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President Rivlin meets with President Mattarella of Italy

​(Communicated by the President's Spokesperson)
 
President Reuven Rivlin today (Monday, 31 October 2016) held a working meeting at his residence with President of Italy Sergio Mattarella. Before their meeting both men delivered statements to the media.
 
President Rivlin began by welcoming the President of Italy on his arrival to Israel and to its capital Jerusalem, and expressed his sympathies for those killed in the recent earthquakes to have hit Italy, "I want to open by again expressing my sympathies for the many killed in the earthquake in Italy two months ago, and for the suffering and the severe pain caused by the quakes that followed."
 
He continued, "We are experiencing a period of unprecedented friendship and brotherhood between Israel and Italy. There is barely a discipline in which we do not share unique cooperation between our countries. We are developing trade and advancing relations in the fields of science, culture, sport and security. The bonds between Israel and Italy, and to the European Union, are a foundation stone of our foreign policy. We do not however just share trade, we share values, challenges, and geography. Our countries are neighbors in the Mediterranean, and are highly sensitive to the recent turbulence that has swept the region in the form of waves of migrants, refugees, and in the threat of terror."
 
The President stressed, "Israel stands beside Italy and the whole free world in the unwavering struggle against terror. This is a struggle which must be harsh, strong, and unequivocal. At the same time, Israel like Italy believes that the fight against terror is also a moral battle for the belief in the sanctity of human life. Italy today is a state which is receiving migrants and refugees - this process is complex since those arriving come from a different culture, with different values. The whole free world must learn how to ensure this movement from one society to another will be one of hope and opportunity, and not despair and depression."
 
President Rivlin noted, "On my visit to the Arch of Titus, I saw the engraving of the Menorah, the candelabra brought from the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. This is yet another testament to the ancient connection between the Jewish people and Jerusalem. The decision of UNESCO to raise doubt about the connection of the Jewish people to Jerusalem and to the Holy Temple is a crime against history, and I want to thank Italy for its commitment to the truth."
 
President Mattarella thanked the President for his warm welcome and said, "I am pleased to meet you here in Jerusalem, such a special city to which many eyes around the world look in appreciation and love. This is my first visit to the Middle East and my choice to begin specifically in Israel is out of the longstanding friendship between Israel and Italy. We share the values of democracy in many aspects of our lives, as you said President Rivlin, the roots of this relationship are planted deep in ancient history."
 
The Italian President spoke on the strength of the bilateral relations between the countries. "In the bilateral sphere Italy sees our relationship with Israel as extraordinary. During the last 15 years, we have had exceptional cooperation in the areas of culture, science and technology, cooperation which allows us to reach ongoing and concrete achievements. Now we are facing the future with even greater determination."
 
He added, "Israel is an example to the whole region in its vibrant and vital democracy. Italy will always stand by Israel whenever Israel's right and duty to exist in peace is left in doubt by any side in the world. There can be no justification for terror. We stand by the side of the innocent victims, and continue to combat in every way violence and incitement, regardless of from where it comes. The struggle against terrorism today is a central point on the international community's agenda."
 
President Mattarella went on to say, "I thank his honor the President for his comments he raised on the issue of Italy's role in receiving the waves of migrants which demands of Italy a brave commitment, both economicly and in other aspects." He added, "I want to express my concern over the stagnation in the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. The absence of an outlook to renew the talks poses a danger to the idea of two states for two people. The stagnation risks leading to waves of unexpected radicalization. To my great sadness we see across the region the deepening of ethnic and religious gaps between all parties. It is crucial to continue to work together for the sake of educating tolerance also through educational campaigns and improving public sensitivity."
 
President Mattarella concluded, "Israel and Italy are two very stable democracies, and have an important role in international cooperation and peace. I am pleased to see you in Jerusalem, the city which represents Israel's independence, and which the world relates to with love and dignity."

PM Netanyahu meets with Italian President Mattarella

​(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
 
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this morning (Wednesday, 2 November 2016), at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, met with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and issued the following statement at the start of their meeting:
 
"I begin by extending our deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the earthquakes that have struck Italy in recent months. We wish a speedy recovery to the wounded. Israel has extended its offer to help and if you need it, we are there.
 
You are great friends, and you come to a country that has a fond sentiment for Italy. Mr. President, this statue right next to us is of Theodor Herzl, our modern Moses, and he, like many of the founding fathers of modern Zionism, drew tremendous inspiration from the story of the Italian Risorgimento, from Mazzini, from Garibaldi. It had a profound influence on our national movement, and so this is one connection.
 
