PM’s Yom Haatzmaut message
Israel is 65 years young, even as the state fulfils a dream of faith and rebirth that is over 3000 years old.
Israel is 65 years young, even as the state fulfils a dream of faith and rebirth that is over 3000 years old.
We cherish Israel as a democracy in a region facing profound upheaval. It is a society, as I have noted previously, based on liberty, justice and peace, and which has guaranteed freedom of religion, language and culture to all its people.
Just last month, President Shimon Peres, a founding father of the state, captured modern Israel with these words: “We have a rich heritage and a great dream. As I look back, I feel the Israel of today has exceeded the vision we had 65 years ago. Reality has surpassed the dreams.” Israel is a modern miracle.
As Israel also observes its Remembrance Day, Yom Hazikaron, in honour of those who have fallen in defence of the country, we are cognisant of the unresolved challenges Israel continues to face – and the imperative of finding answers, through diplomacy, that will allow Israel and Palestine to live side-by-side as two states, and that we will also find a way, through diplomacy, to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and threatening the peace and security of the world. The urgency of these tasks is underscored by the upheaval in Syria and the tens of thousands of lives that have been lost, and changes that are reverberating throughout the Arab world and what they mean for the region’s future.
In all these quests, Australia is pleased to join with the government and people of Israel, and those of goodwill around the world, to help advance the cause of peace throughout the Middle East. In this spirit, I extend warm regards on Israel’s Independence Day.
JULIA GILLARD
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