October 30/2015

Remembering Rabin (1922-1995)

This week marked 20 years to the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who led Israel through times of war and of peace. His name and legacy are synonymous with landmark achievements in both arenas. As IDF Chief of Staff, Rabin propelled Israel to victory in the 1967 war; in 1976 Rabin's first government ordered the Entebe operation, in which the IDF heroically rescued Air France passengers hijacked by terrorists in Uganda. During Rabin's second term as Prime Minister he signed the Oslo agreements with the Palestinians and the treaty of peace with Jordan.

Rabin, in his own words, was a soldier of war and a soldier for peace. His commitment to "fight terror as if there were no peace and make peace as if there is no terror" encapsulates succinctly the challenge Israel still faces today. Rabin served the State of Israel as a distinguished military leader just as he served in the Palmach prior to Israel’s establishment. He continued serving Israel as an officer, a diplomat and a statesman every single day of his life, up until that fateful day when he was killed at a peace rally in Tel Aviv.

Rabin paid with his life for his staunch commitment to peace. His legacy will remain with us forever.

Shabbat Shalom,

  

Yaron Sideman
Consul General Of Israel,
Mid-Atlantic Region

October 23/2015

Israeli aid to Vanuatu and the wave of Palestinian violence

It is possible to gain an understanding of the root causes of the ongoing wave of violence in Israel by looking at Israel’s relationship with the far-away Pacific island nation of Vanuatu.

This week, Israel shipped significant humanitarian assistance to the island republic in the form of food to provide for the nutritional needs of 2,000 of its citizens for a period of one month. The aid was delivered in the aftermath of a disaster caused by a tropical cyclone last March, which destroyed 90% of the structures in the main island of the Republic and decimated 70% of the country's crops. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a letter to his counterpart in Vanuatu a few days after the cyclone, expressing his regret for the tragic loss of life, and declaring Israel to be ready and willing to help rebuild the country and provide assistance for recovery.

Nothing compelled Israel to extend this generosity other than a genuine desire to help others in need and to save lives whenever and wherever possible. The values of human dignity, love, and sanctity of life are enshrined in Israel’s declaration of independence, and inherent to our national narrative. They are part of our moral DNA as Israelis and as Jews.

Contrast this with the current wave of Palestinian violence, which seeks on a daily basis to take the lives of Israelis and to kill Jews, and is a direct result of a national narrative and mindset that propagates hatred, terrorism and murder as opposed to reverence for life. In order for there to be a chance of peace between Israelis and Palestinians, the Palestinian leadership must stop poisoning the minds of young Palestinians with hatred of the Jews. When the Arab world sees value in sending humanitarian assistance to far-away countries like Vanuatu, the Middle East will have turned a corner for the better.

Shabbat Shalom,

  

Yaron Sideman
Consul General Of Israel,
Mid-Atlantic Region

October 16/2015

When Hatred and Hope Collide

Throughout history, the Jewish people and the Jewish State have triumphed in the face of challenges and threats. Not only have we survived, but we are thriving today, as a people and as a state. The astonishing accomplishments of Israel in the relatively short time since its establishment are a testament to that triumph. One key reason for our success is that we, as Jews and Israelis, have always been forward looking. Israel’s anthem, HaTikvah means “The Hope.”  

Our state of mind hopes for a better future and takes action to ensure it arrives. We are constantly on the move to improve, never succumbing to despair and frustration, no matter how difficult things may be at a given moment in time. Our national narrative and mindset are linked to the concept of hope. By contrast, the mindset of our Palestinian neighbors seems to be the exact opposite. 

Instead of embracing hope, the Palestinian leadership succumbs to despair; instead of fostering a forward looking national narrative and a positive agenda for their people, they promote a narrative of hatred towards Jews and an agenda of violence and destruction. It is that very mindset which they have been imparting on their children for generations. 

We are witnessing the bloody consequences of that sad reality today, with the vicious cycle of Palestinian violence against Israeli civilians that erupted nearly three weeks ago and claimed several lives. At the end of the day, hope will triumph, as it always has, and Israel will come out stronger and more resilient than ever. It is my hope that the Palestinian leadership will change their narrative so that our combined hopes and aspirations can meet and reconcile, rather than collide with their hatred. 

Shabbat Shalom,

  

Yaron Sideman
Consul General Of Israel,
Mid-Atlantic Region

October 02/2015

Papal Visit in Philadelphia

This week, just a few weeks after my arrival to Philadelphia, I had the chance to feel the excitement and the special vibe of the city, as it was getting ready for the Papal visit. In advance of the visit,  it was the subject of much discussion and nervous anticipation.  Visit stories were all over the local and national news. Philadelphia was filled with signs greeting Pope Francis  and the enthusiastic visitors to the World Meeting of Families. The price for all the excitement was of course road blocks which made my commute to work, which usually is about a 10 minute drive, longer and longer every day as we gotcloser to the visit (40 minutes at the maximum).

As we anticipated, it was a great visit. The photos from the Papal mass on Benjamin Franklin Parkway, with hundreds of thousands of people, are unforgettable.  Before coming to Philadelphia, the Pope visited the ground zero memorial in New York, Francis selected Ground Zero as the place in the United States he wanted to have an interfaith gathering. Representatives from a diverse mix of world religions were represented at the service including Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and Jews. During the service Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of Judaism’s largest denomination, the Reform movement, said:

“To be able, on that spot, to have a service with interfaith leaders, and this Pope, to try and figure out: How do we craft a world where religion is the glue that holds our moral fiber together — not this  battering ram of ideology and ethnocentrism and hatred.” 

Pope Francis also added: 

"This place of death became a place of life, too, a place of saved lives, a hymn to the triumph of life over the prophets of
destruction and death, to goodness over evil, to reconciliation and unity over hatred and division." 

Pope Francis came to the United States bringing a message of hope, of unity among all peoples of the world, and of peace.

Israel has also experienced terror attacks since the day it was founded. We still believe in choosing life and peace over hatred and violence. During the last weeks, violence was spread across the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. In a city which is holy for Jews, Muslims and Christians, Israel sees a huge significance in maintaining the status quo, which allows people, all people, to pray. On the other side of Israel’s effort for peace and unity in the holy city, we can see the incitement, which comes from the Muslim Brotherhood, from Hamas, and – with the active participation of the Palestinian Authority. This incitement only brings more violence. It hurts the people who want to pray in the Temple Mount, Jews or Muslims. We should stop the incitement, stop the violence and let the peace return to the holiest city.


Shabbat Shalom,

Moran Birman, Deputy Consul General