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Wednesday, November 30, 2011
(With video link) Amb Prosor addresses UNGA debate on The Question of Palestine

Video:
http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/2011/11/general-assembly-67th-meeting.html

29 Nov 2011
On November 29, 1947, the United Nations voted to partition then
British-Mandate Palestine into two states: one Jewish, one Arab. Two states
for two peoples.
MFA
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Foreign+Relations/Israel+and+the+UN/Speeches+-+statements/Amb_Prosor_addresses_UNGA_29-Nov-2011.htm

Mr. President,

A great Jewish sage once wrote, "The truth can hurt like a thorn, at first;
but in the end it blossoms like a rose."
His words came to my mind today. His insight could really benefit many in
this hall.

It takes a well of truth to water the seeds of peace. Yet, we continue to
witness a drought of candor in this body's discussion of the
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. On this historic day, real facts in the
General Assembly remain few and far between.

For any who have been here on November 29th before, today is déjà vu. Some
of you may have noticed that some minor changes have been taking place in
the Middle East lately, but any changes in this body's resolutions
condemning Israel are very, very rare. Indeed, it didn't take a creative
writer to craft the language in these resolutions. The exact same text is
copied and pasted, year after year - much of it dating back five decades.

The account we heard today is one-sided. It is unilateral. It is unjust. And
it is unhelpful. It presents a distorted and impartial version of history.
It transforms the cause of Palestinian self-determination into a deliberate
attempt to denigrate, defame, and delegitimize the State of Israel.

The political dynamics in this body are sadly predictable. Every November,
the leaves change color in New York, but the automatic anti-Israel majority
never changes its votes. Each and every responsible member of the
international community that affixes its seal of approval on this exact same
set of resolutions - which are irrelevant at best, and damaging at worst -
should do a little soul searching. Is this the message that you want the
General Assembly to send to the world?

Mr. President,

Let me take a moment to remind this Assembly about what actually occurred on
this day 64 years ago - and in the days that followed.

On November 29, 1947, the United Nations voted to partition then
British-Mandate Palestine into two states: one Jewish, one Arab. Two states
for two peoples. The Jewish population accepted that plan and declared a new
state in its ancient homeland. It reflected the Zionist conviction that it
was both necessary and possible to live in peace with our neighbors in the
land of our forefathers. The Arab inhabitants rejected the plan and launched
a war of annihilation against the new Jewish state, joined by the armies of
five Arab members of the United Nations.

One percent of Israel's population died during this assault by five armies.
Think about that price. It would be the equivalent of 650,000 dying in
France today, or 3 million dying in the United States, or 13 million dying
in China. As a result of the war, there were Arabs who became refugees. A
similar number of Jews, who lived in Arab countries, were forced to flee
their homes as well. They, too, became refugees.

The difference between these two distinct populations was - and still is -
that Israel absorbed the refugees into our society. Our neighbors did not.

Refugee camps in Israel gave birth to thriving towns and cities. Refugee
camps in Arab countries gave birth to more Palestinian refugees. We unlocked
our new immigrants' vast potential.

The Arab world knowingly and intentionally kept their Palestinian
populations in the second class status of permanent refugees. In Lebanon for
many years and still today, the law prohibits Palestinians from owning
land - and from working in the public sector or as doctors and lawyers.
Palestinians are banned from these professions. In Kuwait, the once
significant Palestinian population was forcibly expelled from the country in
1991. Few remain. In Syria, thousands of Palestinians had to flee refugee
camps in Latakia last August when President Assad shelled their homes with
naval gunboats. In the vast majority of Arab countries, Palestinians have no
rights of citizenship. It is no coincidence that the Arab world's
responsibilities for the "inalienable rights" of these Palestinians never
appear in the resolutions before you.

Mr. President,

The basic question underlying our conflict for 64 years has not changed.
That question is: has the Arab world - and particularly the Palestinians -
internalized that Israel is here to stay and will remain the nation-state of
the Jewish people? It is still unclear whether they are inspired by the
promise of building a new state, or the goal of destroying an existing one.

