11/09/2010

Finland supports visa-free travel between Russia, EU

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev (R) talks with his Finland's counterpart Tarja Halonen at the Gorki presidential residence outside Moscow November 8, 2010. (Getty Images / REUTERS / Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA Novosti/Kremlin )
November 09, 2010 (KATAKAMI/ RIA NOVOSTI) --- Finland supports the bilateral cancellation of visa requirements between Russia and the European Union, the country's president Tarja Halonen said on Tuesday.

Moscow has made visa-free travel between Russia and the EU a foreign policy priority.

"Finland is among the EU states that support a visa-free regime," she said. "The European Union and Russia should agree on practical measures required to make progress on the issue, quickly and with regard to all issues, including security."

Russia submitted a draft agreement on scrapping the visa regime to the EU at the Russia-EU summit in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don on May 31.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rebuked the EU in late September for dragging its heels on the issue, saying that Russia wanted a "clear answer."


MOSCOW, November 9 (RIA Novosti)

Terimakasih TNI Polri Yang Ada Bersama Rakyat Saat Indonesia Penuh Bencana


Anggota pasukan khusus KOPASSUS menggunakan masker unuk melakukan pencarian dan evakuasi korban tewas di daerah Pejambon, Sleman, DI Yogyakarta (8 November 2010). Photo : BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images

Photostream : Indonesian Elite Forces (Kopassus) and rescue team evacuated the victims of Mount Merapi eruption http://wp.me/pYE9h-37D

PHOTOSTREAM : Indonesian Elite Forces, We Love You Full Soldier !

Baret Merah Tak Pernah Mati, KOMANDO !!!


Jakarta 09/11/2010 (KATAKAMI) --- Hanya beberapa jam sebelum Presiden Amerika Serikat Barack Obama mendarat di Jakarta, sebuah pesan singkat yang sangat "tajam" di jejaring sosial Twitter datang dari Ketua Komisi I DPR-RI Mahfudz Siddiq dari Fraksi Partai Keadilan Sejahtera :

Jika Obama msh persoalkan Kopassus, silakan berkunjung ke Merapi.  Oke?

Sesungguhnya bisa diartikan, pesan sederhana ini adalah sebuah kritikan tentang "nyinyirnya" sejumlah pihak Amerika jika sudah berbicara tentang militer Indonesia.

Seolah-olah, militer Indonesia itu adalah sesuatu yang pantas untuk selalu direcoki karena begitu layak direndahkan.

Lepas dari segala kelebihan atau kekurangan Tentara Nasional Indonesia (TNI), rakyat Indonesia seakan tak rela kalau TNI dinistakan, direndahkan derajatnya dan disama-ratakan dengan kasta terendah dalam kehidupan ini.

Arogansi dari pihak manapun yang secara sengaja merecoki, merendahkan dan menistakan TNI ke titik terendah, perlu membuka mata dan telinga mereka tentang bagaimana pengabdian dan kerja keras TNI dalam melakukan misi-misi kemanusiaan disaat Indonesia sedang berduka yaitu tertimpa bencana demi bencana seperti yang terjadi belakangan ini.

Tak cuma TNI, POLRI juga ikut merapatkan barisan dalam memberikan pertolongan mereka kepada korban di berbagai lokasi bencana.


TB. HASANUDDIN, SE, MM, Wakil Ketua Komisi I DPR-RI dari Fraksi PDI Perjuangan

Lewat wawancara dengan KATAKAMI.COM, Selasa (09/11/2010) di Jakarta, TB Hassanudin Anggota Komisi I dari Fraksi PDI Perjuangan secara tegas mengkritik kecenderungan Amerika untuk terus menerus meributkan masalah-masalah pelanggaran HAM yang dikaitkan dengan TNI.

"Kita harus sampaikan pada Obama bahwa Indonesia bukan bagian dari Amerika. Ingat itu ! Dan Amerika juga bukan bagian dari Indonesia. Amerika perlu belajarlah untuk bergaul secara lebih baik dengan banyak negara di dunia ini" kata TB Hassanudin.

Lebih jauh, TB Hassanudin mengatakan bahwa Obama dan Amerika secara keseluruhan perlu mengingat satu hal yang sangat penting bahwa Indonesia tidak pernah latah atau lancang merecoki "keberadaan" Amerika di Afghanistan dan Irak.

"Kita tidak pernah mempermasalahkan keberadaan Amerika di Afghanistan dan Irak kan. Jadi kenapa Amerika ribut sendiri soal Indonesia ? Bahwa Indonesia memang memiliki sesuatu yang harus diperbaiki, ya oke ... kami akan memperbaiki dan pasti mampu mengatasinya. Kenapa sibuk sekali bicara miring soal militer Indonesia ?" lanjut TB Hassanudin.

TB Hassanudin yang juga merupakan mantan Sekretaris Militer di era kepemimpinan Presiden Megawati Soekarnoputri ini memberikan penghargaan kepada TNI / POLRI yang terus bahu-membahu membantu rakyat yang sedang tertimpa kesusahan di berbagai lokasi bencana.

"Saya bicara tentang TNI ya. Sejak TNI dilahirkan, memang dikondisikan untuk selalu berada di tengah-tengah rakyat. Bahwa ada pasang surut dalam perjalanan TNI ... misalnya dikaitkan dengan pelanggaran HAM atau masuk dalam dunia perpolitikan, itu sisi lain. Tetapi dalam menangani bencana apapun, TNI adalah yang paling solid. Sebab man power yang ada dalam TNI itu stand by 24 jam dalam sehari" ungkap TB Hassanudin.

TB Hassanudin menambahkan bahwa pemerintah memang bisa memanfaatkan kemampuan atau skill yang dimiliki TNI dalam menangani bencana.

"Bila terjadi bencana nasional di negara manapun yang ada didunia ini maka orang pertama yang dikirimkan untuk memberikan bantuan adalah militer. Khusus untuk TNI, mereka bisa ditugaskan untuk ikut menangani dampak bencana. Tetapi sebaiknya penanggung-jawab diserahkan kepada badan lain. Sebab tugas pokoknya berbeda. TNI ditugaskan untuk bertempur" kata TB Hassanudin.

