Begin’s Independence Day Message

The following is the message from Premier Menachem Begin on the occasion of Israel’s 33rd Independence Day which will be marked May 7:

From Jerusalem our eternal and indivisible capitol I send to you all heartfelt greetings on the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the proclamation of Israel independence in the land of our forefathers.

After the most terrible disaster which befell our people in Europe and the heroic fight of Eretz Yisrael for national self liberation, we lived to see the day, one of the greatest in the annals of our ancient people, when we became a nation among nations, free and independent in our own country.

Since then we have brought home millions of Jewish people from the four corners of the world. We have had to sustain our independence through five wars, in which fourteen thousand of our best men gave their lives and more than thirty thousand were wounded. But we did protect and preserve our independence. We set our country free; reunited Jerusalem; we built up the land are turning it into green pastures.

A TURNING POINT IN THE MIDEAST

This year we celebrate the second anniversary of the signing of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. No doubt this is a turning point in the annals of the two countries and of the Middle East. After thirty one years of a state of war and of five actual wars waged on the battle field with great sacrifice, sorrow and bereavement, we, Egypt and Israel, declare that we shall never again raise arms against each other and the state of war is terminated.

The Middle East and its periphery are in a state of turmoil. Iraq faces Iran in armed conflict. Syria, itself seized by internal convulsions, is in confrontation with Jordan. Lebanon continues its inner bloody strife, mainly because of the presence of the criminal PLO now armed by Soviet tanks and heavy weapons, aided by Syria and financed, as before by Saudi Arabia. In this arena of instability and dispute the only peaceful corner emanates from the treaty of peace between Israel and Egypt. We have since signed many agreements which stem from the treaty. We still have problems; indeed we hope to solve them.

Better the difficulties of peace than the suffering of war. We will be faithful to all the terms and all the parts of the Camp David agreement. There may still be difficulties ahead but we have started this great new chapter in our life, peace.

We live by the faith that in generations to come our people will live in this land together with their neighbors, in equality, in human dignity, in freedom, in independence and in real security.