YouSaid · the spoken record

Prosor

lines on the record: 556
first: 2011-06-30
most recent: 2015-07-30
sittings or episodes: 50
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“These are founding principles of the United Nations - principles that are now being put to the test. Today there is a clear choice between constructive solutions and destructive resolutions. In April, Israel put a serious and comprehensive proposal on the table before the Palestinians in Amman. We spelled out our position. Most people in this Chamber know that. The Palestinians never responded. They walked away, and the world said nothing. Many of the countries represented in this Chamber today did not utter a single word calling on the Palestinians to respond to Israel's offer. They have stood idle as that proposal gathers dust. Instead of sitting with Israel in direct negotiations, the Palestinian leadership is pursuing the path of unilateralism at the United Nations. This is no road to real statehood. It is a march of folly.”
2012-10-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6847 (2012) · source
“First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, one of the architects and earliest champions of the United Nations, wrote, "One's philosophy is best expressed not in words, but in choices". Today, the Middle East is at a critical moment - a moment that calls for leadership. And history will judge today's leaders not by the words they speak but by the choices they make. I am here today to issue a warning to the world. At this time of turmoil and transition for our region, the stakes are very high. The decisions that are made in these halls in the coming weeks could echo for years to come, well beyond the Middle East. The duty is clear. It is to support democratic institutions and aspirations, to promote negotiation as the road to resolving conflict and to ensure that all in our region abide by the agreements that they have signed.”
2012-10-15 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6847 (2012) · source
“The Jewish philosopher Martin Buber said that "youth is the eternal chance for the bliss of humanity". With each new generation, society has the opportunity to start afresh. With each child, we have the chance to plant the seeds of a more prosperous and peaceful future. The United Nations has a duty to plant such seeds to shield children from the poison of hate and protect them wherever they are threatened.”
2012-09-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6838Resumption1 (2012) · source
“Across the Middle East today, terrorists and extremists are poisoning the minds of the next generation, teaching them to hate, vilify and dehumanize Israelis and Jews. In Gaza, kindergarten graduations feature plays where five-year-old children pretend to be jihadists and suicide bombers. This hate, anger and intolerance have exploded across the Middle East over the past week. The deadly attacks and riots outside embassies across the region show the danger of turning a blind eye to extremism. Those who teach fanaticism today are creating a tinder box that will inevitably ignite tomorrow. The international community has a clear duty to end this culture of incitement. We need education that promotes peace instead of hate, tolerance instead of violence, and mutual understanding instead of martyrdom.”
2012-09-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6838Resumption1 (2012) · source
“This month, Israel's children started their school year with the all-too-familiar sounds of exploding rockets. Every morning, the parents of southern Israel wake up not knowing whether their children will spend the day in a classroom or a bomb shelter. This is the life that Israeli families live, day in and day out. The international community cannot accept this abnormality as a normal way of life. No family, no child should live under those circumstances. Yet this Council has not yet uttered a word about those attacks. The silence speaks volumes. There is no monopoly on the suffering caused by terrorism. All of the children in our region suffer. Hamas and other terrorist groups deploy minors as suicide bombers. They use children as human shields. They use Palestinian schools to launch rockets at Israeli schools.”
2012-09-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6838Resumption1 (2012) · source
“It is time for the world to hear their call. I speak before the Council today not only as the Permanent Representative of the State of Israel, but also as a father. I am very proud that I have raised my three children - Lior, Tomer and Oren - in Jerusalem. Yet they grew up in a reality where abnormality became the norm. From infancy, they saw that every school, every kindergarten had to be protected by an armed guard. After watching them climb onto a school bus every morning, my wife and I waited with anticipation, until they had arrived safely at their destination. With every siren, we felt the same sense of anxiety. For more than a decade, terrorists in Gaza have been deliberately targeting our children with rocket attacks on schools, playgrounds and densely populated Civilian areas.”