Jenderal TNI (Purnawirawan) Ryamizard Ryacudu, Mantan KSAD

Dukungan terhadap TNI juga datang dari Jenderal TNI (Purnawirawan) Ryamizard Ryacudu selaku mantan Kepala Staf TNI Angkatan Darat.

"Yang paling suka menjelek-jelekkan kita dari pihak Amerika ini kan hanya segelintir saja. Ribut saja soal HAM. Dan kalau saya ditanya soal Obama, dia ini kan anak muda. Saya cuma bicara singkat sajalah. Pemerintah Amerika tidak usah mengkritik TNI. Sebab setahu saya, Obama itu sama Jenderal bintang empat di negaranya saja tidak cocok. Siapa itu namanya ? Jenderal Stanley McChrystal kan. Dia ini komandan tertinggi dalam perang di Afghanistan. Militer Amerika ini, khusus Jenderal-Jenderal mereka adalah para perwira tinggi yang bagus-bagus dan  profesional. Jadi kalau ada perwira tinggi bintang 4 mengecam kepala negaranya maka artinya ada yang salah dari si kepala negara itu. Sebab Komandan Tertinggi adalah orang yang paling mengetahui situasi di lapangan. Jadi tidak perlu mengkritik militer negara lain. Introspeksi diri sendiri dululah" kata Jenderal Ryamizard Ryacudu kepada KATAKAMI.COM dalam sebuah kesempatan.

Ryamizard Ryacudu percaya bahwa TNI akan selalu ada bersama rakyat Indonesia dalam keadaan apapun juga.


Yorrys Raweyai, Anggota Komisi I DPR-RI dari Fraksi Partai Golkar

Sementara itu, Yorrys Raweyai Anggota Komisi I dari Fraksi Partai Golkar juga menyampaikan apresiasi yang tinggi atas kerja keras TNI ( dan POLRI ) dalam menangani berbagai bencana di Indonesia.

"Begini ya, dari semua bencana apapun yang terjadi di Indonesia, sudah pasti yang tercepat untuk memberikan pertolongan di lokasi bencana itu adalah TNI  dan POLRI. Khususnya TNI ya. Dan dimana-mana selalu begitu. Di negara manapun, militer pasti pihak pertama yang dikerahkan untuk memberikan pertolongan pertama dalam bencana dalam skala apapun" kata Yorrys Raweyai.

Menurutnya, TNI memang yang paling siap dan sigap dalam menangani bencana.

"Coba kita lihat, badan atau instansi mana di Indonesia ini yang memiliki kemampuan yang paling lengkap untuk menangani bencana ? Cuma TNI yang bisa melakukan itu. Tentu Polri juga berperan dalam menangani bencana. jadi kita harus menghargai mereka. Itu sebabnya, kami di Komisi I sedang mengusahakan agar didalam Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana (BNPB), unsur TNI dimasukkan didalamnya" ungkap Yorrys Raweyai.


Anggota TNI (KOPASSUS) dan POLRI melakukan proses evakuasi terhadap korban tewas di Desa Argomulyo, DI Yogyakarta ( 5 November 2010). Photo : AP Photo/Gembong Nusantara)
Jadi, seperti kata pepatah, "Anjing menggonggong, khalilah berlalu".

Biarkan pihak lain berbicara buruk tentang Indonesia ( khususnya TNI ). Sebab yang paling mengetahui sisi baik dan buruk dari negara kita adalah kita sendiri.

Jika memang ada sesuatu yang salah maka kesalahan itu harus diperbaiki sesuai aturan dan ketentuan Undang Undang yang berlalu.

Saat ini Indonesia sedang berduka.

Langit di atas Indonesia memang sangat amat mendung dan seakan gelap gulita.

Di Wasior (Papua), di Mentawai (Sumatera Barat) dan khususnya di Gunung Merapi ( DI Yogyakarta), terjadi bencana alam yang sangat beruntun.

Korban tewas begitu banyak di 3 lokasi bencana alam ini.

Bersama tim relawan, TNI / POLRI masih sangat dibutuhkan untuk memberikan pertolongan yang maksimal di lokasi-lokasi bencana.

Duka Indonesia adalah duka yang sangat dirasakan juga oleh TNI / POLRI.

Sehingga merekalah yang sangat dibutuhkan dan paling bisa diandalkan untuk memberikan pertolongan seluas-luasnya kepada para korban ( terutama dalam masa tanggap darurat seperti saat ini ).




Terimakasih TNI / POLRI.

Berbuatlah lebih tulus dan lebih banyak lagi dalam perjalanan pengabdian kalian bagi bangsa, negara dan rakyat Indonesia.

Sebab pengabdian tidak mengenal batas ruang dan waktu.

Kami, rakyat Indonesia, mencintai kalian dengan cinta yang begitu kuat berselimutkan rasa nasionalisme yang sangat amat tinggi.

Dan menutup tulisan ini, ingin rasanya sekali lagi menyampaikan pujian untuk TNI dan POLRI.
Ode adalah syair (kehidupan) yang berisi pujian secara tulus.

Ode untuk TNI / POLRI adalah untaian pujian yang sangat tulus atas kerja keras dan pengorbanan TNI / POLRI di lokasi-lokasi bencana yang terjadi di wilayah Indonesia.

Ketika lagu berjudul Ibu Pertiwi dikumandangkan di saat Indonesia berduka, bersama TNI / POLRI duka demi duka, bencana demi bencana, terlalui dengan penuh rasa kebersamaan yang sangat kuat antar anak bangsa Indonesia.

Sekali lagi, terimakasih TNI / POLRI.

Janganlah berhenti mengabdikan diri dan terus melakukan yang terbaik bagi kebaikan bangsa, negara dan rakyat Indonesia.

YOUTUBE : IBU PERTIWI ( SLANK)

Kulihat ibu pertiwi
Sedang bersusah hati
Air matamu berlinang
Mas intanmu terkenang
Hutan gunung sawah lautan
Simpanan kekayaan
Kini ibu sedang susah
Merintih dan berdoa

Kulihat ibu pertiwi
Kami datang berbakti
Lihatlah putra-putrimu
Menggembirakan ibu
Ibu kami tetap cinta
Putramu yang setia
Mmenjaga harta pusaka
Untuk nusa dan bangsa

(*)

Hamas invites Ahamdinejad to Gaza


Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad smiles while attending the 17th International Festival and Fair of Press and News Agencies closing ceremony in Tehran November 1, 2010. (Getty Images / REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl )



Islamist group calls on Iranian president to visit Strip after his October tour of Lebanon, however estimates say visit unlikely to take place.

