Text of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s speech at the 2006 UJC General Assembly

Thank you for this opportunity; it is such a pleasure to be here with youall.

Thank you Bobby for your kind words. I have followed your career throughoutthe years, including during this last period at UJC. I have always beenimpressed by your thoughtfulness, and the practical manner in which youaddress the vital issues confronting the Jewish people, especially as UJCchairman. I am sure you will continue to promote other important issues forthe sake of the Jewish people.

In that spirit, I welcome the new chairman of UJC, Joe Kanfer. Yourresponsibility ahead in guiding the United Jewish Communities is formidable,and I am sure you will represent us all with honor.

I wish to thank a dear friend of mine, who spent the past 4 and a half yearshere in the United States, serving honorably on behalf of the State ofIsrael. Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Mr. Danny Ayalon. I wishto thank Danny, on behalf of the State of Israel, for his outstandingservice and personal commitment through a very hectic and challenging termin the United States.

I also wish to acknowledge another special friend who is here with us today,Israel’s new Ambassador to the United States, Salai Meridor. Salai, yourposting here comes at a pivotal time. And as I look around this room, I seeyou will have many friends to help you fulfill your important mission.

Distinguished delegates of the Jewish community, ladies and gentlemen, mydear friends,

I wish to share with you just one part of one letter I received from afather mourning the loss of his son during the fighting in Lebanon:

“My name is Ami Shrier, I am 61 years old, born in Haifa, married to Yafafrom the house of Rubin, may they rest in peace, survivors of the Holocaust,survivors of Auschwitz.

My parents made Aliyah in 1936 from Vilna to Israel, which allowed for theirsurvival; the rest of our family perished in the Holocaust.”

“Today I joined the bereaved families; it is difficult; it is difficult andI am only at the beginning of the way. I miss my son Iftach so very much -the salt of the earth, son of the country. Graduate of Herzl School, aleader in the Tidhar group of the scouts of Haifa. Twin brother of Jordan,born on the 11th of September, 1984.

Iftach enlisted into the paratroopers, finished his arduous training andfinished both his commanders and officers course with high honors…”

“I am sorry for taking up your valuable time Mr. Prime Minister, but Igrieve the loss of my child and want to strengthen you.”

Ami Shrier’s letter is just one of many letters I received from bereavedfamiliesduring the fighting. Some letters were supportive and others critical, butall epitomized the heart and soul of the kindred Jewish spirit.

The visionary Theodor Herzl stated, “It is true that we aspire to ourancient land. But what we want in that ancient land is a new blossoming ofthe Jewish spirit.”

This conference is a tribute to fulfilling Herzl’s dream, the JewishNation’s dream: re-discovering Jewish values, raising awareness to Jewishtradition, promoting Jewish unity, exploring Jewish identity and all whilestrengthening ties between the Jewish Diaspora and the State of Israel;these responsibilities are very important to you, but they are vital to theState of Israel.

UJC translates Jewish values into social action, in America, Israel andaround the world. Your prompt action and exceptional generosity, which knowsno boundaries, assisted Israel’s reconstruction of the north with incrediblevigor. UJC immediately donated 50 million dollars for emergency welfareprojects during the recent fighting. Since then, over 350 million dollarswere raised with the sole purpose of supporting reconstruction projectsaimed at developing and strengthening the very areas adversely effected.

You also supported Israel this summer in numerous solidarity missions. Toall of you who made a pilgrimage to Israel in the midst of the fighting Isay: your presence reassured me and the entire population of Israel, thatIsraelis and the Jewish Diaspora share unbreakable bonds of allegiance.

We are one people! We have one heritage! We share one future, a future whichwe create together!

Together, we must also remain dedicated in our fight against those whopersecute us on account of our religion. Together, we will raise awarenessof the world-wide phenomenon of anti-Semitism.

We must have patience with those who challenge us. We must remain calm withthose who provoke us. We must strive to inform those who have been misledabout our religion. And we must never be complacent about those who seek tohurt us.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The recent fighting in Lebanon tested Israel’s resilience, and despite allthat has been said and written, we stood up to the challenge.

This summer the brave soldiers of the IDF, including soldiers from reserveunits who volunteered in unprecedented numbers, fought with resilience andheroism. They fought without fear, hesitance or self-consideration.

They fought in a war of wanton aggression started by Hezbollah and fueled byzealotry and hate.

This was Hezbollah’s war. This was Iran’s war. Not Lebanon’s war. And notIsrael’s war.

Hezbollah was dealt a blow they did not calculate and were not prepared for.Israel’s response proved we would not tolerate continued threats against us.It is enough merely to quote Hezbollah’s leader who said he would not haveinitiated the abductions had he known Israel would react with even onepercent of the force we did.

The security situation in Lebanon has been forever altered – we will neverreturn to the former status quo. The Lebanese military, and not Hezbollah,is deployed in the south. The Lebanese government is asserting itssovereignty over the entire state. Now, the main task that lies ahead is thefull implementation of UN Resolution 1701.

There are many lessons that must be drawn from this war. We will learn themand we will correct whatever is needed. We already started this process.

But there is only one, ever so precious goal that Israel did not yetachieve. We have not returned home the abducted soldiers Ehud Goldwasser andEldad Regev.

I asked Ehud’s wife, Karnit Goldwasser, to join us here today. Karnit, Ipromise you that Israel will do, that I will do the utmost to bring back ourdear sons and bring Udi back to your arms.