2012-09-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6838Resumption1 (2012) · source
“Over the summer, an 11-year-old Syrian boy named Ali Adil Sayyid spoke to the German magazine Der Spiegel. He told the magazine of the night that Al-Assad's forces massacred his entire family in Houla. He said, "I woke up again just before 4 a.m., when men came into the house. My brother and I were lying in the living room. When my sister Rasha tried to run away, one of the men shot her. My brother Adil was still sleeping when a man shot at him The man also shot at me, but he didn't hit me. I rolled over on my side and played dead." Ali was the only member of his family to survive. An estimated 20,000 others in Syria have shared the fate of his family, including thousands of children. The stories coming out of Syria are a stain on the conscience of the world. The children of Syria cry out to us.”
2012-09-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6838Resumption1 (2012) · source
“In his report (S/2012/26l), the Secretary- General offers numerous important recommendations for action. We echo his call on all States to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. Targeted measures should be put in place against persistent perpetrators of grave Violations against children, who are listed in the annexes to the annual report. United Nations peacekeeping operations should incorporate specific provisions for the protection of children. The consequences of inaction are clear. When we fail to protect children, we fail to protect our future. And today, the world is failing to protect the children of Syria from the guns, tanks and fighter jets of the brutal regime of Al-Assad.”
2012-09-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6838Resumption1 (2012) · source
“I want to begin by extending Israel's thanks to Under-Secretary-General Radhika Coomaraswamy, who worked tirelessly to protect children throughout her tenure as Special Representative of the Secretary-General. Although we did not always agree, Ms. Coomaraswamy provided a unique model of professionalism and leadership within the United Nations system. I would also like to congratulate Ms. Leila Zerrougui on her appointment as the new Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict. We look forward to working with her closely and with her staff to further the important mission. In too many corners of the world today, children are scarred by hate, not sheltered by love. They are exploited in conflict, not protected by law. They are targeted with violence, not treated with care and compassion.”
2012-09-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6838Resumption1 (2012) · source
“[N]ot to respond to their plight, not to relieve their solitude by offering them a spark of hope is to exile them from human memory. And in denying their humanity we betray our own."”
2012-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6790Resumption1 (2012) · source
“The clock in the Council ticks forward from debate to debate, but we see little progress in the protection of civilians. By watching the hands of the clock go by, we lend a hand to the oppressors. Some of the very nations that ruthlessly exploit and target civilians in armed conflicts have the audacity to sit in this Chamber and speak about their protection. They should find no refuge here. The Security Council has a responsibility to speak out against those who callously disregard human life, and to speak up for all the civilians ofthe world. As Elie Wiesel once said, "[I]ndifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor - never his victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten...”
2012-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6790Resumption1 (2012) · source
“Yet the Council has not uttered a single word condemning these appalling attacks - not one word. The silence speaks volumes. Those who harm civilians are taught to hate and learn to kill. Yet in this Chamber we hear very little about the cultures of incitement around the world that serve as the key ingredient in the recipe for violence against civilians. Make no mistake - words can kill. It does not matter whether they are spoken in Farsi in an Iranian mosque that promotes jihad against the West, written in Arabic in Hamas textbooks that dehumanize Jews and Israelis, or taught in Korean in a North Korean political education centre that glorifies violence against South Koreans. The Council has a duty to speak with one voice against those nations and organizations that fan the dangerous flames of hatred and incitement.”
2012-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6790Resumption1 (2012) · source
“Hizbullah has more missiles today than many NATO members - all stored in civilian areas. Hizbullah intentionally puts those missiles in the basements of homes, in the playgrounds of schools and in the back rooms of hospitals. Talk about priorities; the people of Lebanon are more valuable to Hizbullah as human shields than as human beings. We see the same pattern of civilian exploitation by Iran's other terrorist proxies. In the Gaza Strip, Hamas uses Palestinian schools to launch rockets at Israeli schools. They use Palestinian hospitals to launch attacks that send Israelis to the hospital. In the past week alone, more than 125 rockets have been fired into the heart of Israeli communities and cities. As we sit here today in New York, daily life is paralysed for more than 1 million Israeli civilians.”