November 09, 2010 (KATAKAMI / YNET) --- Hamas has invited Iranian President Mahmoud Ahamdinejad to visit the Gaza Strip on Monday. Ahmed Youssef, deputy Hamas foreign minister told Iranian news agency Fars that a visit from the Iranian president would lift the spirits of "the resistance front" as it did with Hezbollah in Lebanon last month.

"We are certain his visit would be very significant," Youssef said in an interview with the news agency. Iran has yet to provide an official response to the invitation, however such a visit is unlikely to take place as Iranian officials do not usually visit the Gaza Strip, despite politically supporting Hamas.

Hamas sources confirmed that Ahmadinejad had been invited to Gaza as part of Palestinian efforts to break the blockade. They told Ynet that the Iranian president had a positive response to the invitation. Nevertheless, Gaza elements estimated the visit is not likely to occur in the near future. 

Last month, Ahmadinejad held his first visit to Lebanon, during which he met with Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah. Tens of thousands of Lebanese rallied in his honor across the country including in Bint Jbeil and Kafr Kana.

Ahmadinejad's visit was meant to send a message of support to Hezbollah and assist the Shiite group in its internal conflict ahead of an international report on the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

(*)

Israel plans 1,300 Housing Units in Jerusalem


A construction site in the Jewish neighborhood of Har Homa in east Jerusalem, Monday, Nov. 8, 2010. The Israeli government is moving ahead with plans to build nearly 1,300 apartments in disputed east Jerusalem, an official said Monday, a move sure to escalate frictions between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and American officials during his current visit to the United States. (Getty Images / AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)

November 09, 2010. JERUSALEM (KATAKAMI / IsraelNationalNews.com / Reuters) – The Jerusalem regional planning and building commission published plans over the weekend for building more than 1,300 housing units in the capital.

Almost a thousand are planned for the Har Homa neighborhood in southern Jerusalem, while 320 are planned for the northern neighborhood of Ramot,  the Interior Ministry said on Monday, despite fierce opposition from Palestinians.
The timing of the announcement could prove an embarrassment for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is in the United States looking for ways to revive Middle East peace talks that have stalled over the issue of Jewish settlement building.

Interior Ministry spokeswoman Efrat Orbach said plans for some 1,300 Jewish housing units in two neighborhoods on land Israel seized in a 1967 war had been made public, passing another procedural stage toward eventual construction.

She said the public could still raise objections to the plans and it could take a long time before building commenced.

"It can take months or years from this point until building can actually begin, or even before tenders for building are issued," Orbach said.

The United States said it was "deeply disappointed" by news of the housing project.

"It is counterproductive to our efforts to resume direct negotiations between the parties," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said, adding that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was expected to bring the matter up in a meeting with Netanyahu in New York on Thursday.

At a meeting in New York with former President Bill Clinton, Netanyahu was asked by reporters to comment on the U.S. criticism.

"You know, President Clinton and I have a lot of things to discuss, but this particular issue I'm going to discuss, I'm sure, with Mrs Clinton on Thursday, so you can ask me then," Netanyahu said.

Earlier, Netanyahu held talks at the United Nations with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who the U.N. press office said "expressed concern at the resumption of settlement activity and recent announcements of further settlement construction in East Jerusalem."


PALESTINIAN REJECTION


Direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians broke down in September almost as soon as they had begun, after Netanyahu rebuffed Palestinian demands to extend a partial freeze on West Bank settlement building.

The limited moratorium did not include construction work in areas Israel considers part of Jerusalem.
An aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas ruled out any return to negotiations as long as Israel continued to build and called on the United States to act against the Jewish state so that the talks could restart.

"Israel is continuing to create obstacles ... There will be no return to negotiations while Israel pursues settlement activities," Nabil Abu Rdainah told Reuters.

"(Netanyahu) is giving a signal to the Americans that (Israel) will not agree to halt settlements ... We demand that the U.S. administration take practical steps to resume the peace process, there will not be a peace treaty without having East Jerusalem as the capital of (the) state of Palestine," he added.
The State Department's Crowley said the United States was seeking to understand the background to the announcement, and said "it could very well be that somebody in Israel has made this known in order to embarrass the prime minister and to undermine the process."

"This is expressly why we have been encouraging the parties to remain in direct negotiations, to return to direct negotiations and to work through these issues face-to-face," he told a news briefing.

Israel captured East Jerusalem, along with the West Bank, in 1967 and regards all of Jerusalem as its capital. The Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they hope to establish in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

(*)

PM Netanyahu, UN's Ban discuss peace process, Ghajar withdrawal


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) meets with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at U.N. headquarters November 8, 2010 in New York City. Israeli media reported that Netanyahu will announce the Israeli withdrawal from Ghajar, a village straddling the Lebanese-Israeli border. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slams UNESCO decision to classify ancient Jewish holy site as mosque, saying 'historical facts should not be distorted in the name of politics.'

November 09, 2010 (KATAKAMI / HAARETZ) --- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon held talks late Monday on the stalled Middle East peace talks and the planned Israeli withdrawal from a site on the Lebanese border.

The two issued a readout of their meeting at UN headquarters in New York, according to which the "secretary general and Prime Minister Netanyahu discussed the ongoing efforts to move the Middle East peace process forward."

"The secretary general emphasized that it was vital to break the current diplomatic stalemate, resume negotiations and produce results," the statement said.

Peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians have been stalled since September, when an Israeli moratorium on settlement activity ended. The Palestinians want the freeze extended to continue talks, and Washington has unsuccessfully tried to convince Netanyahu to do so. US President Barack Obama oversaw the relaunching of the direct Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in early September, only to see them falter once the settlement freeze expired on the 26th of the month.

Ban said he expressed concern at the resumption of the Israeli settlement activities and recent announcements of further settlement construction in East Jerusalem.

The two leaders also discussed the "current proposals on the issue of Ghajar," a reference to Israel's plan to end its occupation of the village with 2,200 inhabitants on the Lebanon-Israel border.

