Celebrations were held throughout Israel on May 14th, to coincide with the 60th anniversary of its founding as a modern, independent state.
President Bush, who was in Jerusalem to mark the occasion, received warm greetings from Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Upon the President's arrival, Peres said, "Welcome to the new Israel, 3,000-years-old, and going on the 60th."
Peres added, "Mr. President, you have demonstrated toward us a Biblical attitude, which is very rare; a warm friendship; a determined dedication to the promotion of peace and security in the region. In those 60 years, we were able to demonstrate that, though outnumbered and outgunned, a democracy could still win seven wars during this period. Furthermore, while fighting, we never postponed democracy even for a single day. And even though many times under attack, we never lost our desire for peace.
Miracles happen when dedicated people make them happen. Mr. President, you stood like nobody else -- on our side in sunny mornings and stormy weather. So, thank you, Mr. President. Your presence here permits us something that we really wanted to do, and that is, to celebrate a real thanksgiving party to the United States from the depth of our heart, expressing our thanks to you, to the greatest phenomena of freedom in history, the United States of America," Peres said.
Likewise, Olmert said, "Throughout the years, the strategic alliance with America has become one of the fundamental pillars of our national security. And the bond between our peoples has grown deeper and stronger with time. America has been there at each and every important crossroad in the life of our young country, and stood by us in times of hope and in moments of crisis.
Since assuming office almost eight years ago, President George Bush has been our closest ally and partner. Your decision to celebrate this historic milestone with us is an extraordinary gesture of friendship, and is further evidence of your unending commitment to the security and well being of our country," Olmert said.
The President, in turn, addressed the Israeli Knesset.
"We gather to mark a momentous occasion. Sixty years ago in Tel Aviv, David Ben-Gurion proclaimed Israel's independence, founded on the ‘natural right of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate.' What followed was more than the establishment of a new country. It was the redemption of an ancient promise given to Abraham, Moses and David–a homeland for the chosen people in Eretz Yisrael.
Eleven minutes later, on the orders of President Harry Truman, the United States was proud to be the first nation to recognize Israel's independence. And on this landmark anniversary, America is proud to be Israel's closest ally and best friend in the world.
The alliance between our governments is unbreakable, yet the source of our friendship runs deeper than any treaty. It is grounded in the shared spirit of our people, the bonds of the Book, the ties of the soul. When William Bradford stepped off the Mayflower in 1620, he quoted the words of Jeremiah: ‘Come let us declare in Zion the word of God.' The founders of my country saw a new promised land, and bestowed upon their towns names like Bethlehem and New Canaan. And in time, many Americans became passionate advocates for a Jewish state.
Centuries of suffering and sacrifice would pass before this dream was fulfilled. The Jewish people endured the agony of the pogroms, the tragedy of the Great War and the horror of the Holocaust–what Elie Wiesel called ‘the kingdom of the night.'
Soulless men took away lives and broke apart families. Yet they could not take away the spirit of the Jewish people and they could not break the promise of God.
The joy of independence was tempered by the outbreak of battle, a struggle that has continued for six decades. Yet, in spite of the violence, in defiance of the threats, Israel has built a thriving democracy in the heart of the Holy Land. You have welcomed immigrants from the four corners of the Earth. You have forged a free and modern society based on a love of liberty, a passion for justice and a respect for human dignity. You have worked tirelessly for peace. And you have fought valiantly for freedom.
This anniversary is a time to reflect on the past. It is also an opportunity to look to the future. As we go forward, our alliance will be guided by clear principles–shared convictions rooted in moral clarity and unswayed by popularity polls or the shifting opinion of international elites.
We believe in the matchless value of every many, woman and child. So we insist that the people of Israel have the right to a decent, normal and peaceful life, just like the citizens of every other nation.
We believe that democracy is the only way to ensure human rights. So we consider it a source of shame that the United Nations routinely passes more human rights resolutions against the freest democracy in the Middle East than any other nation in the world.
We believe that religious liberty is fundamental to civilized society. So we condemn anti-Semitism in all forms–whether by those who openly question Israel's right to exist, or by others who quietly excuse them.
Some people suggest that if the United States would just break ties with Israel, all our problems in the Middle East would go away. This is a tired argument that buys into the propaganda of our enemies, and America rejects it utterly. Israel's population may be just over seven million. But when you confront terror and evil, you are 307-million-strong, because America stands with you," the President said.
On the same day of the independence day celebration, Palestinian militants fired a rocket from the Gaza Strip which landed on a crowded shopping center in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, wounding more than a dozen people.
Also, hundreds of Palestinian refugees headed to Lebanon's southern border with Israel in protest. An estimated 400,000 Palestinian refugees live in Lebanon, primarily in refugee camps.
In the West Bank, Palestinians launched thousands of black balloons to commemorate the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians during the 1948 conflict over Israel's creation.
And Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reiterated his inflammatory rhetoric against Israel.
"The Zionist regime is dying. The criminals assume that by holding celebrations–they can save the sinister Zionist regime from death and annihilation," Ahmadinejad said.
In previous statements, Ahmadinejad has said Israel should be "wiped off the map," and has described the Holocaust as a "myth."
The World Council of Churches, in a statement, noted Israel's anniversary, but also underscored the Palestinian situation.
"To date, the situation in the Palestinian Territories reflects the absence of peace and a continuation of occupation and conflict. While Israelis celebrate the 60th anniversary of their state, Palestinians are marking six decades of displacement and dispossession. May this anniversary year cause us all to recommit to the goal both Israelis and Palestinians share, that neither can attain without the other, namely, a just peace," the WCC stated.
Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, was among several people who accompanied the President as part of an "honorary" delegation representing Americans at events marking Israel's anniversary as a state.
Land reflected, "Whenever I go to Israel, I am amazed at the resilience and bravery of the people and what they collectively represent, both as a nation that has risen like a phoenix from the ashes of the Holocaust, and as the embodiment of what I believe is God's chosen people–the Jews. To believe that the Jews are still uniquely God's chosen people does not mean that God does not love all people–He does. But He did make certain promises to the Jews He did not make to me or any other non-Jew. Among those promises was the Promised Land as theirs forever. And God is a keeper of His promises.
For me, that does not preclude a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. I believe that in the end, the Jews will inhabit all the land God promised them–but God will bring that about at the end of the age upon the return of Jesus to the Earth. It will not be accomplished by Israelis, Americans, or any combination of earthly forces.
In the meantime, if the Jews decide the best pathway to peace is a two-state solution, that is their decision to make. God promises that He will bless those who bless the Jews (Genesis 12:3), and you do not bless the Jews by demanding more for them than they demand for themselves.
As one rabbi said to his Palestinian neighbor in my presence: "I believe God gave this land to me and to my people forever. However, if I can bring peace to our two peoples by voluntarily giving part of that land to you, then I am happy to do so."
The President has expressed some optimism that Israel and the Palestinian Authority may come to terms on a lasting peace agreement before he leaves office in January.
However, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who accompanied the President to Israel, sounded a bit more pragmatic, saying that reaching such a deal "might be improbable -- but it's not impossible."
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