Two months ago, President Abbas stood at the podium in this very hall and
tried to erase the unbroken and unbreakable connection between the Jewish
people and the Land of Israel. He said the following: "I come before you
today from the Holy Land, the land of Palestine, the land of divine
messages, ascension of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the
birthplace of Jesus Christ (peace be upon him)."

This was not an oversight. It was not a slip of the tongue. It was yet
another deliberate attempt to deny and erase more than 3,000 years of Jewish
history. The Arab leaders from those two nations that sought peace have
offered a different message. For example, in 1995, King Hussein came to the
United States and said (quote): "For our part, we shall continue to work for
the new dawn when all the Children of Abraham and their descendants are
living together in the birthplace of their three great monotheistic
religions." In 1977, President Sadat came to Israel's Knesset and quoted
this verse from the Koran: "We believe in God and in what has been revealed
to us and what was revealed to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob, and the tribes
and in the books given to Moses, Jesus, and the prophets from their lord."
President Sadat and King Hussein spoke of THREE monotheistic religions, not
ONE or TWO.

Mr. President,

The resolution that gives the 29th of November significance - General
Assembly resolution 181 - speaks of the creation of a "Jewish State" no less
than 25 times. We still do not hear Palestinian leaders utter the term. The
Palestinian leadership refuses to acknowledge Israel's character as a Jewish
state. You will never hear them say "two states for two peoples". If you
ever hear a Palestinian leader say "two states for two peoples", please
phone me immediately. My office has set up the equivalent of a 9/11 number
in the event of such an unprecedented occurrence.

Palestinian leaders call for an independent Palestinian state, but insist
that the Palestinian people return to the Jewish state. This is a
proposition that no one who believes in the right of Israel to exist could
ever accept. The idea that Israel will be flooded with millions of
Palestinians is a non-starter. The international community knows it. The
Palestinian leadership knows it. But the Palestinian people aren't hearing
it. At this very moment, the gap between their perception and reality
remains the major obstacle to peace.

Let me repeat that: the so-called right of return is and will remain the
major obstacle to peace. It is not settlements. It is not the laundry list
of baseless accusations launched against Israel in today's resolutions. I'll
repeat it again: the so-called right of return is the major obstacle to
peace. Everyone knows it.

Yet, all of those who were so vocal today in telling Israel what is has to
do for peace - mumbled, stuttered and conveniently lost their voices when it
came to telling the Palestinians that the so-called right of return is a
non-starter. For decades, this body has rubberstamped nearly every
Palestinian whim, no matter how counter-factual or counter-productive. What
has this accomplished? The lip service of this body has only done a
disservice for peace.

Mr. President,

True friends of the Palestinians have a responsibility to tell them the
truth. They will stop promoting the distorted version of history that
characterizes this day, and start delivering the real lessons of history
that the Palestinian leadership now refuses to heed. These lessons are
clear: bilateral negotiations are the only route to two states, for two
peoples - living side-by-side in peace and security; negotiations that
resolve the outstanding concerns of both sides.

While bypass maneuvers may work for heart surgery and highway construction,
they will not bring peace or security to our region. Direct negotiations
were the way of President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin, the way of Prime
Minister Rabin and King Hussein. It has been the framework for advancing
peace between Israel and the Palestinians for the past two decades.

Time and again, we have extended our hand in peace to the Palestinians.
Prime Minister Netanyahu stood in this very hall last September and declared
his commitment to the cause of Palestinian self-determination - and his
vision for establishing a Palestinian state, alongside the Jewish State of
Israel - two states for two peoples.

Yet, today we wait for the Palestinians to give up the false idol of
unilateralism - and get back to the real hard work of direct negotiations.
And - as they continue to run away from the negotiating table, the
Palestinian leadership continues to move closer into their embrace of
Hamas - an internationally recognized terrorist organization dedicated to
the destruction of Israel.