Haaretz had reported that Netanyahu planned to announce a withdrawal from Ghajar and the return of control of the village to Lebanon. The planned withdrawal would comply with UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ordered a ceasefire in the fighting between Hezbollah and the Israeli Defense Forces in 2006.

The two leaders also reportedly "reviewed the regional situation, including Iran," in addition to Ban's urging that Israel "ease the movement of people and goods to and from Gaza."

Netanyahu also referred to a recent controversial ruling by the UN's cultural agency, according to which West Bank heritage sites holy to both Jews and Muslims, such as Rachel's Tomb, would be considered Palestinian.

The ancient tomb, which lies between Jerusalem and the nearby Palestinian-controlled city of Bethlehem, is traditionally regarded as the burial place of a biblical matriarch and is holy to Christians, Muslims and Jews.

Speaking during his meeting with the UN chief, the PM said that the "the profound link between the Jewish people and the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Rachel's Tomb had existed for close to 4,000 years."
"Over a billion people know of this bond and it is documented in the Bible," Netanyahu said, adding that "historical facts should not be distorted in the name of politics. That would only injure the UN's stature and the way serious people around the world regard it."

Last week, Israel said it would reduce cooperation with the United Nations' cultural watchdog following the classification of Rachel's Tomb as a mosque.

Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said Israel would not cooperate with UNESCO – the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - in administering five protected sites in Palestinian territory as a dispute that has escalated in recent weeks came to a head.

Speaking with journalists in Jerusalem, Ayalon blamed the Palestinians for influencing the UN to side against Israel.

"This is another attempt at de-legitimization by the Palestinian Authority," he said.  

(*)

Photostream : British Prime Minister David Cameron in Beijing


A pilot looks out from an aircraft carrying British Prime Minister David Cameron as it arrives at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2010. (Getty Images / AP Photo/Andy Wong)

British Prime Minister David Cameron, center, walks past honor guards upon arriving at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2010. (Getty Images / AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (C) drinks tea with entrepreneurs at a converted temple during a trade mission in Beijing, November 9, 2010. Cameron said he was aiming to double bilateral trade with China to more than $100 billion (62 billion pounds) a year by 2015. (Getty Images / REUTERS/Darren Staples )

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron drinks tea with entrepreneurs at a converted temple during a trade mission in Beijing November 9, 2010. Cameron said he wanted to double bilateral trade with China to more than $100 billion (62 billion pounds) a year by 2015 as he visited Beijing on Tuesday at the head of a major trade mission. (Getty Images / REUTERS/Darren Staples )

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron drinks tea with entrepreneurs at a converted temple during a trade mission in Beijing November 9, 2010. Cameron said he wanted to double bilateral trade with China to more than $100 billion (62 billion pounds) a year by 2015 as he visited Beijing on Tuesday at the head of a major trade mission. (Getty Images / REUTERS/Darren Staples )

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (L) speaks with entrepreneurs at a converted temple during a trade mission in Beijing November 9, 2010. Cameron said he wanted to double bilateral trade with China to more than $100 billion (62 billion pounds) a year by 2015 as he visited Beijing on Tuesday at the head of a major trade mission. (Getty Images / REUTERS/Darren Staples )

David Cameron : Building British Cooperation With China


British Prime Minister David Cameron steps down from an aircraft upon arriving at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2010. (Getty Images / AP Photo/Andy Wong)

By DAVID CAMERON


November 09, 2010 (WSJ) -- This week I am leading one of the biggest and most high-powered British delegations ever to visit China. We aim to deliver more than 40 specific agreements across the whole range of our bilateral relationship, from trade to low-carbon growth, to cultural and education initiatives. All of it, seeking to take Britain's relationship with China to a new level and to achieve strong co-operation on our shared economic and political interests.
China's achievements in recent years are remarkable. With growth averaging nearly 10% a year for more than three decades, China today is the world's second-largest economy. Over the past five years it accounted for a third of the world's economic growth. And this economic power gives it new political influence. China today has lifted more people out of poverty than any other country at any time in human history. With the largest population in the world, and with growing economic and political influence, a strong relationship with China is plainly in Britain's national interests.

But the relationship is not one way. Britain has much to offer China too. The U.K. is the most open economy in Europe and uniquely placed as the gateway to the European Union, China's largest export market and the world's largest single market. Britain is home to more than 400 mainland Chinese companies and is already ranked first in Europe for ease of doing business. And we are determined to make Britain the best country in the world in which to do business. That is why we are cutting our corporate income tax to 24%, the lowest in the G-7; creating the most competitive corporate tax regime in the G-20; cutting the time it takes to set up a new business and reducing red tape and excessive regulation.

No other country can offer the same unique advantages, whether our timezone, our language, or our universities—which include six of the best in Europe and two of the top three globally. In fact the U.K. is now China's top European partner for joint research, which has more than quadrupled in a decade.

There is a strong strategic fit between our economies. China is a key export market for Britain. And as China rebalances its economy and its growing middle class demand new and ever more high value goods, brands and services, so U.K. companies have much to offer.

Indeed, the U.K. Pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai—which won the Gold Award for the best Pavilion design—was a showcase for so many of Britain's strengths, from advanced engineering to education, from low carbon to financial services to the creative industries. In all these areas and many more, British companies and British exports can help China deliver the prosperity and progress it seeks and at the same time help Britain to secure strong and sustainable growth.

On this visit alone, Britain is set to sign new contracts worth billions of dollars involving companies across the U.K. and cities all over China. It is the breadth of sectors and the range of companies involved that is most promising of all. Many small and medium-size enterprises from Britain will be expanding into China in areas such as low-carbon growth, urban design and information and communication technology.

This is in addition to at least $5 billion worth of business that British companies have secured as part of the Airbus contract concluded with China last week and a further $3 billion of investments by Tesco to develop new shopping malls over the next five years.

And with nearly 50 of Britain's most influential culture, education and business leaders joining me on this visit, I hope these deals can be just the beginning of a new era of bilateral trade between our countries.

We are working to agree a new target to double the value of our bilateral trade with China by 2015 to more than $100 billion a year. And within this we intend to raise U.K. exports to China to $30 billion per year over the same period.

