Mr. President,
On behalf of 97 co-sponsors, I sincerely thank all those who supported this landmark resolution.
This resolution is very dear to my Mission, my Nation, and my tradition. Jewish teachings emphasize self-empowerment.
Psalms 128 says:
יְגִיעַ כַּפֶּיךָ כִּי תֹאכֵל אַשְׁרֶיךָ וְטוֹב לָךְ
“By the fruit of your own labor; you shall be happy.”
Israel’s history demonstrates this principle. The entrepreneurial spirit is at the heart of our experience.
Entrepreneurs have been a driving force behind Israel's transformation from a developing country into a powerhouse of innovation. As Israel’s President Shimon Peres says, "In a land lacking in natural resources, Israelis have learned to appreciate our greatest national advantage: our minds. With creativity and innovation, we have transformed barren deserts into flourishing fields and pioneered new frontiers in science and technology."
This is the essence of entrepreneurship—seeing opportunities in challenges; seeing possibilities in the impossible; realizing dreams in places where hope has been absent for too long.
Together, as a global community, we can harness the remarkable power of entrepreneurship—and create a ripple effect of change.
Mr. President,
Israel, and the nearly 100 co-sponsors of this resolution, hoped to achieve consensus. Every country benefits from empowering its entrepreneurs. Let me be clear: few places could benefit from entrepreneurship more than the Arab world. From Syria to Sudan to Saudi Arabia, people are demanding better lives, better economies, and better governance. Like any other people, they want to live in countries without rampant corruption, discrimination against women, and economic stagnation.
The Arab delegations here today – like their governments – have chosen to ignore these calls. Today they have not only turned their backs on their own people – they are also trying to turn back the clock on the important work of this organization.
Mr. President,
Today is just the beginning. We must take the words of this resolution off the page and breathe life into them on the ground. We must create a platform for the visionaries, the dreamers and the risk-takers around the world.
Israel will continue to do its part to advance this goal. MASHAV—our Agency for International Development Cooperation — is leading Israel’s effort to promote entrepreneurship around the world.
Make no mistake. The stakes before us are high. The people that we empower today will become the next Einstein, the next Picasso, the next Mother Theresa tomorrow.
Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not. Today, we are sending a clear message — we must harness this talent. We must create opportunity. We must propel the global agenda forward.
The French thinker Alexis de Tocqueville, a great enthusiast of entrepreneurship said: “History is a gallery of pictures in which there are few originals and many copies.” Entrepreneurs are the originals. They are the ones who are making history. Let us pledge to support them—and together, let's make history.
Thank you, Mr. President.