Greetings by PM Netanyahu Fourth of July Reception [At Ambassador's
Residence]
Transcription
01/07/2009
Priime Minister's Office
www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng/Communication/EventsDiary/eventus010709.htm

Mr. Ambassador,
Mrs. Cunningham,
Members of the Israeli Government,
Members of Knesset,
Members of the United States Arms Forces,
Distinguished Diplomats,
And Honored Guests from Israel and from the United States,

In the year 1776, the world witnessed a new birth of freedom, the birth of
the United States of America. The United States, the country that was
referred to by its founders as the new Promised Land, the new Zion, became
the bastion, defender and champion of freedom. The U.S. was a bastion of
freedom in the 19th century as many millions of immigrants flocked to its
inviting shores to search for a new life, to search for freedom. Etched on
the base of the Statue of Liberty, the immortal words of Emma Lazarus, the
American Jewish poet, who was incidentally a Zionist, said it all. They
came "yearning to be free".

The United States was a defender of freedom in the 20th century as it
confronted and defeated history's greatest tyrannies, and above all else,
the Nazi tyranny. And over the last 233 years, the United States has been
freedom's greatest champion, all the while insisting that freedom is not
something that only a privileged few countries can enjoy, but the birthright
of every nation and every people. It's not surprising therefore that our
own birth of freedom would resonate so powerfully with the American people.
After all, this was the reemergence of the Jews as a free and independent
nation in our ancestral homeland, in the original Promised Land, the
original Zion. This was why it took President Harry S. Truman only eleven
minutes to recognize the newly born Jewish state, and this is why every
American president since then, has expressed the deep friendship between our
two countries, a friendship anchored not in transitory interests, but in
eternal values and timeless ideals. And these common ideals of liberty and
democracy, are the foundation of the deep and enduring bond between the
United States and Israel, a bond that President Obama recently declared was
unbreakable in his landmark speech in Cairo before the entire Muslim world.

In Israel evidence of this unbreakable bond is here for everyone to see.
You can see it as you walk down the streets of Jerusalem, streets named
after Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. You can see it if you visit
the memorial to the slain U.S. President, John F. Kennedy in the outskirts
of Jerusalem. You can see it in the agonized faces of Israelis who shared
grief and sorrow with the American people in the terrible events of
September 11th. You can see it in the smiling and admiring faces of
Israelis every time the United States has an achievement or a success around
the world and you can see it Mr. Ambassador, in the faces of all the people
who came here to celebrate with you tonight.

So as the Prime Minister of one of the world's most passionate democracies,
let me say that we share a common heritage with the world's greatest
democracy. Throughout history, democracies have ultimately proven more
powerful and more resilient than the dictatorships that threaten them.
Eventually, the will of free people to defend their values and defend their
societies proves unconquerable. Eventually, the will of un-free people to
become free and live under democratic societies usually breaks through the
concrete of tyranny. But the greatest danger facing our world today is that
this historical consistency of the triumph and spread of democracy could
change if the world's worst regimes acquire the world's more dangerous
weapons. For the sake of peace, for the sake of our common security, for
the sake of our common values, this must not be allowed to happen.

So Mr. Ambassador, as we celebrate your Independence Day with you, let us
reaffirm our commitment to those powerful ideas that were promulgated two
hundred and thirty three years ago, and later in Philadelphia, and that are
so deeply shared by our two peoples. Let us reaffirm our commitment to roll
back those who threaten our lives and our freedoms and let us reaffirm our
commitment to advance the cause of peace in our region and throughout the
world.

On behalf of the People of Israel, I send our best wishes to President Obama
and to the American People. Happy Independence Day America and may G-d
continue to bless America and our profound friendship. Chag Sameach. Thank
you.