There are many others. There's the individualistic nature of our people that is very similar in many ways, the creative genius that is embedded in our citizens. It is now being translated into innovation. Here in Israel we are called often the innovation nation, and this is – in other words, of saying that we unleash the creativity of our people. This has long been the case of Italy, and I think that if we join together in this miraculous world of information and creativity and innovation, we can do more together than we can do separately. This is one of the things that we have been talking about in our respective governments, and will continue to do so in the upcoming meeting that we shall have.
 
So there is a deep bond. I cannot say that the history of our peoples in antiquity was always marked by such amity, even though there was a very active Jewish community in ancient Rome. But obviously things took a turn for the worse, and that is commemorated in all its tragedy in the Arch of Titus in Rome, which I visited many times, in which you see, of course, the great artifacts of the Jewish Temple carried in a triumphal march in Rome. And you see the Menorah, which is the symbol of the Jewish state, but also was of course the main object in our ancient Temple.
 
I raise this because we've just had an absurd decision of UNESCO that said that the Jewish people have no connection to the Temple Mount. Well, the Arch of Titus was built by Titus's brother, the Emperor Domitian. He wasn't a Zionist propagandist. And he obviously was depicting that long, thousands-year connection to the Temple Mount, to Jerusalem and to this country of the Jewish people.
 
That absurd resolution obviously shocked us in many ways, but it didn't leave us speechless. We were gravely disappointed, obviously, on Italy's vote and I was delighted to hear Prime Minister Renzi's saying that he too was shocked by the UNESCO vote and Italy's abstention. And I welcomed his statement, clear, forthright statement that Italy would change its vote in any such future resolutions. I deeply appreciate Prime Minister Renzi's words.
 
UNESCO's attempts to erase Jewish history is an attempt to say that Jews really don't have any connection to our land. It's not only false, blatantly false, it also makes the achievement of peace harder.
 
Mr. President, I know you've just met with the Palestinian president Abbas. Sadly, he continues to refuse to accept a Jewish state in any boundaries and this remains the core of the conflict, this persistent Palestinian refusal to accept a Jewish state in any configuration. I think the focus that people say on settlements is wrong. It's just as wrong as when people said that the core of the conflict – in the singular – in the Great Middle East was the Palestinian issue. It wasn't, never was – not in Tunisia, not in Libya, not in Yemen, not in Iraq, not in Syria. There is a battle going between modernity and medievalism. We stand firmly on the side of modernity.
 
But it is equally wrong to think that the conflict between us and the Palestinians is rooted in the settlements. It preceded the settlements by half a century. And when we left Gaza and all the settlements, they continued – continued to fire rockets at us.
 
And I turned not only to Hamas, but to President Abbas, and I said, "Would you recognize a Jewish state, assuming we solve the settlement problem?" And they won't, because the real settlement issue are the settlements of Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Haifa, Akko – the persistent refusal to recognize a Jewish state is at the boundary.
 
This conflict is not and never was about a Palestinian state, which successive Israeli governments, including this prime minister, is willing to arrange – a demilitarized Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish state. This conflict was never about the Palestinian state. It was and is about the Jewish state, and unless and until our Palestinian neighbors face this, confront these demons, give up the ghost of trying to destroy the Jewish state by this or that means, peace will be harder to achieve. Denying our history is one of the means of denying the Jewish state. This is the bad news.
 
Now, the good news. The good news, the incredible news, one that fills me with great hope, is that there is a dramatic change taking place in the Arab world, and that change is that many of the Arab countries see Israel no longer as their enemy, but as their ally, even their vital ally, in fighting against Islamist terrorism, militant Islam, either led by Iran or led by Da'esh.
 
Here are two sentences that summarize everything that I said. I am hopeful as never before. If we said in the past that if we break through with the Palestinians, we'll have broader peace with the Arab world, I think the odds are that it's now going to – peace is going to be achieved through a reverse path. Not that the Palestinians will bring peace with the broader Arab world, but a broader rapprochement with the Arab world would bring peace with the Palestinians.
 
Israel's hand is extended to peace for all those who want to make peace with it. We have a belief in the future. We have a belief in technology, in progress as a great way of solidifying peace and advancing it with our neighbors and with our friends like Italy and elsewhere in the world. It's in this spirit of hope and peace that I welcome you to Jerusalem, Mr. President. Welcome once again to you and your delegation."