Kiwis for Balanced Reporting on the Middle East
March 17, 2008
On March 12, the Australian Parliament passed a bipartisan resolution celebrating Israel's 60th Anniversary and commending Israel for its achievements. KBRM sent the acknowledgment speech by Israel's Ambassador to Australia and New Zealand to NZ newspaper editors. It was not published.
Australia celebrates Israel's 60th; New Zealand doesn't
First, I would like to thank the Prime Minister for introducing the motion in the Australian parliament. My country is not often spoiled with events like this one which extend a hand of partnership to the people of Israel. We enormously appreciate this act of friendship.
I also want to thank Dr. Nelson and his party for agreeing to second the motion, and for their longstanding support.
On many days you represent different sides of the aisle. I am glad that on the issue of Israel you have found common ground. It doesn't happen too often for us. It is refreshing to see Israel as a unifier.
I also want to thank the Zionist Federation of Australia, and its President, Philip Chester. They are our partner and friends throughout this year of festivities, and also tonight.
Ladies and Gentlemen, in every nation's history, there are days and events which forever mark a crossroads in time, indicating a clear division between that which happened before and that which came after.
May 1948 was a defining moment for the Jewish people. All that Jewish history had once been, would never be again. On that day the Jewish people vowed never again to be voiceless, homeless and defenseless. On that day, our people arose from the seeds of the Diaspora and the ashes of the Holocaust to be recognized as a people amongst nations. On that day, we were given the opportunity to grasp hold of the book of history in order to write down our own destiny. We, the children of Abraham, survivors of 2000 years of exile and persecution, were home at last, and free at last.
We are a unique people. No one else speaks our language. No one else practices our faith. No other nation has withstood the same horrors, the same discrimination, the same destruction.
We are a unique people because we have come from an anguished and grieving land, we come from a people, a home, a family, that has not known a single year, not a single month, in which mothers have not wept for their sons. We have come from a land where parents bury their children.
We live the pain and the grief. We experience the tears and the agony, but we have decided not to produce a pool of despair and anger but a wellspring of hope and pride.
Let us not forget how far we have come in 60 years. How far we have risen. We have built a wonderful home. We have reconstituted our national treasure, the Hebrew language, the living symbol of the Jewish renaissance, making it the vibrant and expressive voice of a country. We have turned streets of sand into shining boulevards. We have constructed democratic institutions, the rule of law, world class universities and research centres. We have enshrined personal freedoms, freedoms of speech, expression and thought. We have developed the arts and sciences, cutting-edge medical, agricultural and computer technologies. We have brought to our shores millions of immigrants from the far corners of the Earth; ensuring a diverse, multi-cultural and complex nation in one small strip of land.
Israel cannot have come this far in 60 years without completing the journey, without fulfilling the promise of Israel which is both Jewish and democratic. An Israel of truth and talent. An Israel of education and civility. An Israel of social progress and economic opportunity. An Israel whose contribution reaches cyber-space and even outer-space. An Israel whose Judaism embraces the future as much as it cherishes the past. An Israel which embodies the aspirations of those who are more religious and those who are less. Those in Jerusalem and those overseas. Those whose roots in the country are well-established and those who have recently come as new immigrants.
Perhaps we are not the Promised Land that we expected to be, but we are not devoid of promise. The torch of this promise has been passed down to us by the generation who dreamed of a nation for Jews; who met in crowded, secret rooms to imagine, discuss and plan the reemergence of a Jewish sovereign state. Now the country is ours. Now we discuss openly and proudly the state of the nation.
The torch of this promise has been passed down to us by the generation which cultivated the fields and valleys of our land; now we are moving inland to cultivate the advancing fields of medicine, information technology and other spheres of science.
The torch of this promise has been passed down to us by the generation which emerged victorious from the Six Day War and withstood the attack of the Yom Kippur War. Now we have the duty, vigorously, to pursue the promise of peace and to turn this hope into reality.
In the land holy for three great religions, sacred sites for Islam, Judaism, and Christianity, exist side by side. There is so much history in the country; the children of that history should be able to cross the divisions of the past and build the bridges for the future, so that we may all live together.