2012-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6790Resumption1 (2012) · source
“On his advisory board sit Hassan Nasrallah and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Holocaust denier and the self-proclaimed human rights activist with specific expertise in women, gays and political dissidents. Those two offer Al-Assad guidance on how to slaughter the Syrian people more efficiently and effectively. Together they form a trio of brutality. The future of that trio of brutality depends on threatening the lives and crushing the hopes ofmillions not just in Syria, but throughout the Middle East. Iran's arm extends from Syria into Lebanon. Its grip has twisted the Lebanese State into an Iranian outpost for terror. Today, Lebanon's fastest-growing industry is the smuggling of missiles. With Iran's support, Hizbullah has amassed 50,000 missiles that can reach all of Israel and well beyond.”
2012-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6790Resumption1 (2012) · source
“She was arrested last year by Al-Assad's secret police for distributing leaflets that called on Syrians to march peacefully. In March, she spoke at the United Nations Human Rights Council - an organization that I hope will soon begin doing something remotely related to the protection of human rights. She said: "I spent 52 days in prison. I was brutally tortured. I was raped by the security forces... They tortured me more than usual because I am a Christian... I want freedom. I have seen too much suffering of fellow Syrians who spent years in prison merely for expressing a thought." Voices like hers should unite the voice of the world against the tyrannical Al-Assad regime. It is time for us speak clearly, decisively and truthfully about what is happening in Syria, and to speak unequivocally against that evil regime. Al-Assad is not alone.”
2012-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6790Resumption1 (2012) · source
“Today's debate is on the agenda item entitled "Protection of civilians in armed conflict". There is little protection that we can speak about. Instead, today we recount the subjugation, exploitation and attempted annihilation of civilians. The appalling images coming out every day from Homs, Hama and Aleppo highlight our failures. The international community is failing the helpless mothers and children of Syria. It is failing to protect them from their own brutal ruler. It is also failing to uphold the most basic principles implied by a debate on the theme "the protection of civilians". The people of Syria look at us with pleading eyes. They are desperate. We, here in the Chamber, are their only hope. Today I urge all members of the Council to hear the voice of Hadeel Kouki, a 20-year-old student at the University of Aleppo.”
2012-06-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6790Resumption1 (2012) · source
“For the sake of our children, our nations and our common future, we must drain the swamps of hate and lawlessness that spawn terror - and hold all those accountable who support it.”
2012-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6767 (2012) · source
“In a world that has never been more connected, those networks have never had greater opportunities to cause devastating damage. The international community must stay one step ahead. The world does not have the luxury to stand idle. Complacency will breed catastrophe, and we will all bear the consequences. History shows us that terrorism can strike anyone and anywhere. It could be me. It could be anyone here. It could be our families or our communities. Every State Member of this Organization should be clear about its choices. To turn a blind eye to terrorists is to choose terrorism. Overlooking incitement is choosing to educate the next generation of terrorists.”
2012-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6767 (2012) · source
“Each act of terrorism holds the potential for serious consequences that extend well beyond the borders of any particular nation. We see that today in southern Israel, where terrorists from Gaza - sponsored by Iran - continue to rain down rockets on 1 million Israeli civilians, day in and day out. One rocket that explodes in the wrong place at the wrong time could ignite a dangerous escalation in our region. Yet the Council has not condemned the rocket fire. It has not uttered a single word. It is time for all in this Chamber to finally wake up to that dangerous reality. I have said it before and I will say it again: today's silence is tomorrow's tragedy. Terrorism is a changing and growing threat. Increasingly, terrorists are sponsored, funded and directed by Governments and working with criminals.”
