Let us recognise that just as there is the great musician, the painter and the sculptor—and there are but few in the history of mankind—so there is the statesman, who is a statesman by virtue of specific talents which are not bestowed upon many. But by what do we recognise the statesman? How can he … Continued
On this great anniversary, we bow our heads in humility and love as we remember our fallen heroes of the Haganah, Palmach, Irgun, Lechi, Mahal and the soldiers of the Israel Defence Forces. It is their self-sacrifice which brought us out from bondage and regained for us the dignity of independence. They will be engraved … Continued
We owe a special debt and concern for a remnant of the Jewish people in Europe, our brethren in the Soviet Union. Their return to Judaism, their plight and fight for the return to the Land of Israel is, historically, the second greatest event of our time after the renewal of our independence. We must … Continued
The history of these past 30 years is also unique. Our State was attacked time and again. We had to fight many battles in order to maintain our independence. At the very same time there was a magnificent process of building up the country, of turning desert land into green pasture, of ingathering the exiles … Continued
Begin shares four visions he has for Israel in the upcoming decade. He first says he would like to see peace because he does not want to see more Jewish bloodshed. He mentions how the Jewish nation would consist of about 200 million people, if it were not for the persecution each generation has endured. The second hope is to see the land in Israel flourishing, with a self-sufficient economy. Having a flourishing country leads to his third hope of increased immigration. He envisions a wave of mass immigration by Russian Jews. He also wants to see immigration amongst Jews from countries where Jews have fled to as a result of poverty, oppression, persecution and pogrom. He mentions that this will be more difficult to achieve. One way he thinks this can be achieved is through Jewish students coming to study at Israeli universities. His fourth hope is for the continuation of democracy, where there is both unity and disagreements.
