Speech at a Memorial Service at the Embassy
of Israel
(March 5, 1996)
Thank you, Mr. Ambassador. Rabbi Simon, Mr. Krauser,
Cantor Tasat; to my fellow Americans and all the people of Israel: The
American people join in this time of grieving and loss. We mourn Israel's
loss—we mourn Israel's terrible loss, and we share your outrage.
We stand with you in your determination to bring this terror to an end
and to bring to justice those responsible for the senseless violence
that has afflicted the land of Israel and taken the lives of innocent
people.
In moments such as these our anguish challenges our
spirit. Daughters and sons, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters,
mothers and fathers, friends murdered—murdered solely for the
blood running through their veins, solely because of where they live,
solely because they wish to live in peace and harmony.
Our faith may be shaken, but at times like this it
is all the more important to persevere. These fanatical acts were not
aimed simply at killing innocent people, they were clearly aimed at
killing the promise of peace. Those responsible thrive on division and
conflict. It is almost as if they cannot exist without someone to hate,
someone to kill.
They know a new day has been dawning in the Middle
East. They know the vast majority of Israelis and Palestinians want
a new day of peace. With every new step taken along the way, the harshest
enemies of peace have grown more and more desperate. We must not allow
them to prevail. The best way to defeat them is to first restore security
and then bolster the peace they fear, that will take away their very
reason for being.
We will counter the threat of terror with unshakable
resolve. As I have pledged to Prime Minister Peres, the United States
is working with Israel to stop the killing, to bring the criminals to
justice, to step up the struggle for peace. But just as important as
the strength of our policies is the strength we must carry in our hearts.
I remember the story of Daniel. Because his faith never
wavered, even in the face of those who betrayed him and had him cast
into the den of lions, God delivered Daniel. Have faith, and I believe
God will deliver Israel from those powerful vipers who have the ability
to turn young men into mad suicidal mass murderers. Those awful people
who would slaughter young children to defeat those who only want those
children to grow up in peace and who, on this very night, have succeeded
in terrifying every young child in Israel, who goes to bed tonight worrying
about whether he or she will be the next to have their life cut short.
One of Sunday's victims in Jerusalem was a Palestinian
nurse. She reminds us that the people of Israel are not alone, not only
beyond their borders but within the borders. She lived and worked and
ultimately died among her Jewish friends. I was struck by the words
I read that her oldest son spoke. He said, "I'm angry at every
person who kills. I'm angry at people who make hate and destroy. All
the people who were on that bus were peaceful. They were civilians.
They only wanted to go to work. There's no difference between you and
me because we're human beings. We have eyes and hearts and souls."
Around the world, the world we see today, I believe
the fundamental differences are no longer between Jews and Arabs or
Protestants and Catholics or Muslims and Serbs and Croats. We see all
over the world what the real dividing line is—between those who
embrace peace and those who would destroy it, those who look to a future
of hope and those who are trapped in a past of hatred, those who open
their arms and those who insist on clenching their fists.
Once again under terrible burdens, the people of Israel
must choose the fight against terrorism, to restore their security,
to stand for peace. Once again as ever, the United States stands with
you, shoulder to shoulder, heart to heart.
"Ha-zak, ha-zak, vuh-neet ha-zake." May God
bless the victims and cherish their souls. And may God bless Israel
with the faith and courage of Daniel.
Sources: Public Papers of the President |