In a wide ranging address, the foreign minister surveyed Israel 's foreign policy and its attempts to achieve peace and security. He noted with satisfaction the improvement of Israel's international standing, the recent decision to establish diplomatic relations with Spain and renewal of ties with African nations. He discussed the Arab efforts to isolate Israel in the international arena and said that they were bound to fail. Strengthening the spirit of Jews was also a central theme in this address.
It gives me much pleasure to extend the greetings of the government of Israel to this important jubilee year conference of the World Jewish Congress. I would also like to extend our welcome to the numerous delegations that have come to us from many lands. Furthermore, special greetings are due to the guests of this conference. To all of you we extend the traditional blessing - Bruchim Habaim Liyerushalayim. The occasion affords us the opportunity to place on record our appreciation of the special role the World Jewish Congress played at particularly critical moments in our history and the efforts you are now making for the sake of Jewish communities in distress.
I understand that there are among you delegates from lands with which we do not, as yet, have diplomatic links and I greet them too, with the traditional Bruchim Habaim and express the hope that, before long, they will be able to participate together with all of us in the national effort to develop the Jewish State.
My friends, since the foundation of the World Jewish Congress, we have witnessed a tragic, dramatic and historic change in the life and conditions of the Jewish people. We lost nearly all of European Jewry, which was the major center of Jewish life at that time. Here, in Eretz-Israel, we fought for and achieved our freedom and sovereignty, and a number of times we have been obliged to go to war in or order to preserve our independence. Now, after 38 years, this land has become again the center of Jewish life, the center of thought, of culture, of creation and of achievement for the entire Jewish people. It is therefore natural that you should gather here in Eretz-Israel, in Yerushalayim, the nation's capital, the heart and soul of the whole Jewish people, to celebrate your jubilee and to confer about the future.
When we consider the position of Israel and the Jewish communities in the diaspora, we ask: What should be the main objectives of our national policy for the next 15 years to the time when we shall mark 3,000 years since King David proclaimed Jerusalem the capital of his kingdom. The answer is divided into two parts. Firstly, we shall look at Israel and then at the situation of the Jewish communities in the diaspora. There is of course an unbreakable link between the two, because the State of Israel belongs not only to those Jews who have the privilege of living in it today, but the whole Jewish people.
As far as Israel itself is concerned, the permanent goal of our foreign policy is to achieve peace with security. Experience has already shown that we can get such peace when Israel is strong - strong in spirit, strong militarily, economically and politically. It is this which deters aggressors. So it has been throughout the 38 years, and so it is today.
Right now, our most dangerous border is with Syria, where they are amassing huge quantities of arms for the purpose of arriving at strategic parity with Israel - by which they mean military superiority - in order to attacks us again. I am confident they will not achieve this, because our military capacity, to which we devote a great part of our budget, continues to be the effective deterrent.
In our striving for maximum security we wage a permanent fight against terrorism in which our determination, special techniques, including intelligence, have proved successful.
Now that we have attained our political independence and a high degree of security, our goal is to achieve economic independence. In fact, this was one of the major reasons that prompted us to call for, and set up, our government of national unity, which has now functioned for more than 16 months and has considerable achievements to its credit. Without going into any details today, it is important to stress that the people of Israel have shown remarkable readiness to take upon themselves heavy burdens and to make sacrifices for the sake of the country and the nation. Such a government, composed of the two main political parties, is far better able to implement the far-reaching and vital economic program.
Maintaining a strong nation also means developing and strengthening our ties with the world, and we are doing this all the time. Of course, the most important feature of Israel's foreign policy is our relationship with the United States which is now based on shared perceptions and common interests, as expressed in our strategic cooperation and the free trade area between us. The American administration recognizes the importance of a strong Israel to the strategic objectives of the free world, and understands that a strong Israel means an economically sound Israel.
We applaud the recent American decision to take the lead in the battle against Arab terrorism and, of course, cooperate fully with them.
We share with the United States a number of principles in regard to the peace process in this region. Both the United States and we agree that the PLO is not a partner to the peace process. The United States has clearly declared that it will have no contact with the PLO unless they accept U.N. resolutions 242 and 338, recognize Israel's right to exist; and give up terrorism. Our position is clear: PLO is synonymous with terror and an obstacle to peace.
