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Amb Prosor addresses the UN General Assembly
Copyright: UN Photo/Amanda Voisard
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I går firades i FN den årligen återkommande "Internationella solidaritetsdagen för det palestinska folket".
Med anledningen av händelsen har Israels FN ambassadör Ron Prosor hållit ett tal inför FN:s generalförsamling som alla borde läsa.
Ambassadör Prosor säger sanningen även om ingen vill höra det och det är många som får sig en känga, inte minst Europa och Sverige.
Några citat fritt översatt, talet i sin helhet här under:
...Vår konflikt har aldrig handlat om bildandet av en palestinsk stat. Det har alltid handlat om den judiska statens existens.
...Dagen debatt handlar inte om fred eller om att tala för det palestinska folket - det handlar om att tala mot Israel. Detta är inget annat än en hatfestival riktad mot Israel.
..Många tror att konflikten står mellan judar och araber eller mellan israeler och palestinier men de har fel. Kampen som vi bevittnar är en kamp mellan dem som helgar och värderar liv och mellan dem som prisar döden.
...När vi kommer in till FN högkvarteret passerar vi de 193 medlemsländernas flaggor. Om du tar dig tid att räkna kommer du att märka att det finns 15 flaggor med halvmånen (symbol för islam) och 25 flaggor med ett kors. Och så finns det en flagga med den judiska Davidsstjärnan. Bland alla nationer i världen finns det en stat - bara en liten stat för det judiska folket. - Och för en del människor är det en för mycket...
...Åren när det judiska folket betalade med sitt blod för världens okunskap och likgiltighet är förbi.Vi kommer aldrig att be om ursäkt för att vi är ett fritt och självständigt folk i vår egen stat. Och vi kommer aldrig att be om ursäkt för att vi försvarar oss själva.
Till de nationer som fortsätter låta fördomar gå före sanningen säger jag: Jag anklagar er för hyckleri. Jag anklagar er för dubbelmoral.Jag anklagar er för att ge legitimitet åt dem som vill förinta vår stat.Jag anklagar er för att ni talar om Israels rätt till självförsvar i teorin, men förnekar oss den rätten i praktiken. Och jag anklagar er för att kräva eftergifter av Israel medan ni inte kräver någonting av palestinierna.
När man ser dessa brott är domen klar. Ni är inte för fred och ni är inte för det palestinska folket. Ni är helt enkelt mot Israel
...Medlemmarna av det internationella samfundet har ett val att göra.
Ni kan erkänna Israel som det judiska folkets nationalstat, eller tillåta de palestinska ledarna att förneka vår historia utan konsekvenser.
Ni kan offentligt tillkännage att den så kallade "rätten att få återvända" är en återvändsgränd, eller ni kan tillåta detta krav att förbli ett hinder för varje försök till fredsavtal.
Ni kan arbeta för att få ett slut palestinsk uppvigling mot judarna, eller stå och se på när hat och extremism slår rot i nästa generation.
Ni kan i förtid erkänna en palestinsk stat, eller ni kan uppmuntra den palestinska myndigheten att bryta sitt samarbete med Hamas och återvända till direkta förhandlingar.
Valet är ert. Ni kan fortsätta att styra palestinierna ur kurs eller bana väg för en verklig och hållbar fredsuppgörelse.
Mr. President,
I stand before the world as a proud representative
of the State of Israel and the Jewish people. I stand tall before you
knowing that truth and morality are on my side. And yet, I stand here
knowing that today in this Assembly, truth will be turned on its head
and morality cast aside.
The fact of the matter is that when
members of the international community speak about the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a fog descends to cloud all logic and
moral clarity. The result isn't realpolitik, its surrealpolitik.
The
world's unrelenting focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an
injustice to tens of millions of victims of tyranny and terrorism in the
Middle East. As we speak, Yazidis, Bahai, Kurds, Christians and Muslims
are being executed and expelled by radical extremists at a rate of
1,000 people per month.
