In his toast, Mr. Shamir chose to emphasise the areas of agreement between Britain and Israel, mainly bilateral trade. He praised the ongoing Israeli-British dialogue in a spirit of honesty and condour Later, Sir Geoffrey said that he had learned much about Israel's economic and security needs. Text:
We bid you, Mr. Foreign Secretary and Lady Howe, a warm welcome to Jerusalem, together with your associates and colleagues on this, your first visit to our country. We greet you as honored guests and as friends, representing a great fellow democracy, home of the mother of Parliaments, with whom we, Israel, share an enduring fellowship of values founded on liberty and law.
As I cite these cherished truths common to our two nations, I feel bound in your presence to publicly reiterate the profound sympathy of our people and government over the terrible loss of innocent lives during your recent party conference in Brighton. We express our condolences to the bereaved families, to the Conservative Party, and indeed, to the British people. But a few days ago, we learned that a mission of Conservative Party members which was scheduled to visit Israel next month has been postponed due to the death in Brighton of one of its members and the injury of three others. We share the pain and shock and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured.
Terrorism has, in our own times, assumed an international dimension. It assaults the senses of every society which aspires to decency, which believes in government by democracy and which upholds the rule of law as a sworn principle. Indeed, decency, democracy, law - these are the sworn enemies of international terrorism, just as they are the invincible shield of civilized society. Hence, there is a need, greater than ever before, to counter international terrorism by international action. Quite understandably did the ministers of the European Community, at their Dublin meeting of September 11, agree on a set of measures designed to strengthen the existing cooperation in the field of terrorism and diplomatic abuse. Your are to be congratulated, Sir, in being an architect of this initiative. Israel believes that this necessary international effort needs to be broadened further. And we stand ready to play our part, in reciprocal fashion, to help eliminate international terrorism through the fullest cooperation with other governments.
Your visit to our country is of itself testimony to the intensified political dialogue between our two governments during this past year and more. We welcome the initiative you have taken as foreign secretary in this regard. You and I have had opportunities to exchange ideas, most recently on the occasion of the U.N. General Assembly.
A most satisfying aspect of the relationship between the United Kingdom and Israel has been the constant growth of our bilateral trade, to our mutual benefit. It would appear that the prognosis for further expansion is a good one, not least in the area of high technology, where, again, we have what to buy and what to sell - and also what to share, in the form of joint ventures. I would be less than candid were I not to say that British exports to Israel, particularly capital goods, have at times been inhibited by what I can only describe as commercial terror, namely the Arab boycott. It is an evil thing that discriminates against British industry' and, by extension, the British worker. We know that your government upholds the principle of free trade, and you are on the record in sharply condemning the boycott. What we would wish to see, as a matter of principle, are vigorous steps that would make the boycott illegal. It is a posture that we would hope would eventually embrace the whole of the European community.
During your all-too-brief stay in our country, you have undertaken a very heavy schedule that reinforces your reputation as a hard worker and a man of world statesmanship. It is a reputation which stretches well beyond the precincts of Whitehall and Westminster, reaching from Brussels to Hong Kong with many a stop in between. Tomorrow, you will be seeing something of our country from the air and on the ground. This will afford you an opportunity of viewing first-hand the geographical background of our deliberations, not least as they relate to our security concerns.
You will find our geography somewhat confined. In the north, we would like to see a free Lebanon at peace with itself and with Israel. Our single concern is the peace and security of Galilee; and once the necessary security arrangements are established in southern Lebanon, we shall bring our soldiers home. In the south, we seek to strengthen and promote the mutual ties with Egypt in accordance with the peace treaty. Our two nations must not only maintain the letter of the peace accord but also its spirit, through the nurturing of economic and political co-operation as befits two neighboring countries.
In the east, we believe that the route to peace with our neighbor, Jordan, also lies through the Camp David Accords. It is a route that forecloses no options, yet facilitates human coexistence as a major transitional step towards a negotiation and settlement. As stipulated in the Camp David Accords, the Arabs of Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza District will participate in determining their own future. This is the position the government of Israel shall adopt at the negotiating table. We have asked King Hussein to come to the table in order to negotiate a genuine peace. We still hope Jordan will soon join this process without prior conditions on its part.
What we aspire to accomplish is peace with all our neighbors that will guarantee our rights and our security. We believe, as you know, that the only way to accomplish this is through direct talks. We speak from the first-hand experience of a party directly concerned and whose national integrity and very being have been under constant threat and assault. Incantations alone will not be enough to break a stalemate. Neither can outside declarations become a substitute for the parties' own willingness to negotiate in good faith in the mutual effort to reach practical and attainable accommodations. Herein lies the crux of the problem - namely, the unwillingness of certain of our neighbors to even recognize our right to exist, or which will entertain a negotiation only on the basis of such conditions that will guarantee our eventual demise.
The task of peace-making has always been made extraordinarily complicated the risks always that much higher -because of our small geographic location in this most volatile of regions. On every side, there is instability and much violence. And so the view from our window is a personal one, touching our very lives, and, indeed, our existence. Yet, looking back over the decades, I venture to say that, small though we be, the innate strength of Israel has served as a stabilizing asset in a region so prone to destabilization. And I need hardly add that, as a democracy, we are an exception in this part of the world.
All in all, I think you will concur that our exchanges today on a wide range of issues - political, economic, bilateral and global - have been useful and productive, Certainly, our talks have been frank and friendly, as befits friends. We do not see eye to eye on all issues, but we have common ground on many. What is important is that our two governments are engaged in an improved atmosphere of honest dialogue, reviewing together and sharing thoughts together on the issues of the day. there is no better formula for better understanding and friendship.
So it is with much pleasure that we raise our glasses to your great people and country tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, will you please rise and join me in proposing a toast to Her Majesty the Queen and to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Sir Geoffrey and Lady Howe.