Furthermore, we are in full agreement with the United States that the only way to achieve meaningful dialogue with the Arabs, leading to peace, is by direct negotiations. We both reject the proposal for an international peace conference, which would comprise all our adversaries, including the PLO, and whose aim would be to impose solutions upon us.
Ladies and gentlemen, much as we would like to achieve normal relations with the other super power, I have to reiterate that, despite all rumors, speculations and expectations, we have no evidence that the Soviet Union is ready to change its policy towards Israel. In fact, they continually assure the Arab governments that they have no intention of doing so. I should add, however, that there have been encouraging signs in other parts of Eastern Europe.
We are engaged in an ongoing effort against the attempts by our enemies to isolate us in the world community and, in that regard, we are satisfied and encouraged by our achievements in recent years. As you know, we have renewed diplomatic relations with a number of African countries, and hopefully we shall have more good news in that regard in the future. We continue to strengthen our ties in Europe, and succeeded after many years of endeavors to establish relations with Spain. We opened an office in Madrid four years ago, and El Al has been flying to Spain for a year. We know that like many other countries, they also have close ties with the Arab world, but we are confident that the two are not contradictory. The establishment of diplomatic relations between us and Spain has produced positive echoes in the many Spanish-speaking countries of the world, and this could enhance our relations with them,
Of course, we never cease our efforts to explore the prospects of peace with our Arab neighbors. The basic guidelines of our government of national unity speak of these elements in that regard. First, that the peace efforts, based on the Camp David Accords, will be sustained. Second, that priority be given to expanding and deepening the peace with Egypt. Third, that we endeavor to reach an agreement with Jordan and find a solution to the problem of the Palestinian Arabs.
Every now and then, the media have tended to create an impression that the lack of progress in the peace process is due to internal conflicts in Israel. This is absolutely incorrect. While we may differ on tactics, there is full agreement on the goal and principle of peace. The problem is not between Labor and the Likud, but between us and Egypt, and us and Jordan.
Israel has already made extraordinary sacrifices for peace. What more can we do to encourage Egypt to inject substance into our relations, and to bring Jordan into the peace talks?
If our peace treaty with Egypt does not lead to normal relations between our two countries there is little chance for achieving peace with any of the other Arab states. I need not elaborate for this audience that Israel, quite naturally, fulfilled each and every one of the commitments we undertook. Unfortunately, Egypt has not done so. The constant barrage of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish propaganda in the Egyptian press; the open support for the PLO; the refusal to return the ambassador - all these things are contradictions of the peace treaty. The presence of the Egyptian Ambassador in Israel is not a special act of grace, but an obligation in terms of the peace treaty. The Egyptian Charge D'affaires in Israel has full access to our media, while our ambassador in Cairo has never once been able to say one word directly to the people of Egypt on their television, radio, or in the press.
Our government - like every previous government of Israel - has invited the King of Jordan to join us in negotiations for peace without preconditions. But the King has not responded. Now it looks that his involvement with Syria, on the one hand, and the PLO, on the other, limits his freedom of movement and action. It is an undeniable fact that the PLO is an enemy of peace with Israel and, therefore, any cooperation with the PLO, any dependence on the PLO, any commitment to the PLO will only reduce the chances of peace.
On the basis of our own experience, an international experience, we are convinced that the only way to achieve progress in through direct negotiations. Only recently the heads of the two most powerful states in the world, met for direct bilateral talks because both understood that only such an encounter could possibly produce an answer to the major international disputes, including the problem of nuclear disarmament.
The Soviet Union's own conduct in international affairs has often been based on the principle of direct negotiations, and the United States' view was recently expressed by U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, who said "The name of the game is direct negotiations." And so we say to those of our neighbors who really want to end the state of war and move into an era of peace together with us that there is no need for new forums and umbrellas. We can meet face to face and talk directly to each other.
