Rabin, in His Independence Day Message, Says the Search for Peace is ‘the Supreme Priority’

“The search for peace” was described by Premier Yitzhak Rabin as “the supreme priority” among the “five major challenges” which “together hold the key” to the “collective welfare” of Israel and world Jewry on the 28th anniversary of the independence of the State of Israel. The anniversary will be celebrated May 5 in Israel.

In a message to fellow Israelis and Jews all over the world, Rabin elucidated on the meaning of Israel’s Independence Day. He said “It draws a line between past survival by chance and future existence by self-will; of being helplessly controlled by events and of controlling events by our own choice, means and purpose.” It is, Rabin’s message said, “a celebration of the victory of the Jewish spirit over every suppressor and despot, past and present. It is a Jewish festival of freedom as lasting and as indestructible as the values, the faith and the heritage which inspired it.”

As the second “major challenge” after the search for peace, Rabin listed “the strengthening of our defensive capacity” because “so long as the basic attitude of our neighbors remains one of hostility, we have no choice but to continue to invest heavily in our self-defense.”

The third challenge, Rabin said, was “the further consolidation of our economic infrastructure: an essential component of Israel’s strength is its economic development which must continue to expand. This requires of us to work even harder, export more and consume less. It requires of the free Jewish world to invest in Israel in an unprecedented fashion and share, thereby, in its upbuilding.”

OTHER CHALLENGES OUTLINED

Rabin listed as the fourth challenge “the closing of the social gap” in Israel. He noted that after 28 years of independence, “we are still engaged in the great human effort to give all our citizens equality of opportunity through better education, better skills, better housing and a better quality of life. Here too,” his message said, “Israel continues to look to the generosity of the free Jewish world to give of its best in helping to create with us the instruments to meet the human needs of our society.”

The Premier said that the fifth challenge was to further strengthen the bonds between Israel and the Jewish people. “Herein lies the real strength of Israel and of our people everywhere,” he said. “our future, like our past, is one. It must be forged ever stronger and ever deeper through a new priority for Jewish education. It has to express itself through a new commitment to aliya. And it must be reflected in closer ties of intimacy through volunteer efforts in Israel, visits to Israel in unprecedented numbers, the sharing of material opinions, public solidarity and an ever meaningful dialogue of thinking.”

Rabin said that these Jewish priorities “relate to the welfare of all of us and not least to our brethren in countries where freedom is denied them–the remnants of communities in Arab countries where they are held hostage and the great Jewish community of the Soviet Union.”

The Premier’s message also paid tribute to Israel’s “sons and daughters who sacrificed all so that we might celebrate this day–those who fell in the struggle for our freedom and in the subsequent battles to protect it. Their legacy is precious and it imposes upon us the common obligation to build a better, a more beautiful and a stronger Israel.”