2012-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6767 (2012) · source
“In the midst of technical discussions like this, we must never forget that each victim of terrorism has a face and a family, a name and a story. Two months ago, an Israeli diplomat named Tal Yehoshua Koren left our Embassy in New Delhi to pick up her children from school. An Iranian terrorist sped up beside her and attached a bomb to her car. It exploded, seriously injuring that innocent mother of two. That same morning, the same network - and the same Government - attempted similar attacks on Israeli diplomats in Bangkok and Tbilisi. Many other plots by Iranian networks have been foiled, from Washington to Baku to Bangkok. We also see grave cause for concern in Syria, where Al-Assad terrorizes his own people, as he spreads terrorism around the world.”
2012-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6767 (2012) · source
“Hezbollah uses its global network to fund its terrorist activities and to provide the logistical support to carry them out. It is clear that today a straight line runs from picturesque fields of opium poppies to the pictures of bombs exploding in city centres. The misuse of cyberspace is another area of growing concern. Increasingly, the web has become a central hub for spreading incitement and glorifying terrorism. It is also used for terrorist recruitment, instruction and financing. States must look for new tools to prevent such abuse. I would like to take this opportunity to invite all members of the Security Council to join us next month in Israel for a major conference on cybersecurity. It will take place on 6 June at Tel Aviv University, under the auspices of the Yuval Ne'eman Workshop for Science, Technology and Security.”
2012-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6767 (2012) · source
“CTED revealed disturbing gaps in its recent global survey on the implementation of resolution 1624 (2005) (see S/2012/16). For example, it noted that relatively little attention is being paid to "preventing the subversion of educational, cultural, and religious institutions by terrorists and their supporters", as called for in paragraph 3 of that resolution (5/2012/16, para. 7). States must act to stamp out institutionalized messages of hate. The growing nexus between terrorism and transnational criminal networks presents another acute challenge. Hezbollah's activities offer one example of that disturbing trend. That terrorist organization has established itself as a major player in the global narcotics market, operating a network that spans from West Africa to the Middle East to Latin America.”
2012-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6767 (2012) · source
“People do not become terrorists in a vacuum. They are taught to hate and they learn to kill. We see this clearly in the Middle East today, where State- sponsored incitement fills schools, mosques and the media. Across the region, terrorism and martyrdom are being taught and glorified to the next generation. The prevalence of incitement around the world calls for the international community's immediate action. Countering incitement and radicalization is one of the most effective counter-terrorism tools at our disposal. We must promote education that teaches peace instead of hate, tolerance instead of violence and mutual understanding instead of martyrdom. Recent United Nations reports show how far we have to go on this issue.”
2012-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6767 (2012) · source
“Finally, I wish to reiterate Israel's strong support for resolution 1540 (2004) and the Committee established to carry out its mandate. The international community has a clear duty to do whatever it takes to keep the world's most dangerous weapons out of the hands of the world's most dangerous terrorists and regimes. Israel is proud to share its unique expertise with others in the global fight against terrorism. We are closely engaged in capacity-building initiatives with a number of States and regional organizations in Africa, South America and Asia. We are also working closely with the Terrorism Prevention Branch of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Our collaborative efforts span a range of issues, from money-laundering to terrorist financing and from aviation security to border protection.”
2012-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6767 (2012) · source
“In his recent report on the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (A/66/762), the Secretary- General identified border control as an issue of critical concern. Israel agrees wholeheartedly. In that context, I would like to voice our support for the Council's presidential statement of 25 April on illicit cross- border flows (S/PRST/2012/l 6). The close cooperation between the Ombudsperson and the Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999) and 1989 (2011) concerning Al-Qaida and associated individuals and entities has brought about greater transparency and fairness in the sanctions regime. The improved procedures facilitate compliance with the regime. Israel appreciates the Ombudsperson's briefings to States on the activities of her office in the spirit of transparency and ongoing dialogue.”
