Messages marking Israel’s 25th anniversary from Premier Golda Meir and from Israel’s Consul General in New York, Ambassador David Rivlin, were released by the Israeli Consulate General here today. Mrs. Meir stressed her nation’s quest for peace and said “We have left no stone unturned in our constant pursuit of it.”
The Premier said, “Though we have had to accept the reality of no peace, we persist in the faith that peace will one day come because it is also a fundamental need of all the peoples in our area.” Noting that conflicts all over the world are moving toward solutions “through negotiation by the nations involved,” Mrs. Meir declared: “We too shall continue to work and strive for the day when negotiations with our neighbors will begin and reconciliation will finally be reached.”
Stating that day would arrive “once the option of war is eliminated and the realization that Israel is home for good is accepted,” Mrs. Meir stressed that Israel, on its 25th anniversary “again stretches out the hand of peace to its neighbors. We call upon them to join us as equals at the negotiating table, the only place where true reconciliation is ever possible.” She said, “We make no prior conditions to them just as we expect them to make none to us.”
Mrs. Meir noted that “within Israel itself, great tasks of social and economic construction await us.” She added: “Social and cultural integration will continue to be a major effort of Israel. We hope to create a society where every social gap subjective and objective, has been closed and where all individuals enjoy equal opportunities in education and in conditions of living.”
SALUTE TO JEWISH, NON-JEWISH, COMMUNITIES
Rivlin, in his message, said he saluted “all of Israel’s friends of the Jewish and non-Jewish communities with a sense of deep gratitude for the cooperation, support and manifestation of fraternity and kinship, as well as for the continuous close, mutual relationship with Israel.”
He declared that “the understanding and friendship of the American people has been a decisive factor in the development and the security of the State of Israel,” He said “It has been the help, political as well as material, from this country, which enabled us to overcome dangers in critical hours and to possess today the strength needed for our progress and for the maintenance of tranquility on our borders.”
Rivlin observed: “Through faith and vision, with Jewish historical memory, and true grasping of the full significance of Israel reborn, the United States Jewry has placed itself behind and along side of Israel to help her materially and morally in-her-hours of trial and tribulation, to enable her to overcome dangers and obstructions, and to share in her concerns, and anxieties as well as in her Joy and fulfillment.”
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