How many resolutions did you pass last
week to address this crisis? And how many special sessions did you call
for? The answer is zero. What does this say about international concern
for human life? Not much, but it speaks volumes about the hypocrisy of
the international community.
I stand before you to speak the
truth. Of the 300 million Arabs in the Middle East and North Africa,
less than half a percent are truly free - and they are all citizens of
Israel. Israeli Arabs are some of the most educated Arabs in the world.
They are our leading physicians and surgeons, they are elected to our
parliament, and they serve as judges on our Supreme Court. Millions of
men and women in the Middle East would welcome these opportunities and
freedoms.
Nonetheless, nation after nation, will stand at this
podium today and criticize Israel - the small island of democracy in a
region plagued by tyranny and oppression.
Mr. President,
Our
conflict has never been about the establishment of a Palestinian state.
It has always been about the existence of the Jewish state.
Sixty seven years ago this week, on November 29, 1947,
the United Nations voted to partition the land into a Jewish state and an Arab state.
Simple. The Jews said yes. The Arabs said no. But they didn't just say
no. Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon launched a
war of annihilation against our newborn state.
This
is the historical truth that the Arabs are trying to distort. The
Arabs' historic mistake continues to be felt - in lives lost in war,
lives lost to terrorism, and lives scarred by the Arab's narrow
political interests.
According to the United Nations, about
700,000 Palestinians were displaced in the war initiated by the Arabs
themselves. At the same time, some
850,000 Jews were forced to flee from Arab countries.
Why
is it, that 67 years later, the displacement of the Jews has been
completely forgotten by this institution while the displacement of the
Palestinians is the subject of an annual debate? The difference is that
Israel did its utmost to integrate the Jewish refugees into society. The
Arabs did just the opposite.
The worst oppression of the
Palestinian people takes place in Arab nations. In most of the Arab
world, Palestinians are denied citizenship and are aggressively
discriminated against. They are barred from owning land and prevented
from entering certain professions.
And yet none - not one - of these crimes are mentioned in the resolutions before you.
If
you were truly concerned about the plight of the Palestinian people
there would be one, just one, resolution to address the thousands of
Palestinians killed in Syria. And if you were so truly concerned about
the Palestinians there would be at least one resolution to denounce the
treatment of Palestinians in Lebanese refugee camps.
But there
isn't. The reason is that today's debate is not about speaking for peace
or speaking for the Palestinian people - it is about speaking against
Israel. It is nothing but a hate and bashing festival against Israel.
Mr. President,
The
European nations claim to stand for Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité -
freedom, equality, and brotherhood - but nothing could be farther from
the truth.
I often hear European leaders proclaim that Israel
has the right to exist in secure borders. That's very nice. But I have
to say - it makes about as much sense as me standing here and
proclaiming Sweden's right to exist in secure borders.
When it comes to matters of security, Israel learned the hard way that we cannot rely on others - certainly not Europe.
In 1973, on Yom Kippur - the holiest day on the Jewish calendar - the surrounding
Arab nations launched an attack against Israel.
In the hours before the war began, Golda Meir, our Prime Minister then,
made the difficult decision not to launch a preemptive strike. The
Israeli Government understood that if we launched a preemptive strike,
we would lose the support of the international community.
As the
Arab armies advanced on every front, the situation in Israel grew dire.
Our casualty count was growing and we were running dangerously low on
weapons and ammunition. In this, our hour of need, President Nixon and
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, agreed to send Galaxy planes loaded
with tanks and ammunition to resupply our troops. The only problem was
that the Galaxy planes needed to refuel on route to Israel.
The
Arab States were closing in and our very existence was threatened - and
yet, Europe was not even willing to let the planes refuel. The U.S.
stepped in once again and negotiated that the planes be allowed to
refuel in the Azores. The government and people of Israel will never
forget that when our very existence was at stake, only one country came
to our aid - the United States of America.