2012-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6767 (2012) · source
“And one thing is clear - the less we do to prevent terrorism today, the more we will face its deadly consequences tomorrow. I would like to lend Israel's support to several positive developments within the United Nations system. It happens, sometimes. The Committee established pursuant to resolution 1373 (2001) concerning counter-terrorism indicated in its 2012 work programme that it would update the format of the preliminary implementation assessments. Any move to improve the quality of assessments is commendable. Israel believes that the role of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) in facilitating technical assistance is especially important. All opportunities to match donors with recipient States should be vigorously explored.”
2012-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6767 (2012) · source
“Ambassador Mehdiyev, I would like to personally congratulate you on your presidency of the Security Council this month and to thank you for convening this very important meeting. I would also like to express my appreciation to the Chairs of the counter-terrorism Committees for their briefings this morning and their continued efforts to strengthen the United Nations response to terrorism. We have been discussing the issue of terrorism in this Chamber for decades, yet States still speak out about this challenge as if they were discussing a lightning strike. For too many, terrorism is abstract and remote until it finally strikes them. Allow me to assume the role of forecaster. Nearly every State in the Chamber will be affected by terrorism.”
2012-05-10 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6767 (2012) · source
“As the regime of our region's most dangerous ophthalmologist stands on the brink of collapse, the international community must keep a very close eye on his collection of very dangerous weapons. While the Victoria remains held in port, other smuggling ships are streaming across the high seas with cargoes full of rockets and explosives. One of those rockets could spark the next major conflict. One of those weapons could be used in the next mass casualty terror attack. One of those bombs could be a nuclear bomb. We cannot allow those who want the Victoria to succeed to be victorious. Preventing such weapons from reaching their destination is our collective obligation. Terrorists and their backers depend on divisions in the international community to keep their operations afloat.”
2012-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6760 (2012) · source
“Those collaborative efforts cover a wide range of issues, from terrorist financing to aviation security, and from money-laundering to border protection. Among all the issues related to illicit trafficking, there is no greater threat than the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). I have already described Iran's behaviour without nuclear weapons. We can only imagine how that regime would behave with them, and who they would share them with. The proliferation of WMDs is also great cause for concern in Syria, where instability threatens to give terrorist groups like Hizbullah the keys to the Al-Assad regime's stockpile of weapons. That includes long-range missiles, as well as biological and chemical weapons.”
2012-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6760 (2012) · source
“That terrorist organization has established itself as a major player in the global narcotics market, operating a network that extends from West Africa to the Middle East to Latin America. It uses that global network to fund its terrorist activities and provide the logistical support needed to carry them out. The Hizbullah network shows how a gap in one nation's counter-terrorism capabilities is a weak link that can be exploited with potentially devastating consequences for the rest of the world. It is clear that instability in one country can mean catastrophe in another. Israel continues to share its unique expertise with others in the global fight against these networks. We are closely engaged in counter-terrorism capacity- building initiatives with a number of States and regional organizations in Africa, South America and Asia.”
2012-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6760 (2012) · source
“The international community's failure to act today will only initiate a bigger nightmare tomorrow. The issue of illicit trafficking and the infrastructure that supports it is not merely an Israeli or Middle Eastern or African problem. It is a global problem. Illicit smuggling is made possible by an increasingly connected network of smuggling rings, transnational criminals and terrorists. Such groups are working together around the world as never before. Terrorists understand that if you can smuggle narcotics into a European capital, you can do the same with an anti-aircraft missile. They understand that lawless environments are fertile ground for radicalization, and they recognize that selling drugs can pay for bombs. Hizbullah's activities offer a disturbing example of this trend.”
2012-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6760 (2012) · source
“The consequences of their illegal smuggling activity can be measured in the blood of many innocent civilians and the spread of instability throughout our region. Each Iranian rocket is armed with a warhead that could cause a political earthquake well beyond Israel's borders. In his report to the Council last October (S/2011/648), the Secretary-General noted that Hizbullah - a terrorist organization inside the Lebanese State - had reached almost the capacities of a regular army. Hizbullah carries Iranian arms, is trained by Iranian forces, is funded by Iranian petrodollars and acts as a proxy force for the Iranian regime from the hills of South Lebanon to the streets of Bangkok. It is the time for the Council to hold accountable those United Nations Member States that arm, train and fund terrorists.”