But economic cooperation goes beyond bilateral trade. Both Britain and China have a huge stake in expanding global trade. U.K. Business Minister Vince Cable was here for trade talks yesterday, and Finance Minister George Osborne will today seek to further the cooperation between our two countries through the economic and financial dialogue. On the eve of the G-20 we will be working together to do everything possible to drive progress on a Doha trade round that has frankly gone on for far too long. Next year has to see the deal done, and that means action now. And we will be working in the G-20 to ensure international economic stability so that the global economy can grow strongly again without the economic and financial imbalances that led to the crisis.

But economic cooperation is only part of the story. Our countries have a very important political relationship, which we wish to nurture in the years ahead. As China's star rises in the world, so does its stake in global stability—in the political stability necessary to keep trade routes open and energy supplies flowing. That is an interest we share. I will be meeting China's current and future leaders, because Britain and China have long-term shared interests stretching across climate change and energy, international development and global security.

We will announce new agreements to develop co-operation on international energy supply and a new U.K.-China partnership scheme to promote low-carbon growth. We will aim to enhance cooperation in Africa and enhance China's peacekeeping capacity.

We will discuss our shared interests in international security. We want to work with China to help in global efforts to prevent Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon, and to put pressure on corrupt and intolerant regimes in Africa. We hope we can work closely together to prevent conflagration in North Korea and to improve the situation for the Burmese people.

Our relationship should be strong enough to address not only those issues on which we agree, but those on which we take a different view. We should do so with respect and mutual understanding, acknowledging our different histories. This visit offers an opportunity to discuss some of the areas where we have differences and how we might narrow them, for example through our continuing human-rights dialogue.

So I hope this visit can be a further step forward in U.K.-China relations, adding momentum to our commercial relationship and cementing an economic and political partnership that can help to deliver strong and sustainable growth and greater security for us all in the years ahead.


Mr. Cameron is prime minister of the U.K.

British Ambassador to Indonesia H.E. Martin Hatfull : Integration, the key to religious tolerance


British Ambassador to Indonesia H.E. Martin Hatfull

08 November 2010
Opinion article by Ambassador Martin Hatfull about Islam in the UK and religious tolerance. The article is published by the Republika daily on 8 November 2010, page 4.


(KATAKAMI / BRITISH EMBASSY IN INDONESIA) --- Recently I was invited to speak to the students of the University of Indonesia, and by, video conference, to a number of other universities around Indonesia. The topic was "Islam in the UK".

This is topical issue as the newspapers here are preoccupied with religious diversity issues at home. In thinking about how to manage diversity issues, there is a lot we can learn from each other. Some Indonesian perceptions of the UK are coloured by a misconception of our approach to different communities within the UK and about our wider approach to foreign policy. So I was keen to talk about and share some of our experiences in the UK and our approach to integration.

Today there are about 2 million Muslims living in the UK; about 3% of our overall population. They come from a variety of different ethnic and religious backgrounds—Asian, Middle Eastern, African and newer British converts, all with their different cultural and religious traditions. It’s impossible to speak of one British Islamic community. The first Muslims arrived in Britain in the 17th century, but significant immigration from largely Muslim countries began in the 1950s.

That means that today over half of the Britain’s Muslims were born in the UK. For many of these 3rd generation Muslims, English is their first language. Nowadays Muslims of whatever denomination, of whatever background are thoroughly integrated into British society at all levels: professional, commercial, educational, in the private and the public sector. Your doctor may be a Muslim; the bus driver may be a Muslim. So might your lawyer, your child’s teacher, your local shopkeeper, the owner of the supermarket. One in ten businesses is owned by British Asians, who are mostly Muslims.

We have several thousand Muslim millionaires and more Muslim Parliamentarians than any other Parliament in Europe. We also now have a female Muslim in the Cabinet—Baroness Warsi—who was profiled in the Indonesian media recently. I have a growing number of Muslim colleagues, including here in Jakarta. And there are many Muslim NGOs who provide substantial assistance e.g. Islamic Relief in Aceh, and both Muslim and non-Muslim NGOs working together to help with the floods in Pakistan. Muslims in Britain are an integral part of society, where religion is seen as a private matter and individuals are accepted for who they are.

I remember the astonishment of one Indonesian visitor to the UK, who was stopped in Oxford St and asked for directions. In recounting this to me afterwards, she gestured to her jilbab: “Do I look British?” The answer is: “you don’t look un-British”.

A key element in this approach to integration is the law. Like any other religion, the religious identity of Muslims in the UK is protected by law. The UK’s constitution includes freedom of thought, expression, religion, worship—these freedoms are guaranteed by law for members of every community. There are over 600 mosques and over 100 Islamic schools in the UK, all protected by law. Most UK Muslims feel a strong sense of being both British and Muslim: opinion pools in 2009 suggest that over 90% of Bangladeshi and Pakistani respondents felt that they belonged strongly to the UK.

Of course no society is perfect. People do not always get along with their neighbours; many of us in every society are resistant to change. And crime committed by a few misguided individuals can change the way a community is regarded.

But as a Government we focus on the guiding principle of integration, and this forms an important part of the Government’s agenda. Theresa May, our Home Secretary, recently said “We believe in people throughout our country, from all communities, coming together, working together, supporting and trusting each other”.

Part of our work towards integration, she went on, is challenging extremists “who oppose this and want to drive us apart”. We work hard to overcome these challenges, encourage integration and punish persecution or harassment of religious minorities. We don’t always get it right, but we do so enough to give minorities the confidence to know that they are protected under the law.

Finally the UK has been immensely enriched through the work of our Muslim community. Muslims have given to British society in a large variety of fields: professional, artistic, in the public service, and in commerce. And the community continues to help us evolve—a practical example is Islamic Banking which is now a thriving market sector with major banks in the UK (e.g. HSBC). Individuals are valued for who they are, and Muslims are playing a large part in making Britain what visitors find when they travel there: a vibrant, modern, secular democracy.

