Masada Shall Never Fail to Surprise Us Again

Today, President Bush gave a celebrated speech before the Knesset celebrating the birth of the Jewish state. Below is the full text.

President Peres and Mr. Prime Minister, Madam Speaker, give thanks very much for hosting this special session. President Beinish, Leader of the Opposition Netanyahu, Ministers, members of the Knesset, distinguished guests: Shalom. Laura and I are thrilled to be back in Israel. We have been deeply moved by the celebrations of the past two days. And this afternoon, I am honored to stand before ane of the globe'due south not bad democratic assemblies and convey the wishes of the American people with these words: Yom Ha'atzmaut Sameach.

Information technology is a rare privilege for the American President to speak to the Knesset. Although the Prime Minister told me in that location is something fifty-fifty rarer — to have simply one person in this chamber speaking at a time. My only regret is that one of State of israel's greatest leaders is not hither to share this moment. He is a warrior for the ages, a homo of peace, a friend. The prayers of the American people are with Ariel Sharon.

We gather to marker a momentous occasion. Sixty years ago in Tel Aviv, David Ben-Gurion proclaimed Israel'southward independence, founded on the "natural correct of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate." What followed was more than than the establishment of a new country. It was the redemption of an aboriginal promise given to Abraham and Moses and David — a homeland for the chosen people Eretz Yisrael.

Eleven minutes later, on the orders of President Harry Truman, the United states of america was proud to be the first nation to recognize Israel's independence. And on this landmark anniversary, America is proud to be Israel's closest ally and best friend in the world.

The alliance between our governments is unbreakable, yet the source of our friendship runs deeper than any treaty. Information technology is grounded in the shared spirit of our people, the bonds of the Book, the ties of the soul. When William Bradford stepped off the Mayflower in 1620, he quoted the words of Jeremiah: "Come allow u.s. declare in Zion the discussion of God." The founders of my land saw a new promised land and bestowed upon their towns names similar Bethlehem and New Canaan. And in time, many Americans became passionate advocates for a Jewish land.

Centuries of suffering and cede would pass before the dream was fulfilled. The Jewish people endured the desperation of the pogroms, the tragedy of the Slap-up State of war, and the horror of the Holocaust — what Elie Wiesel chosen "the kingdom of the night." Soulless men took away lives and broke autonomously families. Yet they could non accept away the spirit of the Jewish people, and they could non break the hope of God. When news of State of israel's freedom finally arrived, Golda Meir, a fearless woman raised in Wisconsin, could summon just tears. She later said: "For two thousand years we have waited for our deliverance. Now that it is here information technology is so great and wonderful that it surpasses homo words."

The joy of independence was tempered by the outbreak of battle, a struggle that has connected for six decades. Yet in spite of the violence, in defiance of the threats, Israel has built a thriving democracy in the heart of the Holy State. You lot accept welcomed immigrants from the four corners of the Globe. You lot take forged a gratis and modern society based on the love of freedom, a passion for justice, and a respect for human dignity. You take worked tirelessly for peace. You have fought valiantly for freedom.

My country'south adoration for State of israel does not end there. When Americans look at Israel, nosotros see a pioneer spirit that worked an agricultural phenomenon and now leads a high-tech revolution. We encounter earth-class universities and a global leader in business and innovation and the arts. We run into a resource more valuable than oil or gold: the talent and conclusion of a gratis people who refuse to permit any obstacle stand in the style of their destiny.

I take been fortunate to see the grapheme of Israel up shut. I have touched the Western Wall, seen the sun reflected in the Body of water of Galilee, I accept prayed at Yad Vashem. And earlier today, I visited Masada, an inspiring monument to courage and sacrifice. At this historic site, Israeli soldiers swear an oath: "Masada shall never autumn again." Citizens of Israel: Masada shall never fall again, and America will exist at your side.

