MESSAGE FROM THE PRIME MINISTER
OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL, MR.

YITZHAK RABIN, ON THE OCCASION OF
ROSH HASHANA 5754

My Dear Friends,

From our common house in Jerusalem, the eternal
capital of the State of Israel and the everlasting capital and the
spiritual home of the Jewish people, I send you my warmest
wishes for a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.
Shana Tova.

Rosh llashana is a time of soul‘searching forthe Jewish
people. Therefore I would like to share with you some of my
thoughts at one of the most significant times in the history of
the Jewish State.

Let me begin by saying that the Jewish people in Israel
share the deep concern of our fellow Jews throughout the world
over the demographic future of the Jewish people. The open
pluralistic societies as well as other less fortunate ones have
given Jews opportunities to integrate; however, they have also
posed the greatest challenge to the task of preserving our
Jewish identity, the danger of assimilation

Indeed Israel follows with great anxiety the growth of

'C' “i t‘ 2: l ho: z» t‘lt‘l titism lnt oll demons of anti-

meaystahmus. Itisoursacredduty

ti; («that fHIIIlet .m. in remain alert and to carry the historic
message of our Jewish religion, a message of tolerance and
openness.

Every Jew in the world should know that the days of
wandering are well behind us. Our duty is to be the safe haven
of the Jewish people, and this mission is deeply entrenched in
our minds.

The Zionist thinker Ahad Ha'am foresaw the Jewish
State as the spiritual center for all Jews, a source of pride, and
a focus for our strongest energies. By the early decades of the
next century, we will almost certainly reach a great Zionist
milestone, and the State of Israel will become the largest Jewish
community in the world.

Israel today is a strong country. And it is from a
position of confidence that we are negotiating with our Arab
partners. Peace is the essential element of our security
doctrine. However, let there be no misunderstanding: There
will be no unilateral compromises on any front. The security of
the State of Israel and its citizens is our first and foremost

Cont. Pg. 6
See

 

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OCTOBER 1993

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Bulletin of the Central Kentuekq

HISTORIC HANDSHAKE

Israeli Prime Minister Yitdiak Rabin (left) accepts hand of P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arum
(right) alter signing agreanaxt at White Home a: 9/13/93.

 

ISRAEL-PLO RECOGNITION SIGNING Wm W3.
BY PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL, YITZHAK RABIN
JERUSALEM, SEPTEMBER 10, 1993 -

PRIME MINISTER
YITZHAK RABIN: Good
Morning. I welcome you, the
Minister of Foreign Affairs of
Norway, the Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Israel. I
believe that you brought a
certain letter.

N O R W E G I A N
FOREIGN MINISTER
HOLST: Yes sir, I have a
letter addressed to the Prime
Minister of Israel and signed
Yassar Arafat, the Chairman
of the Palestine Liberation
Organization, the letter in
which the PLO recognizes the
right of the Sate of Israel to
exist in peace and security,
and elaborates on the basis of
that recognition.

(PRIME MINISTER
RABIN SIGNS THE
DOCUMENT)

PRIME MINISI‘ER
RABIN: I have just received
a letter from Chairman
Arafat in the name of the
leadership of the PLO, in
which he takes commitments
to recognize Israel and its
right to exist in peace and

security, to solve the long
conflict between the
Palestinians and Israel
through negotiations in a
peaceful way. He takes
commitment to end terror
and violence, to renounce it.

He takes upon himselfto look
at he articles of the
Palestinian Covenant
inoperative and no longer
valid. I see in this
commitment on the part of
the PLO a change, a
dramatic change, that opens
the road towards
reconciliation and peace
between the Palestinians and
Israel. It is the first
agreement between
Palestinians and Israel since
the creation of the State of
Israel.

I am fully aware
about the difficulties that
face the Palestinians and
Israel in the solution of our
problems. I see in it a big
step towards the achievement
of these goals, knowing that
still it is a long way to go,
with obstacles on the road

 

9:15

that we shall have to remove,
and it is possible to remove
them.

I believe it starts a
new era, era in which we will
do our best to achieve peace
and security to Israel, and at
the same time to give the
Palestinians the right, in the
context of agreement about
interim period, to run their
afl'airs.

I believe that there is
a great opportunity of
changing not only the
relations between the
Palestinians and Israel, but
to expand it to the solution of
the conflict between Israel
and other Arab peoples.

It is an historic

Cont. Pg. 4
See WON

TEXT OF
LETTERS OF
RECOGNITION

PAGE 4