2012-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6760 (2012) · source
“They held 40 tons of Iranian weaponry - not just guns and TNT, but sophisticated missiles and other weapons normally held only by modern militaries. Intelligence showed that Iran intended to transfer those weapons to terrorists in Gaza. Fortunately, Israeli forces intercepted the MV Victoria before its cargo could reach its intended destination. Yet the weapon containers on the MV Victoria held an important reminder for the Security Council. Iran and its ally the Al-Assad regime have absolutely zero regard for the basic norms and laws of the international community. They systematically violate resolution 1860 (2009), and many others, transferring sophisticated weapons to terrorists in Gaza, Lebanon and well beyond.”
2012-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6760 (2012) · source
“Let me begin by thanking you, Madam President, for your able stewardship of the Security Council this month and for holding this very important debate. For the people of Israel, this is not an abstract discussion. Day after day, trafficked arms explode in our cities. Day after day, our citizens live with the threat of growing terrorist networks and the States that support them. It was just over a year ago that a ship named MV Victoria set sail on the Mediterranean from the port of Latakia in Syria. From the outside, it looked like an ordinary cargo vessel, but the MV Victoria was being used for a mission very different from any job given to the post office or Federal Express. Among a cargo of lentils and cotton, three containers were concealed in the MV Victoria's hull.”
2012-04-25 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6760 (2012) · source
“But there is another lesson that will fill the hearts of Israelis this week. We can never, ever give up the hope of lasting peace. The price of conflict is too high. The evil of war is too great. That is the fundamental truth that guides our leaders. In the dangerous uncertainty of a turbulent Middle East, the Security Council has never had a greater responsibility to separate myth from truth and fact from fiction. The clarity of candour has never been more valuable. The need for honest disclosure has never been clearer. It is time for the Council to sweep out the cobwebs of old illusions and to plant the seeds for a truly open debate on the Middle East. The challenges before us demand nothing less.”
2012-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6757 (2012) · source
“Against persistent threats and overwhelming odds, Israel has not only survived but thrived. I walk the halls of the Organization tall and proud of my extraordinary nation of just 7 million people, which has produced 10 Nobel Prize laureates, sends satellites up into space, puts electric cars on the road and develops the technology needed to run everything from cell phones to solar panels to medical devices. We intentionally commemorate these two days one after the other. As we, the Israeli people, celebrate our independence, we carry the heavy weight of great sacrifice and suffering. The lesson we take from these days is clear. We can never turn a blind eye to the dangers around us. We cannot pretend that we live in a stable region filled with Jeffersonian democracies.”
2012-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6757 (2012) · source
“They are everywhere except at the negotiating table. It is time for them to give up unilateral efforts to internationalize the conflict and to take up the real path to peace. This week, we will observe the two most significant public holidays in Israel: our Day of Remembrance and our Day of Independence. On Wednesday, sirens will sound across Israel. For two minutes, everything will come to a halt. People will stop in their tracks, cars will pull over to the side of highways, and the entire country will pause to remember the more than 22,000 Israelis who have been killed by wars and terrorism in our nation's short history in our region. On Thursday, we will celebrate the rebirth of the Jewish nation and our 64 years as a free people in our ancient homeland.”
2012-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6757 (2012) · source
“Those are facts that must be neither forgotten nor overlooked as we look to moving forward on the path to peace. I have saved the most obvious myth for last - the myth that peace between Israelis and Palestinians can somehow be achieved by bypassing direct negotiations. History has shown that peace and negotiations are inseparable. Direct negotiations are the only tool, the only way and the only path to creating two States for two peoples. Last January in Amman, Israel offered a clear proposal for restarting direct negotiations. We presented the Palestinian delegation with negotiating positions on every major issue separating the parties. That proposal, filled with Israel's vision for peace, continues to gather dust as Palestinian leaders continue to pile up new pre-conditions for sitting down with Israel.”