This development brings to my mind Groucho Marx's famous line: "Those are my
principles, and if you don't like them … well, I have others." The Quartet
has long applied three principles that Hamas must adopt. It must renounce
violence, recognize Israel and abide by prior agreements. At no point has
Hamas satisfied these conditions - or indicated any intention to do so.
Those who advocate recognizing a government that includes Hamas are urging a
Groucho-Marxist policy in a complex, unstable region. If Hamas is too
extreme to accept these principles, they argue, we must tailor our
principles to match Hamas's extremism.

The bar has been set very low. On these basic requirements for peace, there
can be no adjustments. There can be no bargaining. There can be no Holiday
Season discounts - in this hall or anywhere else.

Mr. President,

Even more than the words spoken in the speeches here today - or the words in
the resolutions before you - it is the words not spoken that speak volumes.
This Assembly has made clear that it does not stand in solidarity with many
people in our region today. In this hall, I hear no solidarity with the one
million Israeli men, women and children who live under the constant rain
rockets, mortars and missiles from the Gaza Strip. I hear no solidarity with
the 16-year old boy who was killed last April when a Hamas anti-tank missile
struck his school bus. Or the thousands of other Israeli civilians who have
been killed and injured. I hear no solidarity with the Israeli children who
learn the alphabet at the same time that they learn the names Kassam, Grad,
and Katyusha - the rockets that keep them out of school for weeks at a time.

I hear no solidarity with the Palestinians who are victims of brutal Hamas
rule - with the political opponents who are tortured, the women who are
subjugated, or the children who are used as suicide bombers and human
shields.

And - Mr. President, today I hear no solidarity with the many people in the
Middle East who are being repressed and slaughtered every single day for
demanding their freedom. From Syria to Iran to Yemen, these people are no
longer content with their leader's explanations that Israel is to blame for
all the problems of the Middle East - a fiction that is advanced through
resolutions like those before us today. Today the people of the Middle East
demand real answers for their plight.

I also heard no discussion today about the incitement that continues to fill
the West Bank and Gaza, where the next generation of Palestinian children is
being taught that suicide bombers are heroes, that Jews have no connection
to the Holy Land, and that they must seek to annihilate the State of Israel.
From cradles to kindergarten classrooms; from the grounds of summer camps to
the stands of football stadiums; from the names of public squares to the
public pronouncements of Palestinian leaders, these messages are everywhere.

Just last month, President Abbas declared that the Palestinian Authority
would provide a grant of up to $5,000 to every terrorist released in
exchange for Gilad Shalit, Israel's kidnapped soldier. These are people like
Ibrahim Shammasina, who helped to murder four Israelis, including two
teenagers. People like Walid Anajas, who planned bombings in the heart of
Jerusalem and Rishon Lezion, which killed 32. People like Wafa-al Bis, who
unsuccessfully tried to blow herself up in an Israeli hospital.

Washed in the blood of innocents, these terrorists are being held up as role
models for the next generation of Palestinian children. Palestinian
Authority television broadcast President Abbas' remarks to these released
terrorists last October. He said, "You are people of struggle and Jihad
fighters for Allah and the homeland... Your sacrifice and your effort and
your actions were not in vain."

Mr. President,

Sustainable peace must take root in homes, schools, and media that teach
tolerance and understanding so that it can grow in hearts and minds. It must
come from a Palestinian leadership willing to tell its people about the
difficult compromises that they will have to make for statehood. It will
come through the hard work of state-building, not the old habit of
state-bashing.

Today none of these truths have been spoken. Today I hear no solidarity with
the principles of peace.

I know that the truth can be a burden. I know that old habits die-hard. I
know that the convenience of the moment sometimes weighs heavy on the
interests of the future. Yet, only the truth will set us free. After years
of darkness, I call on this Assembly to bring new light to this debate.

I call on each and every delegate in this hall to embrace pragmatic
solutions, not automatic resolutions; to speak with candor, and not slander;
to grapple for a new vision, and not old divisions. I call on this Assembly
to finally glean truth from this historic day, nourishing the seeds of peace
in our region that can blossom into a brighter future.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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