Despite recent dangerous trends in the Middle East, Israel is stable, productive, generous with its assistance and knowledge, determined to defend itself and continuing to evolve as a Western-style democracy concerned with the best interests of its people.
That was the message that Tsuriel Raphael, longtime Israeli diplomat, delivered in an Israel update talk to some 16 students and guests gathered at the Hillel Foundation building on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus Tuesday evening, Feb. 7.
Raphael commented first on the extreme seriousness with which Israel views the twin hazards of a Palestinian government led by Hamas and the prospect of a nuclear Iran.
Quoting Hamas, “‘We say to the West that you will be defeated. Tomorrow we shall rule the world,’” Raphael tied that organization to Al Qaida and other Islamic extremist enemies of the West.
The world “should never let Hamas get strong enough to fulfill these ambitions. Israel will not deal with [Hamas] in any way, shape or form” unless it meets certain conditions, Raphael said.
“It has to denounce and renounce terrorism, not just in words but in action; recognize the right of Israel to exist; honor all agreements made by the Palestinian Authority; fulfill the terms of the Road Map including confiscating arms and arresting terrorist leaders. Hamas may undergo [some changes, but] its ultimate strategy will remain the same.”
Reaching out to
Arab moderates
“But,” Raphael said, “we believe there are people in the Arab world who want to see an improvement in the situation” and Israel is making efforts to reach out to them.
“We have spokesmen on Al Jazeera [the Arabic-language news network.] In addition, the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs maintains an Arabic language Web site,” he said. “There are moderate Palestinians out there. These moderates need to be emboldened.”
Raphael also told the audience it is important to share information about Israel “beyond the conflict” with their colleagues.
“Most people think of Israel as a country at war,” he said, but “we are also a country like any other — a democracy.”
Stressing common ground, Raphael added, “Israelis like to work and play, they commute to work, go to classical music concerts and ski.” And in a recent poll America ranked number one as the country Israelis like and identify with, he said.
“The current transitional government shows the stability of Israel. Whoever will win the election will continue to fight terrorism as vigorously as we need to. We will not appease terrorists, but we will seize any opportunity that arises for peace,” he said.
Citing Israel’s strengths, Rafael told the students that the Israeli government is continuing to transfer revenues [to the Palestinian government] to show “we don’t want to hurt the Palestinian people.”
“Israel is a country that has achieved a great deal.” Such Israeli innovations in high technology as the Pillcam (a tiny camera for filming inside the human body), the Pentium chip and the cell phone chip are renowned.
“Israel has shared its knowledge with the world and when disasters happen around the world we help them,” Raphael said. “We were the only country in Nairobi [Kenya] to help with the [Jan. 24, 2006, five-story] building collapse.”
In addition, Raphael said, Israel has a high level of culture and competes worldwide in cultural and sporting events. Recently it has won international basketball and song competitions, he said.
During the question and answer period, students asked about the security barrier and the widespread poverty reported among Israeli children, among other topics.
Raphael said that the security barrier is mostly a fence and only about 3 percent is the concrete wall that the media seems to be focused on. He pointed out that, at the direction of Israel’s Supreme Court, it has been re-routed twice to ease the disruption for those living alongside it.
Regarding poverty among Israel’s youth, he said, “Whatever government will come into power, we cannot tolerate a situation where one-third of the children live below the poverty line. There is an appreciation that these problems need to be dealt with.
Though the economy has grown, we still need to improve services to people.”
Raphael has served the Israeli government as the director of the Israel Information Center, which is responsible primarily for preparing and distributing Foreign Ministry publications and written materials, since 2002. He has been a member of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1981.
His visit was part of a ten-day speaking tour, which started on the East Coast and included synagogue congregations, university students and Hispanic group leaders and media representatives.
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