring up these problems because they are not theoretical problems. They are very real, and for Israelis, they are life-and-death matters. All of 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 it is left until afterwards they will not 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 say 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. There is one more thing. Hamas has been violating international law by holding our soldier Gilad Shalit captive for five years. They have not allowed even one Red Cross visit. He is 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 land of Israel as a boy in the 1930s. Gilad Shalit is the son of every Israeli family. Every nation represented here should demand his immediate release. If we want to adopt a resolution about the Middle East today, that is the resolution we should adopt. Last year in Israel at Bar-Ilan University, and this year in the Knesset and the United States 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, does the Assembly not think that it is about time that Palestinians did the same? The Jewish State of Israel will always protect the rights of all of 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 did so right here in New York — the Palestinian State would not allow any Jews. They would be Jew-free — Judenrein. That is ethnic cleansing. There are laws today in Ramallah that make the selling of land to Jews punishable by death. That is racism. And the Assembly knows which laws this evokes. Israel has no intention whatsoever of changing the democratic character of our State. We just do not want the Palestinians to try to change the Jewish character of our State. We want them to give up the fantasy of flooding Israel with millions of Palestinians. President Abbas just stood here and said that the settlements lie at the core of the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts. Well, that is odd. Our conflict 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 I guess that the settlements he is talking about are Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jaffa and Be?er Sheva. Maybe that is what he meant the other day when he said that Israel had been occupying 11-51185 40 Palestinian land for 63 years. He did not say from 1967; he said from 1948. I hope that 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. The settlements are 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 within any border. I think it is time that the Palestinian leadership recognize what every serious international leader from Lord Balfour and David Lloyd George in 1917, to President Truman in 1948, to President Obama just two days ago right here, has recognized — that Israel is the Jewish State. I would ask President Abbas to 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 are ready for compromise and 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 is like accusing America of Americanizing Washington, D.C., or the British of Anglicizing London. Why are we called Jews? Because we come from Judea. In my office in Jerusalem, there is an ancient seal. It is 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, the name of a Jewish official is inscribed on the ring in Hebrew. His name was Netanyahu. That is my last name. My first name, Benjamin, can be traced back a 1,000 years 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 Samaria 4,000 years ago, and there has been a continuous Jewish presence in the land ever since. Those Jews who were exiled from our land — Jews in Spain, on the eve of their expulsion; Jews in Ukraine, fleeing the pogroms; Jews fighting in the Warsaw Ghetto, as the Nazis were circling around it — never stopped dreaming of coming back. They never stopped praying, they never stopped yearning. They whispered: “Next year in Jerusalem. Next year in the promised land”. As the Prime Minister of Israel, I speak for a hundred generations of Jews who were dispersed throughout the lands and suffered every evil under the sun, but who never gave up hope of restoring their national life in the one and only Jewish State. I continue to hope that President Abbas will be my partner in peace. I have worked hard to advance that peace. The day I came into office, I called for direct negotiations without preconditions. President Abbas did not respond. I outlined a vision of peace of two States for two peoples. He still did not respond. I removed hundreds of roadblocks and checkpoints to ease freedom of movement in the Palestinian areas. This facilitated fantastic growth in the Palestinian economy. But again, there was no response. I took the unprecedented step of freezing new building in the settlements for 10 months. No Prime Minister had done that before, ever. Once again, I hear applause, but there was no response. No response. In the past few weeks, American officials have put forward ideas to restart peace talks. There were things in those ideas about borders that I did not like. There were things there about the Jewish State that I am sure the Palestinians did not like. But despite all of my reservations, I was willing to move forward on those American ideas. Why does President Abbas not join me? We have to stop negotiating about the negotiations. Let us just get on with it. Let us negotiate peace. I spent years defending Israel on the battlefield. I spent decades defending Israel in the court of public opinion. President Abbas has dedicated his life to advancing the Palestinian cause. Must this conflict continue for generations, or will we enable our children and our grandchildren to speak in the years ahead of how we found a way to end it? That is what we should aim for, and that is what I believe we can achieve. In two and a half years, President Abbas and I have met in Jerusalem only once, even though my door has always been open to him. If he wishes, I will come to Ramallah. Actually, I have a better suggestion. We have both just flown thousands of miles to New York. 41 11-51185 Now we are in the same city; we are in the same building. So let us meet here today, at the United Nations. Who is 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? I suggest that we talk openly and honestly. Let us listen to one another. Let us, as we say in the Middle East, talk dugri. That means “straightforward”. I will tell him my needs and concerns; he will tell me his. And with God’s help, we will find the common ground of peace. There is an old Arab saying that one cannot applaud with one hand. Well, the same is true of peace. I cannot make peace alone. I cannot make peace without an interlocutor. President Abbas, I extend my hand — the hand of Israel — in peace. I hope that he will grasp that hand. We are both the sons of Abraham. My people call him Avraham; his 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: “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light”. (The Holy Bible, Isaiah 9:2). Let that light be the light of peace.