Israel is tired of
hollow promises from European leaders. The Jewish people have a long
memory. We will never ever forget that you failed us in the 1940s. You
failed us in 1973. And you are failing us again today.
Every
European parliament that voted to prematurely and unilaterally recognize
a Palestinian state is giving the Palestinians exactly what they want -
statehood without peace. By handing them a state on a silver platter,
you are rewarding unilateral actions and taking away any incentive for
the Palestinians to negotiate or compromise or renounce violence. You
are sending the message that the Palestinian Authority can sit in a
government with terrorists and incite violence against Israel without
paying any price.
The
first E.U. member to officially recognize a Palestinian state was Sweden.
One has to wonder why the Swedish Government was so anxious to take
this step. When it comes to other conflicts in our region, the Swedish
Government calls for direct negotiations between the parties - but for
the Palestinians, surprise, surprise, they roll out the red carpet.
State Secretary Söder may think she is here to celebrate her
government's so-called historic recognition, when in reality it's
nothing more than an historic mistake.
The Swedish Government may
host the Nobel Prize ceremony, but there is nothing noble about their
cynical political campaign to appease the Arabs in order to get a seat
on the Security Council. Nations on the Security Council should have
sense, sensitivity, and sensibility. Well, the Swedish Government has
shown no sense, no sensitivity and no sensibility. Just nonsense.
Israel
learned the hard way that listening to the international community can
bring about devastating consequences. In 2005, we unilaterally
dismantled every settlement and removed every citizen from the Gaza
Strip. Did this bring us any closer to peace? Not at all. It paved the
way for Iran to send its terrorist proxies to establish a terror
stronghold on our doorstep.
I can assure you that we won't make
the same mistake again. When it comes to our security, we cannot and
will not rely on others - Israel must be able to defend itself by
itself.
Mr. President,
The State of Israel is the land of
our forefathers - Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is the land where Moses
led the Jewish people, where David built his palace, where Solomon built
the Jewish Temple, and where Isaiah saw a vision of eternal peace.
For
thousands of years, Jews have lived continuously in the land of Israel.
We endured through the rise and fall of the Assyrian, Babylonian, Greek
and Roman Empires. And we endured through thousands of years of
persecution, expulsions and crusades. The bond between the Jewish people
and the Jewish land is unbreakable.
Nothing can change one simple truth - Israel is our home and Jerusalem is our eternal capital.
At
the same time, we recognize that Jerusalem has special meaning for
other faiths. Under Israeli sovereignty, all people - and I will repeat
that, all people - regardless of religion and nationality can visit the
city's holy sites. And we intend to keep it this way. The only ones
trying to change the status quo on the
Temple Mount are Palestinian leaders.
President Abbas is telling his people that Jews are contaminating the Temple Mount.
He has called for days of rage and urged Palestinians to prevent Jews
from visiting the Temple Mount using (quote) “all means” necessary.
These words are as irresponsible as they are unacceptable.
You
don't have to be Catholic to visit the Vatican, you don't have to be
Jewish to visit the Western Wall, but some Palestinians would like to
see the day when only Muslims can visit the Temple Mount.
You,
the international community, are lending a hand to extremists and
fanatics. You, who preach tolerance and religious freedom, should be
ashamed. Israel will never let this happen. We will make sure that the
holy places remain open to all people of all faiths for all time.
Mr. President,
No
one wants peace more than Israel. No one needs to explain the
importance of peace to parents who have sent their child to defend our
homeland. No one knows the stakes of success or failure better than we
Israelis do. The people of Israel have shed too many tears and buried
too many sons and daughters.
We are ready for peace, but we are
not naïve. Israel's security is paramount. Only a strong and secure
Israel can achieve a comprehensive peace.
The past month should
make it clear to anyone that Israel has immediate and pressing security
needs. In recent weeks, Palestinian terrorists have shot and stabbed our
citizens and twice driven their cars into crowds of pedestrians. Just a
few days ago,
terrorists armed with axes and a gun savagely attacked Jewish worshipers during morning prayers. We have reached the point when Israelis can't even find sanctuary from terrorism in the sanctuary of a synagogue.