(*)

Photostream : Finland's President Tarja Halonen meets Russian President Dmitry Medvedev


Finland's President Tarja Halonen inspects the guard of honour during a welcoming ceremony at Moscow's Vnukovo airport November 8, 2010. Tarja Halonen visits Russia for talks with President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. (Getty Images / REUTERS/Alexander Natruskin )

Finland's President Tarja Halonen puts her gloves on upon her arrival at Moscow's Vnukovo airport November 8, 2010. Halonen visits Russia for talks with President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. (Getty Images / REUTERS / Alexander Natruskin )

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev (R) talks with his Finland's counterpart Tarja Halonen at the Gorki presidential residence outside Moscow November 8, 2010. (Getty Images / REUTERS / Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA Novosti/Kremlin )

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev (R), his Finnish counterpart Tarja Halonen (C) and her spouse Pentti Arajarvi meet at the Gorki presidential residence outside Moscow November 8, 2010. (Getty Images / REUTERS / Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA Novosti/Kremlin )

Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev (2nd R) and his wife Svetlana (R) welcome Finland's President Tarja Halonen (2nd L) and her spouse Pentti Arajarvi at the Gorki presidential residence outside Moscow November 8, 2010. (Getty Images / REUTERS/Alexei Nikolsky/RIA Novosti/Kremlin )

Dmitry Medvedev, Tarja Halonen have informal meeting


Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev (2nd R) and his wife Svetlana (R) welcome Finland's President Tarja Halonen (2nd L) and her spouse Pentti Arajarvi at the Gorki presidential residence outside Moscow November 8, 2010.

MOSCOW, November 8 (KATAKAMI / Itar-Tass) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Finnish President Tarja Halonen had an informal meeting in Moscow on Monday, November 8.

Halonen has arrived in Russia on a state visit.,

“The schedule of Tarja Halonen’s state visit began with an informal meeting with Dmitry Medvedev,” the presidential press service said. “The leaders exchanged greetings and conversed briefly, after which the head of the Russian state invited his Finnish colleague to an informal supper.”

“The wife of the Russian president, Svetlana Medvedev, and the husband of the Finnish head of state, Pentti Arajarvi, participated in the conversation along with the presidents,” the press service said.

On Tuesday, the presidents will continue negotiations in an official setting. They will meet in a narrow circle first and will be joined by members of their delegations later on.

Medvedev and Halonen will speak about the results of the talks at a joint press conference.  (*)

In Spain, Pope calls Europe to open itself to God


Pope Benedict XVI walks with his pastoral staff outside the Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 7, 2010. The Pope consecrated La Sagrada Familia, the Barcelona landmark designed by Antoni Gaudi, whose construction began in 1882 and continues today. (Getty Images / AP Photo/Osservatore Romano, HO)

Barcelona, Spain, Nov 8, 2010 / 08:11 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI used his weekend pilgrimage to Spain, Nov. 6-7, to outline his vision for the "re-evangelization" not only of Spain, but of Europe and the West.

From his first words to his last, the Pope’s message was focused on drawing from Spain’s Christian roots — the great legacy of saints such as John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Ignatius of Loyola, and Francis Xavier — and nourishing what he called a “faith sown already at the dawn of Christianity, one which blossomed and grew in the warmth of countless examples of holiness, giving rise to countless institutions of beneficence, culture and education.”

The Pope set the tone for his trip on the flight to Santiago. He spoke of what has emerged as a central theme of his pontificate, the “challenge of secularism” in the West and the need for the Church to confront it.

In his arrival speech, the Pope once more sounded the theme: “I too wish to encourage Spain and Europe to build their present and to project their future on the basis of the authentic truth about man, on the basis of the freedom which respects this truth and never harms it, and on the basis of justice for all, beginning with the poorest and the most defenseless,” he said. “A Spain and a Europe concerned not only with people’s material needs but also with their moral and social, spiritual and religious needs, since all these are genuine requirements of our common humanity and only in this way can work be done effectively, integrally and fruitfully for man’s good.”

Although Spain still counts nearly three-quarters of its population as Catholic, less than 15 percent of the nation's more than 40 million people participate in Church life.

Pope Benedict hit repeatedly on the importance of upholding the value of human life in all forms, especially those who are most vulnerable as a key part of the Catholic message to a secularized society.
Medicine should never be used in ways that are disrespectful for human life and dignity, the Pope explained. He called for state aid for the “sacred and inviolable” lives of children from the moment of their conception. He also encouraged social and economic assistance for women so that they can find “full development” at home or work, support for men and women in their marriages, and assistance for growing families.

Strong and faithful families are necessary to the future and vitality of society, the Pope said, calling "the renewal of the family as society's fundamental cell" the "great theme" of today.

In a Mass celebrated for 7,000 faithful in Santiago's Obradoiro Square on the first day of the trip, the Pope used his homily to again urge a renewed struggle against secularism. "Europe must open itself to God, must come to meet him without fear, and work with his grace for that human dignity which was discerned by her best traditions," he said.

There is a need, he added, “to hear God once again under the skies of Europe.” He hoped that “this holy word not be spoken in vain,” and that it would not serve purposes other than its own. “It needs to be spoken in a holy way. And we must hear it in this way in ordinary life, in the silence of work, in brotherly love and in the difficulties that years bring on.”

In Barcelona on the second day of the journey, during the dedication Mass to consecrate the altar of the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia, Pope Benedict drew inspiration from the architect Antoni Gaudi's vision in building his masterpiece. He referred to the dedication of the church as “an event of great importance” in the context of “a time in which man claims to be able to build his life without God, as if God had nothing to say to him.”

Gaudi's masterpiece "shows us that God is the true measure of man, that the secret of authentic originality consists ... in returning to one’s origin which is God," said Benedict XVI.

In Santiago, the Holy Father spoke of the Church as a companion of man on the journey in search of truth, "yearning for complete fulfillment."

The words that followed could be considered the core of his message for the "new evangelization" of Spain and the West. The Church's mission, he said, is "to be among men and women an ever greater presence of Christ."

Analysts said the Pope’s words found a welcome among the Spanish faithful. Father Daniel Lorenzo, who heads a Spanish Church commission on art and culture, took part in the celebrations at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. He told CNA that the Pope's message was one asking the people to live in an ever more intense communion within the Church and also with him as the Successor of Peter.

The Pope called them to return to the faith, "with rigor, " Father Lorenzo said, and after Mass, "to approach these times and the future with strength and courage, united in the faith and in dialogue with God."

Having attended the consecration of the newest basilica in the Catholic Church, Fr. Juan Rubio Fernandez, director of Spain's Catholic Magazine "Vida Nueva," told CNA that the act was "very symbolic" in being an important religious act in a "highly secularized area." It was a call to courage to all Spanish to live their faith openly, not "defending" it but "proposing" it to society, he said.