I stand before you as the first Israeli ambassador to Australia [and New Zealand] to be born after the re-establishment of the State of Israel, representing the first generation to come of age with Israel; the generation which inherited the desire for peace, but the will to defend ourselves. It is up to my generation to write a new chapter in Jewish history, laying to rest, once and for all, the conflict in the Middle East.
This is the one mission we ought to complete-a safe and a secure place for our people. We will emerge victorious because ours is a just struggle. Not to occupy, but to survive. Not to oppress, but to coexist. Not to glorify battle, but to preserve life. We will emerge victorious because we love life and because we know that our greatest achievement is not to win a war but to win peace. This is the essential truth of the Jewish nation. We took up the sword when it was necessary but always extended our hand in peace the moment we had another hand to reach for.
Again and again, extremists have sought to derail peace with bullets and bombs. Again and again, they demonstrate the real division today is not between Jews and Arabs but between those stuck in the past and those who long for a better future, between those paralyzed by hatred and those energized by hope, those who stand with clenched fists and those who reach out with open hands.
Ultimately, our triumph, our progress, our fulfillment will only come by winning the battle for peace. Peace is the beauty of life; it is the smile of a child, the love of a mother, the joy of a father, the togetherness of the family. It is the advancement of man, the victory of a just cause, the triumph of truth. Peace is all of this and more. And every sacrifice and risk is worth the price. We shall labour long and hard to turn this into a reality because of the blessings it holds for ourselves and for our neighbours.
In the Book of Books, in Hebrew- Kohelet/Ecclesiastes, there is a known passage which says: To every thing there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; a time to love and a time to hate; a time of war and a time of peace.
Ladies and Gentlemen, the time has arrived to heal, to laugh, to love and most importantly, to have peace.
KBRM also asked PM Helen Clark and Opposition Leader John Key if the New Zealand Parliament planned anything similar.
Dear Ms Clark (and Mr Key),
As you doubtless know, the Australian House of Representatives has formally recognised the 60th Anniversary of the modern State of Israel by passing a motion that was supported by both the government and the opposition. The motion, as moved by Prime Minister Rudd, has seven points:
‘That the House:
( 1 ) celebrate and commend the achievements of the State of Israel in the 60 years since its inception;
( 2 ) remember with pride and honour the important role which Australia played in the establishment of the State of Israel as both a member state of the United Nations and as an influential voice in the introduction of Resolution 181 which facilitated Israel's statehood, and as the country which proudly became the first to cast a vote in support of Israel's creation;
( 3 ) acknowledge the unique relationship which exists between Australia and Israel; a bond highlighted by our commitment to the rights and liberty of our citizens and encouragement of cultural diversity;
( 4 ) commend the State of Israel's commitment to democracy, the Rule of Law and pluralism;
( 5 ) reiterate Australia's commitment to Israel's right to exist and our ongoing support to the peaceful establishment of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue;
( 6 ) reiterate Australia's commitment to the pursuit of peace and stability throughout the Middle East;
( 7 ) on this, the 60th Anniversary of Independence of the State of Israel, pledge our friendship, commitment and enduring support to the people of Israel as we celebrate this important occasion together. ’
I particularly urge you to read the speeches made for the occasion by Australian Prime Minister, Mr Kevin Rudd Australian Leader of the Opposition, Dr Brendan Nelson, and Israeli Ambassador Mr Yuval Rotem. These speeches may be found at http://canberra.mfa.gov.il/mfm/web/main/document.asp?DocumentID=134382&MissionID=2, and http://canberra.mfa.gov.il/mfm/web/main/document.asp?DocumentID=134381&MissionID=2, respectively.
I understand that the New Zealand government's position is that our country has been a friend of Israel since its inception as a state in 1948. As friends I would expect that we would celebrate with them on the occasion of this important anniversary.
In light of this motion supported by both sides of the Australian House of Representatives, and our nation's stated friendship with Israel, could you please advise me what our New Zealand's House of Representatives has done, or is planning to do, in recognition of Israel's 60th anniversary.
Yours sincerely,
Rodney Brooks, Chairman
Kiwis for Balanced Reporting on the Mideast