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Monday, October 12, 2009
President Peres' speech to open the Knesset session: attributers "Iranian madness" to absence of Israeli deal with Palestinians and talks with Syria and Lebanon

Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA:

President Shimon Peres has proudly proclaimed that history is not relevant
and that the only point of reference is the future. It is a convenient way
for him to avoid addressing the miserable failure of the policies he has
pushed regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Nonetheless, it is particularly mind boggling to find the following line in
the presentation today by President Peres that apparently reflects a
decision by Peres to strip his policy recommendations of any connection to
reality.

"In my opinion, if we move forwards with peace and make peace with the
Palestinians, and if we start negotiations with Syria and Lebanon, we will
remove the main pretext for the Iranian madness - against us and against the
other residents of this region."

This is a complete and total misrepresentation of the situation.

Iran opposes a Jewish State in Tel Aviv to the same extent that it opposes a
Jewish presence in Tel Rumeida.

And Iran's "madness" is hardly limited to its desire to put an end to the
Jewish entity that it sees fouling this holy land.

Iran threatens it neighbors for many reasons - none of which have absolutely
anything to do with Israel's existence.

President Peres is living in a fantasy world if he thinks that Iran could
somehow be placated by "peace with the Palestinians" the start of
"negotiations with Syria and Lebanon."

And he does not serve Israel's interests by sharing this logic hiatus with
the world.

For if this is indeed the answer to Iran's "madness", then we are all
wasting the world's time with our concern over Iran's efforts to obtain
nuclear weapons.

President Peres unwittingly sends a message to a world that fears Iranian
nukes: sacrifice Israel.

12th October 2009
President Peres' Speech to open the Knesset Session
[Translation provided by the President's Office]

Knesset Speaker,
Prime Minister,
Madame, Head of the Opposition,
Valued Guests,
Honorable Knesset,
Welcome back in peace to the Knesset.

Sir, Knesset Speaker, I thank you for inviting me to open this Knesset
Session.
Let this speech line the walls within this house.

Members of Knesset,

This session opens in hopes of a good year for all of Israel, in prayer for
peace in Jerusalem, in hopes of Gilad Shalit's release, and in praise of Ada
Yonath's recent Nobel Prize.

This Knesset Session will have to make important decisions, even if we can
say that this session opens at a time when Israel's situation has improved
in many areas.

For example, Israel recovered first, nearly alone, and without a deep
recession from the economic crisis that afflicted our world recently.

The economic leadership acted with caution. Fortunately, Israel bustles
with the talents of all its citizens. And it seems that our economy is
taking off again with renewed growth.

Without vanity, it can be said that our country, with its small area, won
something great - the capabilities of its people.

Israel's population is one thousandths of the entire world's. Its GDP (Gross
Domestic Product) three thousandths of global GDP.

Nevertheless, the road ahead is still long and full of work.

Members of Knesset,
Two central challenges face us in the future: security and education.

Regarding security - in my opinion, Israel's construction is not complete so
long as the peace process remains unfinished.

I am aware of those that argue we lack an Arab partner. Indeed, we have no
partner for emotional peace. The peace we have, and the peace that will
come, will not be romantic. It will not come from love. It will come from
necessity.

We prefer such a peace to and endless process with no visible end. Enough
with the process, the time has come to reach final conclusions.

In a few days we will mark 15 years from the peace treaty with Jordan, and
next month we will mark 32 years since the historic visit to Israel of
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat.

I know, the peace with Egypt and the peace with Jordan are not based on
love. We do not fall into each other's friendly arms. And we even hear
incitement against us.

We did not wish for such a peace - but we must contend with what exists. And
what exists is no different than that between the rest of the world's
countries, which show little sympathy to their neighbors.

For 30 years in Egypt, and at least 15 years in Jordan, there have been no
wars at the border. Combat has ceased. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) can
focus on other objectives. Most importantly, there are no wars to take away
our children; no black frames in the newspapers, no tears.

Colleagues, this is peace. We may desire more, but this is always a better
alternative to bloodshed.

We have saved generations of Israelis, Egyptians, and Jordanians; other Arab
countries have also had to relinquish their swords and prevent their own
suffering.

In our current situation, we must choose between two options.

To be alone, isolated, and solely responsible for all the territories while
facing hostility from Palestinians and Arab states, as well as increasing
criticism from many other countries. This risks a de facto single state with
two nations.

Or, we can continue to negotiate with Palestinian Authority until we find an
acceptable solution.

I say to the government and Knesset, here and now, don't slow down the
negotiations, look for every break, try every option in order to put an end
to more than 100 years of quarrel and bloodshed. I am sure the people will
be with you.

Without negotiations Hamas will strengthen and ambush the Palestinians,
Jordanians, and Egyptians, undermining their situation, and trying to
destroy any hope for peace in our region.

There is choice - less war, and there is choice - less peace. Of course we
prefer peace. All the more so when the gap has narrowed between the
Palestinian position and the Israel position; a change caused in part by the
Prime Minister's Speech at Bar-Ilan and the improvement in the territories.

Members of Knesset,
The miracle drug we seem to have invented for all our sickness is mere
explanation. We believe that if we explain the situation, solutions will
suddenly bloom, or there will be need for them. We will not win through
explanations. We will win with actions.

In my opinion, if we move forwards with peace and make peace with the
Palestinians, and if we start negotiations with Syria and Lebanon, we will
remove the main pretext for the Iranian madness - against us and against the
other residents of this region.

The majority in Israel already accept a two state solution. We cannot
withdraw from it, and there exists today no alternative solution.

I appeal to you, Prime Minister, and I urge you, members of Knesset, that
despite hesitation on the part of Palestinians do let give up on the Israeli
dream. Call on the Palestinian Authority to establish a state on our side
that does not threaten. So that neither we nor the Palestinians have to live
under the shadow of Hamas.