These
attacks didn't emerge out of a vacuum. They are the results of years of
indoctrination and incitement. A Jewish proverb teaches: “The
instruments of both death and life are in the power of the tongue.”
As a Jew and as an Israeli, I know with utter certainly that when our enemies say they want to attack us, they mean it.
Hamas's genocidal charter
calls for the destruction of Israel and the murder of Jews worldwide.
For years, Hamas and other terrorist groups have sent suicide bombers
into our cities, launched rockets into our towns, and sent terrorists to
kidnap and murder our citizens.
And what about the Palestinian Authority? It is leading a systemic campaign of
incitement.
In schools, children are being taught that 'Palestine' will stretch
from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. In mosques, religious
leaders are spreading vicious libels accusing Jews of destroying Muslim
holy sites. In sports stadiums, teams are named after terrorists. And in
newspapers, cartoons urge Palestinians to commit terror attacks against
Israelis.
Children in most of the world grow up watching
cartoons of Mickey Mouse singing and dancing. Palestinian children also
grow up watching Mickey Mouse, but on Palestinians national television, a
twisted figure dressed as Mickey Mouse dances in an explosive belt and
chants “Death to America and death to the Jews.”
I challenge you
to stand up here today and do something constructive for a change.
Publically denounce the violence, denounce the incitement, and denounce
the culture of hate.
Most people believe that at its core, the
conflict is a battle between Jews and Arabs or Israelis and
Palestinians. They are wrong. The battle that we are witnessing is a
battle between those who sanctify life and those who celebrate death.
Following
the savage attack in a Jerusalem synagogue, celebrations erupted in
Palestinian towns and villages. People were dancing in the street and
distributing candy. Young men posed with axes, loudspeakers at mosques
called out congratulations, and the terrorists were hailed as “martyrs”
and “heroes.”
This isn't the first time that we saw the
Palestinians celebrate the murder of innocent civilians. We saw them
rejoice after every terrorist attack on Israeli civilians and they even
took to the streets to celebrate the September 11 attack on the World
Trade Center right here in New York City.
Imagine the type of
state this society would produce. Does the Middle East really need
another terror-ocracy? Some members of the international community are
aiding and abetting its creation.
Mr. President,
As we
came into the United Nations, we passed the flags of all 193 member
States. If you take the time to count, you will discover that there are
15 flags with a crescent and 25 flags with a cross. And then there is
one flag with a Jewish Star of David. Amidst all the nations of the
world there is one state - just one small nation state for the Jewish
people.
And for some people, that is one too many.
As I
stand before you today I am reminded of all the years when Jewish people
paid for the world's ignorance and indifference in blood. Those days
are no more. We will never apologize for being a free and independent
people in our sovereign state. And we will never apologize for defending
ourselves.
To the nations that continue to allow prejudice to
prevail over truth, I say “J'accuse.” I accuse you of hypocrisy. I
accuse you of duplicity. I accuse you of lending legitimacy to those who
seek to destroy our State. I accuse you of speaking about Israel's
right of self-defense in theory, but denying it in practice. And I
accuse you of demanding concessions from Israel, but asking nothing of
the Palestinians.
In the face of these offenses, the verdict is
clear. You are not for peace and you are not for the Palestinian people.
You are simply against Israel.
Members of the international community have a choice to make.
You
can recognize Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, or
permit the Palestinian leadership to deny our history without
consequence.
You can publically proclaim that the so-called
“claim of return” is a non-starter, or you can allow this claim to
remain the major obstacle to any peace agreement.
You can work to end Palestinian incitement, or stand by as hatred and extremism take root for generations to come.
You
can prematurely recognize a Palestinian state, or you can encourage the
Palestinian Authority to break its pact with Hamas and return to direct
negotiations.
The choice is yours. You can continue to steer the Palestinians off course or pave the way to real and lasting peace.
Thank you, Mr. President.