This anniversary is a time to reflect on the past. It's besides an opportunity to look to the future. As we get frontward, our alliance volition be guided past clear principles — shared convictions rooted in moral clarity and unswayed by popularity polls or the shifting opinions of international elites.

We believe in the matchless value of every human being, woman, and child. So nosotros insist that the people of State of israel accept the right to a decent, normal, and peaceful life, simply like the citizens of every other nation.

We believe that democracy is the simply way to ensure human being rights. And then we consider it a source of shame that the United Nations routinely passes more human being rights resolutions confronting the freest democracy in the Middle East than any other nation in the world.

We believe that religious liberty is fundamental to a civilized society. And so we condemn anti-Semitism in all forms — whether past those who openly question Israel's right to exist, or by others who quietly excuse them.

We believe that gratis people should strive and sacrifice for peace. And so we applaud the courageous choices Israeli's leaders have made. We also believe that nations have a right to defend themselves and that no nation should ever be forced to negotiate with killers pledged to its destruction.

We believe that targeting innocent lives to achieve political objectives is ever and everywhere wrong. So we stand together against terror and extremism, and we will never permit downwardly our guard or lose our resolve.

The fight against terror and extremism is the defining challenge of our time. It is more than than a clash of artillery. Information technology is a clash of visions, a keen ideological struggle. On the one side are those who defend the ideals of justice and dignity with the ability of reason and truth. On the other side are those who pursue a narrow vision of cruelty and command by committing murder, inciting fright, and spreading lies.

This struggle is waged with the technology of the 21st century, only at its core information technology is an ancient boxing between good and evil. The killers claim the mantle of Islam, simply they are not religious men. No one who prays to the God of Abraham could strap a suicide belong to an innocent child, or blow up guiltless guests at a Passover Seder, or fly planes into office buildings filled with unsuspecting workers. In truth, the men who bear out these vicious acts serve no college goal than their own desire for ability. They have no God before themselves. And they reserve a special hatred for the most ardent defenders of liberty, including Americans and Israelis.

And that is why the founding lease of Hamas calls for the "emptying" of State of israel. And that is why the followers of Hezbollah dirge "Expiry to Israel, Death to America!" That is why Osama bin Laden teaches that "the killing of Jews and Americans is one of the biggest duties." And that is why the President of Iran dreams of returning the Middle East to the Middle Ages and calls for Israel to exist wiped off the map.

There are adept and decent people who cannot fathom the darkness in these men and try to explain abroad their words. It's natural, but it is deadly wrong. As witnesses to evil in the past, we conduct a solemn responsibility to accept these words seriously. Jews and Americans have seen the consequences of disregarding the words of leaders who espouse hatred. And that is a mistake the earth must not echo in the 21st century.

Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all forth. Nosotros have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator alleged: "Lord, if I could simply take talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided." We have an obligation to telephone call this what information technology is — the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.

Some people suggest if the The states would only pause ties with Israel, all our issues in the Middle East would become away. This is a tired argument that buys into the propaganda of the enemies of peace, and America utterly rejects it. Israel'southward population may be just over 7 million. But when you confront terror and evil, you are 307 million strong, because the United States of America stands with y'all.

America stands with you in breaking upward terrorist networks and denying the extremists sanctuary. America stands with y'all in firmly opposing Islamic republic of iran's nuclear weapons ambitions. Permitting the globe's leading sponsor of terror to possess the globe'due south deadliest weapons would be an unforgivable betrayal for future generations. For the sake of peace, the world must not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.

Ultimately, to prevail in this struggle, we must offering an alternative to the ideology of the extremists by extending our vision of justice and tolerance and freedom and hope. These values are the self-evident right of all people, of all religions, in all the world because they are a gift from the Omnipotent God. Securing these rights is besides the surest way to secure peace. Leaders who are answerable to their people volition not pursue endless confrontation and bloodshed. Young people with a identify in their society and a voice in their future are less probable to search for meaning in radicalism. Societies where citizens can express their censor and worship their God will not export violence, they will exist partners in peace.