And now my friends, let me turn to the second part of our Jewish national goals and policy for the next decade or two. As we look around the Jewish communities of the world, our top priority must be the rescue of the Jews living in danger or distress. We take pride in the successful operation that rescued 15,000 Jews from Ethiopia, who are now with us here in Eretz Israel. We must leave no stone unturned to bring the Jews of the Soviet Union to Eretz-Israel, and the same applies to a number of very small communities about which you are aware. Our struggle for the Jews of the Soviet Union has a double objective:
Firstly, there is the struggle for their soul. We must make every effort to strengthen their Jewish identity, consciousness and commitment, and their connection with Israel.
Second, we have to bring them to Eretz-Israel, where they are wanted and needed. We must always bear in mind the fact that the Soviet Government recognized the special circumstances of the Jewish Community when they originally granted permission in the sixties for the emigration of several hundred thousand Jews from the Soviet Union. It is obvious that they don't belong to any of the national entities and autonomous groups in that country. There is no homeland for Jews in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and so they acknowledge the right of Jews to join their people in their national home in the State of Israel.
For obvious reasons, "dropout" is a contradiction of that principle and, therefore, the whole foundation of our campaign could be endangered. We must now increase our struggle inside and outside the Soviet Union for the emigration of our brethren, which is a basic human right. At the same time we have to call on Jewish communities to refrain from any action that influences Soviet Jews to go to places other than Eretz-Israel. In fact, we have requested the Soviet authorities to permit Jews to fly directly from the Soviet Union to Israel.
From time to time we hear suggestions that the efforts for Soviet Jewry should be conducted with greater discretion, perhaps in secret. We have no argument with governments who, for reasons of their own, prefer a policy of "quiet diplomacy," providing only that they pursue it with the utmost vigor. But we know from our past experience that we, the Jewish people, and all those who support this great cause, must engage in a public struggle for the sake of our brethern in he Soviet Union. Silence is the enemy of our cause.
Our second major task is to provide and deepen Jewish education in all the Jewish communities in the world. We live in a time when large numbers of Jewish children learn nothing of our people's rich and glorious past, of our religion and our great contribution to civilization. Nor do they learn the language of our people, the language of prayer that is also the national language in the reborn State of Israel. Even in some of the best communities only a small percentage of Jewish children receive some form of Jewish education. In many cases the home is not competent to provide that education, the background and faith that preserved our people over the centuries. The result is that large numbers opt out from Jewish peoplehood, disengage and turn to cults, other religions, or simply become totally indifferent.
This is not only a problem affecting the individual families or specific communities. This is a matter of the greatest concern for the entire Jewish people: "We are all responsible one for another."
Our generation, which witnessed the physical destruction of one-third of our people in World War II, cannot stand by and witness the spiritual disappearance of another large section of the nation. The tens of thousands we lose today, could deprive us of millions of Jews in the coming generations. So, let us make a supreme effort - all of us together - to stem the tide before it is too late.
And lastly, we must find ways to attract aliya from the free world. Over the years, large numbers of immigrants came to Eretz-1srael from Europe, from North Africa, from the Arab countries, from the Soviet Union, and all of them have made their specific, important contribution to the development of the state and the nation. But Israel is not only a land for refugees. Today, as it turns to the Jews of the free world and calls them to come here and add to the quality of our life by their talents, their capital, their free spirit and their experience.
Yes, we dream of a time when the majority of the Jewish people will live here in Eretz-Israel.
Ladies and gentlemen, sometimes when we are caught up in the problems of the day, and weighed down by the burdens and anxieties, we should pause and reflect on the great transformation that has taken place in our lifetimes or, as you are doing, in the 50 years since the establishment of your congress.
We are, after all, an ancient people with a rich experience, both in our own land and in the dispersion. We have had our ups and downs, our triumphs and our setbacks, but we have accomplished remarkable things as a people, all of us together. We still have formidable problems to tackle, and we shall do so effectively, providing we have the people, the will and the faith. And we do. Perhaps our greatest source of optimism in the future is the knowledge that we have a wonderful and dedicated young generation that is ready and willing to defend the state, and to develop it; that is anxious to reach out to Jewish communities wherever they live - in freedom or in distress; that is capable of taking the helm in the constant striving to keep Israel strong, secure and successful.