We see the extent of your grief, the
depth of your sorrow. When I embraced you in Paris, I told you that I am
familiar with your agony, the anguish of partners, parents, sons and
daughters, brothers and sisters who lost their beloved. On this day,
when four new graves have been dug in the soil of Jerusalem, the entire
State of Israel embraces you with love. These graves are the final
resting place of Philippe, Yoav, Yohan and François-Michel.
Four dear, upstanding people who loved their fellows. Four people
who, like the victims from Toulouse who are buried here, were murdered
only because they were Jewish. Their lives were cut short in a frenzy of
hatred by a despised murderer. But we shall not waste words on the
contemptible killer, nor on those who slaughtered other innocents on
French soil, as it is their actions that provide testimony of their
murderous zeal, the poisonous fanaticism of the radical Islamic
terrorist organizations that serves as the motivation for carrying out
horrific acts around the world.
I have been saying this for many years, and I will say it again here
today: they are not the enemies only of the Jewish people. They are the
enemies of all humanity, and the time has come for all civilized people
to unite and eliminate them from our midst.
I returned from Paris yesterday. I marched with leaders who came from
all over the world. I think that most of them understand, or are
beginning to, that radical Islamist terrorism is a real and present
danger to the peace of the world we live in.
And there, in Paris, I witnessed once again the strength of spirit
and the warmth of the Jewish community in France, a community that has
made a great contribution to France, and is connected with every fiber
of its being to the people of Israel, the Torah of Israel and the Land
of Israel – the three-ply cord that has never been severed, which has
ensured our existence and is the secret of our resurrection.
Therefore, at this time, we should focus on the great spirit that is
present here, the spirit of Israel which is saying: you will never, ever
defeat us. The secret of our nation’s strength is our internal unity,
our faith and the mutual responsibility that binds us together. This is
the source of our power, our resilience – the resilience of an ancient
people that has overcome every obstacle and adversity, and has risen
from the dirt.
Look around here in the mountains of Jerusalem. Today, thankfully, we
have a state of our own – a thriving, modern state; a state that shines
a bright light, like a moral beacon for the world; a state that takes
responsibility for its own fate. And our President was right when he
said that Jews have the right to live in many countries, and it is their
right to live in perfect safety. But I believe that they know deep in
their hearts that they have only one country, the State of Israel, the
historic homeland that will accept them with open arms, like beloved
children.
Today more than ever, Israel is our true home, and the more numerous
we are, and the more united we are in our country, the stronger we are
in our one and only state – and that is the hope of the entire Jewish
nation.
May the souls of Philippe, Yoav, Yohan and François-Michel be bound in the bond of life.
May we be comforted by the prosperity of our people and the building of our country.
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