The central insight, that liberty yields peace, is the dandy lesson of the 20th century. At present our chore is to apply information technology to the 21st. Nowhere is this piece of work more urgent than hither in the Middle E. Nosotros must stand up with the reformers working to break the one-time patterns of tyranny and despair. Nosotros must requite voice to millions of ordinary people who dream of a meliorate life in a gratuitous society. We must confront the moral relativism that views all forms of government as equally acceptable and thereby consigns whole societies to slavery. Higher up all, we must have faith in our values and ourselves and confidently pursue the expansion of liberty as the path to a peaceful time to come.

That time to come will be a dramatic divergence from the Middle Eastward of today. Then every bit we mark 60 years from Israel'south founding, let us endeavor to envision the region 60 years from now. This vision is not going to go far easily or overnight; information technology will encounter violent resistance. Simply if nosotros and future Presidents and future Knessets maintain our resolve and have faith in our ideals, here is the Eye East that nosotros can come across:

State of israel will be celebrating the 120th anniversary as one of the world's swell democracies, a secure and flourishing homeland for the Jewish people. The Palestinian people will accept the homeland they have long dreamed of and deserved — a autonomous state that is governed past police, and respects human rights, and rejects terror. From Cairo to Riyadh to Baghdad and Beirut, people will alive in free and contained societies, where a desire for peace is reinforced by ties of diplomacy and tourism and trade. Iran and Syria will exist peaceful nations, with today'due south oppression a distant memory and where people are gratis to speak their minds and develop their God-given talents. Al Qaeda and Hezbollah and Hamas will be defeated, every bit Muslims across the region recognize the emptiness of the terrorists' vision and the injustice of their cause.

Overall, the Middle East will be characterized past a new menses of tolerance and integration. And this doesn't mean that Israel and its neighbors will be best of friends. But when leaders beyond the region answer to their people, they volition focus their energies on schools and jobs, non on rocket attacks and suicide bombings. With this change, Israel will open a new hopeful chapter in which its people can live a normal life, and the dream of Herzl and the founders of 1948 can be fully and finally realized.

This is a assuming vision, and some will say it can never exist achieved. Merely call up virtually what nosotros have witnessed in our ain time. When Europe was destroying itself through total state of war and genocide, information technology was difficult to envision a continent that 6 decades later would exist free and at peace. When Japanese pilots were flying suicide missions into American battleships, it seemed impossible that six decades later Nippon would exist a democracy, a lynchpin of security in Asia, and 1 of America'southward closest friends. And when waves of refugees arrived here in the desert with zippo, surrounded by hostile armies, it was most unimaginable that Israel would grow into one of the freest and most successful nations on the earth.

However each one of these transformations took place. And a future of transformation is possible in the Center East, so long as a new generation of leaders has the courage to defeat the enemies of liberty, to make the hard choices necessary for peace, and stand firm on the solid stone of universal values.

60 years agone, on the eve of State of israel'due south independence, the last British soldiers departing Jerusalem stopped at a building in the Jewish quarter of the Old City. An officer knocked on the door and met a senior rabbi. The officer presented him with a brusque iron bar — the central to the Zion Gate — and said information technology was the first time in 18 centuries that a key to the gates of Jerusalem had belonged to a Jew. His hands trembling, the rabbi offered a prayer of thanksgiving to God, "Who had granted u.s.a. life and permitted us to reach this day." Then he turned to the officer, and uttered the words Jews had awaited for and so long: "I accept this central in the name of my people."

Over the past half dozen decades, the Jewish people have established a country that would brand that humble rabbi proud. You take raised a modern lodge in the Promised State, a light unto the nations that preserves the legacy of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. And you have built a mighty republic that will endure forever and can ever count on the U.s.a. to exist at your side. God bless.

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Source: https://www.commentary.org/articles/web-exclusive/masada-shall-never-fall-again/

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