To live and transmit the message of transcendence, considering something beyond this earth, is thus a type of "goal" Spain's Catholics have taken from the act, he added. The dedication Mass also had strong symbolism for society as proof that faith and secularism can live together and have a common place in society, he said.

And, while this message has been pronounced by the Pope during other trips to widely secular parts of Europe like London, Paris or Prague, giving it in Barcelona, where there is a "strong impulse to the aggressive secularism is significant," said the priest.

In this context, he said, the Church's new evangelization through the new pontifical council does not wish to be a new form of "crusade," rather, it is "a rebirth of the faith." 

(*)

Photostream : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon


U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrives with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations Headquarters in New York November 8, 2010. (Getty Images / REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton )

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signs a guest book before meeting with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon (out of frame) November 8, 2010 at UN headquarters in New York. (Photo by STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, greets United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the United Nations, Monday, Nov. 8, 2010. (Getty Images / AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd-L) meets with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (R) at U.N. headquarters November 8, 2010 in New York City. Israeli media reported that Netanyahu will announce the Israeli withdrawal from Ghajar, a village straddling the Lebanese-Israeli border. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

PM Netanyahu’s Speech at the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speech at the annual General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America in New Orleans, Monday, Nov. 8, 2010.


November 08, 2010 (KATAKAMI / PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE) --- The story of the Jewish people is that of great destruction followed by miraculous redemption. 

That same resilient spirit is exemplified by your collective efforts to help this great city rebuild itself after Hurricane Katrina.

Just as you have rallied time after time to help Israel weather the storms it has faced, you rallied to help New Orleans to get back on its feet.

You should be proud of what you have been doing for the Jewish people and the Jewish state, and for others.  I am doubly proud to be with you here today.  Thank you.

On the eve of the 20th century, Theodore Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, foresaw the great challenges that stood before the dispersed Jewish people.  He charted a clear path to direct the Jewish destiny to the safer shores of a Jewish state.  Herzl’s vision was guided by three principles: Recognize perils, seize opportunities, forge unity.

These same three principles should guide us at the dawn of the 21st century.  We must recognize the dangers facing us and work to thwart them.  We must seize the opportunity for prosperity and for peace with those of our neighbors who want peace.  And we must forge unity among our people to shoulder these monumental tasks.

The greatest danger facing Israel and the world is the prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran.  Iran threatens to annihilate Israel.  It denies the Holocaust.  It sponsors terror.  It confronts America in Afghanistan and Iraq.  It dominates Lebanon and Gaza.  It establishes beachheads in Arabia and in Africa.  It even spreads its influence into this hemisphere, into South America. 

Now, this is what Iran is doing without nuclear weapons.  Imagine what it would do with them.
Imagine the devastation that its terror proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas and others, would wreak under an Iranian nuclear umbrella. 

This is why Israel appreciates President Obama's successful efforts to have the UN Security Council adopt new sanctions against Iran.  It values American efforts to successfully mobilize other countries to pass tough sanctions of their own.  There is no doubt that these sanctions are putting strong economic pressures on the Iranian regime.

But we have yet to see any signs that the tyrants of Tehran are reconsidering their pursuit of nuclear weapons.  The only time that Iran suspended its nuclear program was for a brief period in 2003 when the regime believed it faced a credible threat of military action against it.  And the simple paradox is this: if the international community, led by the United States, hopes to stop Iran’s nuclear program without resorting to military action, it will have to convince Iran that it is prepared to take such action.   Containment will not work against Iran.  It won’t work with a brazen regime that accuses America of bombing its own cities on 9/11, openly calls for Israel’s annihilation, and is the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism. 

When faced with such a regime, the only responsible policy is to prevent it from developing atomic bombs in the first place.  The bottom line is this: Iran’s nuclear program must be stopped.  Iran’s nuclear program is the greatest danger we face.  The assault on Israel’s legitimacy is another.

We know from our history that attacks on the Jews were often preceded by attempts to dehumanize the Jewish people – to paint them as vile criminals, as the scourge of humanity.   This is why the attempts by our enemies and their misguided fellow travelers to delegitimize the Jewish state must be countered.

Herzl was right about many things.   He was right about the conflagration that would soon engulf Europe.  He was right about the need for a Jewish state and for a Jewish army to defend that state. 

Yet Herzl was too optimistic in believing that the rebirth of the Jewish state would gradually put an end to anti-Semitism.

The establishment of Israel did not end the hatred towards the Jews.  It merely redirected it.  The old hatred against the Jewish people is now focused against the Jewish state.  If in the past Jews were demonized, singled out or denied the rights that were automatically granted to others, today in many quarters Israel is demonized, singled out and denied the rights automatically granted to other nations, first and foremost the right of self-defense.

For too many, Israel is guilty until proven guilty.  The greatest success of our detractors is when Jews start believing that too – we’ve seen that today.

Last year, at the UN General Assembly, I spoke out against the travesty of the Goldstone Report, which falsely accused Israel of war crimes in Gaza two years ago.  The United States, led by President Obama, and Canada, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, stood by Israel’s side against this blood libel.  Many countries didn’t.

Well, last week, Hamas finally admitted that over 700 of its fighters in Gaza were killed by the IDF during that war.  This is precisely what the Israeli army said all along – that roughly 50% of the casualties of the war were Hamas terrorists.   Such a high percentage of enemy combatants and such a low percentage of unintended civilian casualties is remarkable in modern urban warfare.  It is even more remarkable when fighting an enemy that deliberately and shamelessly embeds itself next to schools and inside mosques and hospitals.

The authors of the Goldstone Report owe the Israeli army an apology.  And all those who supported and helped spread this libel owe the State of Israel an apology.  The best way to counter lies is with the truth.  That is why I commend your decision to establish the Israel Action Network and dedicate resources to fight this battle for truth.   We must fight these lies and slanders together to ensure that truth prevails. 

The threat from Iran and its proxies, and the continued assault on Israel’s legitimacy are great perils we must thwart.

Now let me speak about two great opportunities we must seize: peace and prosperity.