2012-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6757 (2012) · source
“The time has also come to speak openly in these halls about the Arab world's role in maintaining the Palestinians as refugees for more than six decades. Jews from Arab countries came to refugee camps in Israel, which eventually gave birth to thriving towns and cities. Refugee camps in Arab countries gave birth to more Palestinian refugees. Israel welcomed its Jewish refugees with citizenship and unlocked their vast potential. As they rose to the highest levels of society, our refugees lifted the State of Israel to new heights. Let us imagine if Arab countries had done the same with their Palestinian refugees. Instead, they have cynically perpetuated their status as refugees, generation after generation. Across the Arab world, Palestinians have been denied citizenship, rights and opportunities.”
2012-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6757 (2012) · source
“Out of over 1,088 United Nations resolutions on the Middle East, one will not find a single syllable regarding the displacement of Jewish refugees. There have been more than 172 resolutions exclusively devoted to Palestinian refugees, but not one dedicated to Jewish refugees. The Palestinian refugees have their own United Nations agency, their own information programme, and their own department within the United Nations. None exists for the Jewish refugees. The expression "double standard" does not even begin to describe that gap. That discrepancy is very convenient for some in this Chamber, but it is not right. The time has come for the United Nations to end its complicity in trying to erase the stories of 850,000 people from history.”
2012-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6757 (2012) · source
“On the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Babylonian Jewry produced many of Judaism's holiest books and thrived for two millenniums. In the great synagogues and libraries of Cairo, Jews preserved the intellectual and scientific treasures of antiquity into the Renaissance. From Aleppo to Aden to Alexandria, Jews stood out as some of the greatest artists, musicians, businessmen, and writers. All those communities were wiped out. Age-old family businesses and properties were confiscated. Jewish quarters were destroyed. Pogroms left synagogues looted, graveyards desecrated and thousands dead. The pages that the United Nations has written about the Palestinian refugees could fill up soccer stadiums, but not a drop of ink has been spilled about the Jewish refugees.”
2012-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6757 (2012) · source
“For the first time in centuries, sacred places that were once sealed off along religious lines are now permanently open for worship by all peoples. That is a principle grounded in our values, our actions and our laws. There is another great truth that the Organization has completely overlooked for the past 64 years. In all of the pages that the United Nations has written about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in all of its reports and fact-finding commissions, and in all the hours dedicated to debate about the Middle East, there is one great untold story. Or, to be more specific, there are more than 850,000 untold stories. More than 850,000 Jews have been uprooted from their homes in Arab countries during the past 64 years. Those were vibrant communities dating back 2,500 years.”
2012-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6757 (2012) · source
“Since King David laid the cornerstone of his palace in the tenth century BC, Jerusalem has served as the heart of our faith. In debate after debate, speakers sit in this Chamber and say that Israel is committing ethnic cleansing in Jerusalem, even though the percentage of Arab residents in the city has grown from 26 per cent to 35 per cent since 1967. The holiest sites in Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people, were closed only to Jews from 1948 until 1967. Everyone could come to see those sites except Jews. There was absolutely no freedom of worship. The world did not say a word about the situation in Jerusalem at that time. Since Israel unified the city, it has thrived under the values of tolerance and freedom.”
2012-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6757 (2012) · source
“The international community has a duty to stand up and say that the so-called claim of return is a non-starter. Instead of telling the Palestinian people the truth, much of the international community stands idle as the Arab world tries to erase the Jewish people's historical connection to the land of Israel. Across the Arab world, and even at this table, we hear claims that Israel is "Judaizing Jerusalem". To my mind, those accusations come about 3,000 years too late. It is like accusing the National Basketball Association of Americanizing basketball. Like many nations around this table, the Jewish people have a proud, age-old legacy of kings and queens. In our case, however, the tradition goes back a few years earlier.”
