(Communicated by the President’s Spokesperson)
President Rivlin today (Sunday, 7 January, 2018) held a working meeting with Foreign Minister of Norway, Ine Eriksen Søreide who was visiting Israel.
The President began by welcoming the Foreign Minister to Israel and to Jerusalem its capital, and thanked her for the Norwegian Government’s work to combat anti-Semitism. He said, “In the last few years there has been a significant improvement, a testament to the ability to overcome hatred and to educate understanding. We still have a long and important way to go, and we must continue down this path in order to combat this terrible phenomenon.”
The President went on to express his thanks to the Norwegian Government for their stand against boycotts and the BDS movement. He added, “I believe that BDS leads to increasing hatred, and does not work against it, and it symbolizes all that stands in the way of dialogue, debate, and progress. It is against all our cooperation, and against our lives together here. You must work against it no less than we, because it is stands in the way of progress.”
He continued to say in relation to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, “We must build our trust afresh,” and added, “there are no shortcuts to building trust. We are here. We have returned to our homeland. This is a fact which cannot be denied. The reality is today that different peoples are living here, in this land, and we must learn to live together.”
The Foreign Minister thanked the President for his warm welcome. She noted she was happy to be making her first visit in her current post, and said that she was going on to hold a number of meetings in Israel, and afterwards with representatives of the Palestinians. She commented, “I am always interested in seeing your perspective on the situation both when it comes to the peace process but also the regional situation. To me it is very useful to get it directly from you.” She expressed her hope that there would be an opportunity “to start again on some positive note, and try to get again direct and bilateral talks. That I think is the only way we can secure a prosperous and also a safe and secure future for the two peoples.”
The Foreign Minister noted that following her visit to Israel she was due to travel to the United States to accompany the Norwegian Prime Minister to meet with President Trump and other senior figures in the US Administration. President Rivlin responded by noting that President Trump’s declaration confirmed what had been clear to the Jewish people for thousands of years, and said, “For more than 2,000 years, the Jewish people have dreamt of Zion. Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish people. And this is a matter of fact when we are here meeting in Jerusalem.”