Remarks by President Shimon Peres at the Ceremony for the Changing of the Prime Minister at the President's Residence
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and your wife Sarah,
Outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and your wife Aliza,
The Honorable Speaker of the Knesset, Mr. Reuven Rivlin,
Ministers of the Government of Israel,
Police Commissioner, Inspector-General Dudi Cohen,
Honored Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
An orderly transition of power, in accordance with the will of the voter in free elections, is the clear identifying symbol of an enlightened democratic nation as opposed to a totalitarian state, whose outward displays of power derive from its insecurity and depend on the power of force.
Since its establishment 60 years ago, the State of Israel has known more than a few changes of power, some premature, and we have succeeded in demonstrating a culture of democracy throughout these transitions. This is a source of pride for our citizens and for our institutions.
I am here to welcome and offer my best to both of you, the incoming Prime Minister and the outgoing Prime Minister. As you know, the three of us share the unerasable title: "Former Prime Minister," and one of us is beginning his second tour today. It is an honor, the gravity of which weighs on us heavily.
Receiving the responsibility to manage the affairs of state is not foreign to us. It is both exciting and a time full of apprehension in the face of great challenges, the overwhelming tasks on the national agenda, and the chronic deficit in the means needed to meet the basic demands and to answer the burning questions.
A Prime Minister who crosses the threshhold of the heavy door to his office for the first time does so with great trepidation. Because at that moment, he is no longer responsible only for himself; his whole existence must be occupied, twenty-four hours a day, with the "dark responsibility, like none other," in the words of the poet Natan Alterman.
I would like to thank the outgoing Prime Minister, Mr. Ehud Olmert, you and the Ministers of your government, for the last three and a quarter years. During the period of your leadership, the heaviest tests were placed before you, and you coped with them in a capable and impressive manner. You have given a great and very important service to the State of Israel.
Your leadership was characterized by difficult security decisions that brought about important strategic outcomes. Some of these we still can not speak about publicly.
You and your government faced an unbearable challenge in strengthening the international position of Israel, at a time when we faced a barrage of unjustified and poorly considered criticism. You faced it well.
It is not easy to cross such a raging river, and to stand against the waves and rocks hurtling towards you.
You cultivated close, friendly relations with the President of the United States, George Bush, and developed a wide set of relationships with members of Congress and with a great number of political figures and leaders from throughout the world.
You firmly and persistently advanced negotiations with the Palestinians, and brought them to the threshhold of a historic decision. You began contacts for peace with Syria.
You oversaw well-balanced commerce and a durable economy, in spite of the serious economic crisis that is gripping the world. You attended to social matters with sensitivity and compassion.
And in spite of the difficult conditions, you kept your level-headedness and judgment. You demonstrated stable leadership, dignity, strong character, and a stately manner.
Ehud,
In the name of the State of Israel, in the name of its citizens, and in my own name: I would like to thank you and offer my appreciation from the bottom of my heart. I hope that your activities on behalf of the people and the state will be evaluated appropriately. And you are still capable of adding to your activities on behalf of the state.
As for you, incoming Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, I would like to congratulate you and wish you the best with the responsibility that the Knesset has vested in you and your new government. You were up to the task that I bestowed upon you: to form a government in a limited period of time. I hoped and expressed to you as well as the leaders of the other parties that the foundation of the government be as broad as possible; the many challenges that Israel faces demand this.
I appreciate the serious effort that you made in order to try to create broad partnerships. A government that receives a majority of the parliament is a legitimate government. And I would like to offer my best wishes to you and the ministers of your government, from the bottom of my heart.
The tasks on the agenda, Mr. Netanyahu, are great:
-Our moral duty to protect the job market and to prevent layoffs, even during this serious global crisis
-The responsible management of commerce and the national budget, in a critical situation, and with concern for the most vulnerable in society
-A renewal of momentum in research and development, the broadening of infrastructure, and regional economic development
-The positioning of education and societal values and culture as a central focus
-Completing writing a constitution, and solidifying the relationships between the three branches of government
-The struggle against crime and organized crime
And above all: safeguarding the security of the State of Israel in light of the threat we face from an axis of evil with numerous bases of terror. And the consolidation of an international front to prevent the nuclearization of Iran. Israel is the only country in the world that needs to fight a cruel, underground terror organization that took over the Gaza Strip by force after overthrowing the legitimate leadership of the Palestinian Authority. It is unprecedented. It both poses a dilemma to us every day and causes us to consider new strategic precedents. Gaza is indeed under siege, but not from Israel, which evacuated all of its settlements; Gaza is under siege by Hamas, which embitters the lives of its people.
In parallel with the strengthening of Israel's security, the government under your leadership must invest great effort in advancing the peace process on every front. The outgoing government espoused the vision of two states, for two peoples, which was initiated by the American government and accepted by the majority of countries in the world. It is up to your government to decide the shape of the reality to come.
The "Arab Initiative" for regional peace has been widely publicized. I do not know of any substitute for comprehensive regional peace, and this peace will also allow us to cope with the Iranian threat to take over the region, which is mainly Arab.
And of course: the task of freeing Gilad Schalit, and returning him as quickly as possible to his loving family and his waiting people.
Binyamin Netanyahu,
You are entering your job as the Prime Minister of Israel equipped with ample experience, with your worldview, your great economic knowledge, and your thorough familiarity with the international political and security alignment. I hope that you will succeed in using your special talents and abilities so that your second term as Prime Minister will be a historic chapter in the history of the state, which needs security and craves peace. And the aspiration for a prosperous economy also obligates us to social justice.
The people of Israel remember the words of God to Gideon: "Go with this, your strength, and you shall save Israel."
All of the people pray for the salvation of Israel.