2012-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6757 (2012) · source
“We will not hear them say "two States for two peoples" because today the Palestinian leadership is calling for an independent Palestinian State, but insists that its people return to the Jewish State. That would mean the destruction of Israel. Some might say, "Oh Ambassador, but the Palestinians know that they will have to give up that claim; that is what they whisper quietly at the negotiating table". The Palestinian leadership has never said publicly - either to the Palestinian people, to the Arab world, to the international community, or to anyone else - that it will give up the so-called claim of return. Since the Palestinian leadership refuses to tell the Palestinian people the truth, the international community has the responsibility and duty to tell them the truth.”
2012-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6757 (2012) · source
“The fact is that the Israeli Government put in place an unprecedented 10-month moratorium on settlements. The Palestinian leadership used that gesture as an opportunity to take Israel and the international community on another ride to nowhere. For nine of those 10 months, it rejected the moratorium as insufficient, and then demanded that we extend it. As former United States Special Envoy George Mitchell said, "What had been less than 12-30484 worthless a few months earlier became indispensable to continue negotiations" to the Palestinians. The primary obstacle to peace is not settlements. The primary obstacle to peace is the so-called claim of return and the Palestinians' refusal to recognize Israel's right to exist as the nation State of the Jewish people. We will never hear Palestinian leaders say "two States for two peoples".”
2012-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6757 (2012) · source
“How many times have we heard that argument in this Chamber? Just this month, the Human Rights Council proposed yet another fact- finding mission to Israel. It will explore - surprise, surprise - Israeli settlements. Today I would like to save the Human Rights Council and the international community some time and energy. The facts have already been found. They are plain for all to see. The fact is that, from 1948 to 1967, the West Bank was part of Jordan and Gaza was part of Egypt. The Arab world did not lift a finger to create a Palestinian State, and it sought Israel's annihilation when not a single settlement stood anywhere in the West Bank or Gaza. The fact is that in 2005, when I was Director General of Israel's Foreign Service, we took every settlement out of Gaza and got only rockets on our cities in return.”
2012-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6757 (2012) · source
“It is a simple equation. If it is calm in Israel, it will be calm in Gaza. But the people of Gaza will face hardship as long as terrorists use them as human shields to rain rockets down on Israeli cities. Each rocket in Gaza is armed with a warhead capable of causing a political earthquake that would extend well beyond Israel's borders. It will take only one rocket landing in the wrong place at the wrong time to change the equation on the ground. If that happens, Israel's leaders will be forced to respond in a completely different manner. It is time for everyone in the Chamber to finally wake up to that dangerous reality. The Security Council has not condemned a single rocket attack from Gaza. History's lessons are clear. Today's silence is tomorrow's tragedy. Myth number three is that settlements are the primary obstacle to peace.”
2012-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6757 (2012) · source
“We cannot allow the diplomatic channel to provide another avenue for the Iranian regime to stall for more time, as it inches closer and closer to a nuclear weapon. Myth number two is that there is a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. In fact, numerous international organizations have said clearly that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza, including the deputy head of the Red Cross office in the area. Gaza's real gross 12-30484 domestic product grew by more than 25 per cent during the first three quarters of 2011. Exports are expanding. International humanitarian projects are moving forward at a rapid pace. There is not a single civilian good that cannot enter Gaza today. Yet, as aid flows into the area, missiles fly out. That is the crisis in Gaza, and that is what keeps Gaza from realizing its real potential.”
2012-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6757 (2012) · source
“Yet, this debate once again is repeatedly and obsessively focused on the legitimate actions of the Government of the only democracy in the Middle East. Dedicating the majority of this debate to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, month after month, has not stopped the Iranian regime's centrifuges from spinning. Iran's ambitions for nuclear weapons are the single greatest threat to the Middle East and the entire world. The Iranian nuclear programme continues to advance at the speed of an express train. The international community's efforts to stop it are moving at the pace of the local train, pausing and stopping at every station for some nations to get on and off. The danger of inaction is clear.”
2012-04-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.6757 (2012) · source