The opportunity today to achieve a broader Israeli-Arab peace derives not exclusively but mainly from the perception of a common threat.  Today, Arab governments and many throughout the Arab world understand that Iran is a great danger to them as well.  This understanding opens up new possibilities for a broader peace that could support our efforts to reach peace with our Palestinian neighbors.

Israelis want to see that the Palestinians are as committed as they are to ending the conflict once and for all.  They want to know that just as we are ready to recognize a state for the Palestinian people, the Palestinians are ready to recognize Israel as the state for the Jewish people. 

Israel also wants a secure peace.  We do not want to vacate more territory only to see Iran walk in and fire thousands of rockets at our cities.  That is exactly what happened after we left Lebanon and Gaza.  We don’t want to see rockets and missiles streaming into a Palestinian state and placed on the hills above Tel Aviv and the hills encircling Jerusalem.  If Israel does not maintain a credible security presence in the Jordan Valley for the foreseeable future, this is exactly what will happen. 

I will not let that happen.

We do not want security on paper.  We want security on the ground.  Real security.  I am willing to make mutual compromises for a genuine peace with the Palestinians, but I will not gamble with the security of the Jewish state.  Palestinian leaders who say they want to live peacefully alongside Israel should sit down and negotiate peace with Israel.  They should stop placing preconditions and start negotiating peace.   The Palestinians may think they can avoid negotiations.  They may think that the world will dictate Palestinian demands to Israel.  I firmly believe that will not happen because I am confident that friends of Israel, led by the United States, will not let that happen.  There is only one path to peace – that is through a negotiated settlement.

We should spend the next year trying to reach an historic agreement for peace and not waste time arguing about marginal issues that will not affect the final peace map in any way.  I am confident that if there is goodwill on the Palestinian side, a formula can be found that will enable peace talks to continue.  I believe that if we succeed, and I always like to confound the skeptics, and I continue to do that systematically, I believe that peace would unleash tremendous economic opportunities for Israelis, Palestinians, and peoples throughout the region.

But as the last years have shown, Israel has not waited for peace to seize the opportunity to develop a strong economy.  As Prime Minister, then as finance minister and now again as Prime Minister, I have spent a great deal of time advancing economic reforms and removing obstacles to Israel’s economic growth – and I have the political scars to prove it.  The reforms that we have been enacting have changed Israel’s economy beyond recognition.  We are now building fast roads and rail lines that crisscross the country, to connect the Negev and the Galilee to the center of the country.  I intend to complete a rail line that will link the Red Sea with the Mediterranean and the Jordan River to the Port of Haifa.  This will enable Israel to take advantage of its strategic location as more and more goods are shipped from East to West.

As the world economy becomes more competitive, Israel is well placed to succeed.  We are global leaders in high technology.  Our scientists win Nobel Prizes.  Our innovations in science, medicine, water, energy, communication, agriculture and in many other fields are literally changing the world. 

Israel is a wellspring of technological, artistic and cultural creativity.  Today, Israel is ranked 15th in the world in terms of quality of life – by the UN – so you knows we are at least 15th.  And if that does not impress the young people in the audience, here’s something else that might.  For those of you planning to travel world, Lonely Planet just ranked Tel Aviv the 3rd most exciting city in the world.  I don’t agree – that of course is Jerusalem.  Still, Israel’s best economic days are ahead.

If we hope to thwart and dangers and seize opportunities, we must strengthen our unity.  The best way to strengthen Jewish unity is to strengthen Jewish identity.  By deepening our connection to our shared past, we fortify our bonds to one another and to our state, and thereby strengthen our common future.  That is why this year I decided to initiate a national Heritage Plan that will restore and renovate hundreds of Jewish and Israeli sites throughout the country.

I want young people to visit the place where David Ben Gurion declared our independence just as I want them to visit the place where our patriarchs and matriarchs, the mothers and fathers of the Jewish nation, are buried.  Talk about distortions, can you imagine that UNESCO tried to deny the Jewish connection to Rachel’s Tomb next to Jerusalem and the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron?  This absurdity to try to erase our past will fail as we reconnect a new generation of Jews with their history.  Our young people will know that we are not foreign interlopers in our own homeland.  They will know something that our enemies and politicized international bodies cannot bring themselves to admit:  The Jewish people are not strangers in the Land of Israel.   Israel is our home.  It has always been our home and it will always be our home.

I have also decided to enhance Israel’s support for programs that strengthen Jewish identity in the Diaspora.  In my first term as Prime Minister, I decided to invest Israeli government funds in what many then thought was a preposterous idea – that we would pay for young Jews to come on short visits to Israel.  Since then, a quarter of a million Jews have come to Israel on Birthright programs, and we will continue.  I am committed to working with Birthright, Masa and Lapid to ensure that every young Jew who wants to can come to Israel.

And I am committed to working with Natan Sharansky and the Jewish Agency to strengthen Jewish identity in the Diaspora.

I know that there are controversial issues that threaten to divide us.  We need to resolve these issues in a spirit of compromise and tolerance.   As Prime Minister of Israel, I promise you that I will not permit anything to undermine the unity of our people.  Israel must always be a place that each and every one of you can call home.  Our unity is a critical foundation of our collective strength.  The more we speak with one voice, the more that voice will be heard.  And in a rapidly changing world, it needs to be heard loud and clear.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the fantastic rise of Asia challenges many nations, but it is not a danger.  It is a natural shift in global wealth and power that is lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.  The great danger we face is not from the battle between East and West but from the aggressive force wedged between them that is spreading its tentacles far and wide.  That force is radical Islam, whose fanaticism and savagery knows no bounds.  If I can leave you with one message, it is that we must warn others of this peril.

History shows that the most advance weapons were usually developed by the most advanced societies.  Yet today, primitive and barbaric tyrannies that stone women, hang gays, promote terror worldwide, send bombs to synagogues, and advance the most fanatical doctrines can acquire nuclear weapons.  If not stopped, this means that the greatest nightmare of all - nuclear terrorism - can become a reality.  The civilized world must not let that happen.

As we continue to build a modern and democratic Israel and as we seek peace with all our neighbors, we must also warn the world about this formidable peril.  In standing up for modernity against medievalism, the Jewish people and the Jewish state play a vital role in securing our common civilization.  And by helping dispel the shadows of a dark despotism, we can truly fulfill our destiny to be a beacon of light and progress unto all the nations. (*)