We cannot miss this opportunity and go back to what has happened the past 16
years, during which we let incitement, violence, rejection, and
anti-Semitism fill the void.

We wish the contribution to peace would be symmetrical - between us and the
Arabs. But the situation is not symmetric. We must give up land and the
Palestinians must stop terrorism. The process is not symmetric at the start
but will in the end, offer symmetry to both sides - it will grant them both
peace.

The Palestinians will achieve a state of independence that does not threaten
and Israel will gain both security that doesn't depend on the mood and
normal relations with the Arabic world.

Hamas has been rubbing its own hands. It sees in the Goldstone Commission
Report a tail wind, because the Report looks for "war criminals" in the
defenders and ignores the real and permanent crime, the aggressors' crime of
terror.

Out of the 26 suggestions that the Commission made, none deal with how to
fight terrorism.

The Goldstone Commission Report says that the Palestinians have the right
'to forceful resistance based on the right of self-determination." What is
"the right to forceful resistance?" To fire on civilians?

A one-sided report will not determine our fate.

We are proud of the IDF. We are proud of its commanders and soldiers. The
IDF protects the historic right of our nation, a nation that more than once
others tried to annihilate. Sweden cannot not prevent the terror. The IDF
does.

To conclude my point-do not stop working for the resumption of negotiations
with the Palestinian Authority, with the assistance of the United States to
get to the possible peace.

Members of Knesset,

Education is another challenge. And it is no less important than achieving
peace and security.

We have no capital except for human capital. This type of capital cannot be
inherited, it can only be produced to be bequeathed to our children. Only a
just distribution of this capital can produce justice and equality for all
of Israel's citizens. Providing primary and secondary education, free, for
all of Israel's youths, promises the best future for this country.

Israel cannot accept the present decline in learning. Nor can it accept the
rise in ignorance. The violence amongst the young in our country is an
epidemic we must stand against.

Schools are Israel's melting pot. They are the shared foundation for the
secular and the religious; the poor and the rich; the Sephardic and the
Ashkenazi; the Jews, the Muslims, the Christians, the Druze, and the
Circassians living in our country.

This shared foundation must not slip out beneath our feet, such as when
state education becomes independent and private. There exists no fundamental
contradiction between religion and science. Maimonides already proved that
the laws of Halakah and scientific knowledge make not a strong combination,
but a genius one.

We cannot accept the brain drain from this country, and we must and can
ensure the return of brains to Israel.

I mention with appreciation the efforts by Education Ministry to deal
seriously with this challenge. With your permission, I would like to add to
this effort some ideas and challenges, because good intentions alone will
not improve education.

I suggest that the bulk of revenue collected from the recent economic growth
and discovery of new natural resources, like gas, will go to education and
science.

I think that it's time to spread science across the entire country; to
manufacturing and utilities, to agriculture and industry, and first and
foremost to the security network; to allow these sectors to rise from
elementary school levels to the university levels. Hi-tech can be applied in
each of these areas.

The IDF has moved the past few years from an army of soldiers to an army of
minds. Thus, we must, in my opinion, provide academic instruction for all
IDF soldiers.

Increasing the academic foundation of the IDF will raise the general level
of science in Israel. This process already occurred in high-tech: the
defense initiated it and it spread across the country.

Israel can and should be the first in the world to have an army that trains
and studies at the same time.

And in the IDF today the solider already learns how to work, manage,
control, and defend the country as a citizen in uniform. He or she can also
learn and prepare the country for a new future.

It is our duty to create a new model army, ready for combat and
intellectually capable, that will train across the country in camps and
schools.

The IDF exists ready today to connect military training with university
campus. And Israel has the necessary financial and intellectual resources.

The universities can and should act as partners in this change. They will
develop new opportunities including fostering more research and development,
alongside teaching and education

For this reason I suggest, that in addition to private donations, all the
organized donations that come from the Jewish people to Israel go to
research and development in universities and research institutes.

Israel's scientific potential is priceless. Science and technology must hold
a central part in building Israel's future. A country does not grow, its
wisdom grows.

That is, a country with little land can be a country with a lot of science.

And already today, Israel has begun to head in the right direction. In the
five innovative global industries - energy, water, biotechnology, teaching,
and internal security- Israel is one of the leaders.
To take one industry as an example, one that will likely grow substantially
in the future, let us look at the industry the will develop from research
into stem cells.

I know you will smile if I tell you that today the world is looking for way
to manufacture replacement parts for the body, and even brain cells.

Israel today already occupies a respectable position in the relevant
research. Israel is 2nd after the United States, alongside Britain. And from
the 20 most important scientific articles in this field from the past year -
10 came from Israel.

Today science is the leading power. It offers solutions that dwarf all
dreams. Scientific achievements surpass all imagination.

And who like us, Israelis, knows how to achieve dream. "All the achievements
of man begin in a dream" said Herzl. And across the entire world we are
known as dreamers and those that achieve our dreams.

Finally-
Investing in education and striving for peace, if we succeeded in these two
missions we will be a country that produces a lot from very little, we will
be a 'light unto the nations', as dreamt David Ben Gurion.

We must have faith and vision. Belief in our abilities and a vision for our
actions. Together, they need to produce the necessary changes-even if they
are difficult and demanding-and even if they are not many.

We turn our faces to the future, to our main resource -the young generation.

Members of Knesset,
History is sometimes like a galloping horse. When it passes by your house,
you had better jump on its saddle, because that horse can gallop also
without you. I hope that from this house will emanate the great news. May
you have a productive year.

Additional Details

Ayelet Frish - Spokesperson of the President's Office 050 620-5111
Meital Jaslovitz - Assistant to the Spokesperson 050 420-5230

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