Remarks at the Welcoming
Ceremony for Israeli PM Begin
(March 21, 1978)
THE PRESIDENT. It's with great pleasure that I, on
behalf of the people of the United States, welcome to our country again
Prime Minister Begin of the great and courageous state of Israel.
Our mutual commitment to the search for a permanent
peace in the Middle East is exemplified by the fact that this is our
third meeting personally within the last year. In 2 months we will all
be celebrating the 30th anniversary. of the founding of the nation of
Israel.
We have a commitment to the preservation of Israel
as a nation, to the security of Israel, the right of the Israeli people,
who have suffered so much, to live in peace that is absolutely permanent
and unshakable.
The ties that bind the people of the United States
and the people of Israel together, the ties of blood, kinship, ties
of history, ties of common religious beliefs, the dream, centuries old,
of the founding of the new nation of Israel have been realized. But
the dream that the new nation of Israel should be guaranteed a right
to live in peace has not yet been realized for its people and those
who love Israel around the world.
This dream has been prevented by the shackles of potential
war, and have prevented the pursuit of justice and the reduction in
human suffering which has so long been a characteristic of Jews everywhere.
Since 1967 we've been working in a concerted way with
the leaders of the Israeli Government, trying to bring the prospects
and the realization of peace. For 10 years, under the broad scope of
United Nations Resolution 242, this search bas been going on in a concerted
way.
And last November, with the dramatic welcoming of President
Sadat to Jerusalem by Prime Minister Begin and the Israeli people, the
hopes of the world were raised.
Those bright days of new opportunity have now been
clouded over, and the recent cowardly and unjustified attack by terrorists
on innocent civilians in Israel have resulted in the loss of hundreds
of lives and tens of thousands of people who are now homeless.
We still hope and pray for an end to the disputes which
would almost instantaneously transform the lives of the people of the
Middle East into ones of hope, friendship, trade, prosperity, brotherhood,
and peace.
Those hopes have not and will not be abandoned. Israel
is now, militarily and in many other ways, stronger than ever before
in history, and with this strength in physical terms and with this strength
of the leadership of Israel rests the prospects for a resolution of
the difficulties that have so long divided the people of the Middle
East.
Peace can come from a guarantee of security, and our
staunch friendship for Israel will continue to be a major element in
this foundation for progress.
We welcome this morning Prime Minister Begin, a man
of destiny who has had thrust upon his able shoulders the responsibilities
for the future of his own people, of the people in the Middle East,
and indeed, of those who love peace around the world.
Mr. Prime Minister, you are welcome to our country.
THE PRIME MINISTER. Mr. President, I thank you for
your kindness and hospitality in inviting me again to the White House,
together with my friend and colleague the Foreign Minister, Moshe Dayan,
to conduct important talks with you, Secretary of State, and your advisers
about the main issues concerning the Middle East and the peacemaking
process.
Admittedly, Mr. President, these are times of trial.
Only 10 days ago Israel got another reminder of what character is the
implacable enemy she faces, what is its design's and methods toward
men, women, and children, citizens of our country.
We believe that we shall overcome, because this is
our duty to our people and to humanity, and with our deep faith in freedom
and in justice, I can say again we shall overcome.
Israel contributed seriously to the peacemaking process
in the Middle East. For the first time the Government of Israel elaborated
and produced a detailed peace plan, a most forthcoming plan. And I brought
this plan, after my visit to you, Mr. President, in December, also,
during the Ismailia conference, to the President of Egypt.
May I be permitted to say, Mr. President, that the
atmosphere which prevailed in December during our conference and later
on at Ismailia was of understanding, of real friendship, of openness.
The same applies to the meeting in Jerusalem between President Sadat
and myself. Those are encounters of the most positive character, and
we can only pray today that the spirit of Jerusalem, of Washington,
and of Ismailia be renewed.
This will mean real progress toward establishment of
peace in the Middle East—our dream, our innermost wish.
Mr. President, you also stressed the friendship of
the United States for my country. I am grateful. I believe this friendship
between the American and the Israeli peoples is everlasting, and we
find proof time and again of this mutual friendship.
I wish again to thank you for the sentiments of deep
humanity you expressed in your cable to me after that unspeakable atrocity
10 days ago.
On the basis of such understanding we shall continue
to build our common future as free, democratic nations, and with the
spirit of those days, which I mentioned, we shall also make real progress
towards the establishment of a just and durable, real peace in the Middle
East for which we yearn and which is so necessary to Israel and to the
Arab countries.
Again, Mr. President, I thank you for your wonderful
hospitality on behalf of the Foreign Minister, all our advisers, and
myself, and I do hope that .our talks today and tomorrow in the White
House will deepen the friendship between our two countries.
Thank you.
Sources: Public Papers of the President |