Rosh Hashanah messages from Israel’s Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres.

September 4, 2013 by J-Wire Staff
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Messages from Israel’s Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres…

 

Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu

Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu

At the start of this week’s cabinet meeting, Israel’s Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu said: “This week the Jewish People will celebrate Rosh Hashanah in Israel and around the world. I wish the entire Jewish People a good and blessed year. We will continue to strengthen our security. We will continue to develop the State of Israel. We will see to it that all Israeli citizens will have a good and safe year!”

“I want to wish Jewish communities around the world a very happy Rosh Hashanah. I hope the New Year will bring the Jewish people everywhere security, prosperity and peace. The New Year is of course a time for taking stock, it’s a time for reflection, and as we look back over the last year, there have been many achievements of which we can be proud. Just in the last week we have witnessed some remarkable achievements. We’ve successfully relaunched the Amos 4 communication satellite. You should know that Israel is among a very small and elite group of countries capable of launching such satellites. This is yet another testament to Israel’s technological prowess. Today, Israeli technology and innovation are sought after commodities around the globe, and as a result and despite the world’s economic downturn and malaise, Israel leads the developed countries in sustained growth. Israel stands out economically and in so many other ways. Our young people continue to make us proud. Israeli high school students have brought home numerous prizes from global competitions, including gold, silver and bronze medals from the Science and Computer Olympics. These are important, they are intellectual sports events and I think they are very, very indicative. In international test scores, Israeli youngsters lead the Western world in math and they are in the top tier in science.

During a period in which the rest of our region is experiencing unprecedented turmoil, violence, extremism, we in Israel held elections and we formed a new government. I am proud to serve as Prime Minister. We remain an oasis of democracy, an oasis of stability, of tolerance and liberty where the rights of all are protected, where all are equal under the law. Of course we have many challenges too. We have to make sure that our economy continues to grow, that all Israelis enjoy the benefits of that economic growth and we also have external challenges.

We seek to advance peace with the Palestinians while maintaining our security and ensuring that the peace will be a real and enduring peace. Not a ceremony, not an agreement that we celebrate for two minutes and then collapse. We want a real, genuine and enduring peace and this must be anchored in recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and in our security. This is what ultimately is needed. Now of course as we look around we see the situation in Syria, it’s of great concern, great tragedy, and we follow the developments there very closely, and while we’re not involved in the internal conflict in Syria, we will defend ourselves and if it is necessary, we will act with resolve to protect our people. No one should doubt our resolve. And of paramount importance, we also see Iran continue to pursue its nuclear weapons program, and this poses a great threat to Israel, to the region, to the peace of the world. Iran’s nuclear program must be stopped. We simply cannot allow the world’s most dangerous regime to obtain the world’s most dangerous weapon. We already have enough indication of what this could do.

In meeting these and in meeting other challenges, I have no doubt that Jewish communities around the world will continue to stand by Israel, just as Israel will continue to be there for the Jewish people everywhere, for Jewish unity is a major source of our collective strength, and together, no challenge is too great. When we’ve acted together, we defied the laws of history, we’ve overcome such tremendous odds, and Israel is such a thriving, bustling, prosperous, modern, advanced country, and you can look at a very very far distance, to the west and to the east and to other directions and you see that Israel is a beacon of stability and modernity and progress and it’s because we’re united, because together I believe we can continue to achieve great things for the Jewish people and for the world. So as we gather with family and friends to welcome the New Year, I wish you all a happy new year. We say Shana Tova Umetuka, it means a good year and a sweet new year, so have both. Shana Tova.”

 

and…

From President Shimon Peres:

Dear Friends,

I am happy to extend my warmest good wishes to the Jewish Communities around the world, in my name and on behalf of the people of Israel at large, for the New Year – a new beginning – which I pray will bring peace, stability, economic growth and opportunities leading to great achievements.

At the onset of Rosh Hashana, and as an omen of optimism for the year to come, Israelis and Palestinians have returned to the negotiating table with full force. At this time of hope for the future, we pray that these efforts will yield the long-awaited results we have all been yearning for, allowing us to enjoy the fruits of peace with hope in our hearts for a brighter future for us all.

In the Middle East the dust has yet to settle on the dramatic changes that have swept across our region. We hope that from this period of instability will emerge the chance for the countries around us to find the freedom and prosperity for which they aspire, and that a promising dawn will rise over this part of the world. In these turbulent times, Israel remains an island of stability in a sea of uncertainty and will continue to stand strong in the face of adversity – whether it be terror, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, or missile attacks on our citizens. Our prayers for a calm sea go hand in hand with the unyielding shield which we hold around our island.

Israel has not been resting on its laurels and has continued to advance to new frontiers in science, technology and medicine, drawing on our exceptional human resources to spearhead these efforts. It has carved for itself an ever stronger foothold in these domains through exciting innovative and creative breakthroughs used to finding solutions for such issues as water and food scarcity that will constitute a huge relief to communities suffering from drought and other environmental issues, alongside cutting-edge techniques in brain research that will change our lives, and significant discoveries in space and the ocean’s bed that will shed light on so many of the mysteries of the world, among many others.

While many challenges still lie ahead, we are confident of our strength and are ever more determined of our purpose as a contributing nation. The bond which has linked the Jewish communities abroad with Israel and the adage of being responsible for one another remind us that we are not alone on this mission. In this aspiration, the engagement of the young generation is essential, and we hope that each and every youngster will join us on this journey towards a better tomorrow. Together, we shall continue to strive for a better world – Tikkun Olam – and for an Israel in which moral values are fundamental to our way of life.

From Jerusalem, I wish all the Jewish communities the world over a year of peace, joy, good health and prosperity.

Shana Tova U’Metuka!

Shimon Peres


 

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