PM: Israel has been forced to fight for its right to exist...

PM: Israel has been forced to fight for its right to exist By JPOST.COM STAFF04/14/2013 17:36




At Remembrance Day ceremony in J'lem, Prime Minister Netanyahu says "only a strong defense force can ensure that we will not be harmed"; relates to families of fallen soldiers through his own personal loss.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at IDF Remembrance Day ceremony, April 14, 2013. Photo: Moshe Milner/GPO
"We've been forced as a nation to fight for our right to exist," said Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday afternoon at the opening ceremony to honor the fallen IDF soldiers, ahead of Remembrance Day that takes place on Monday.

"Since our formation we had to fight for our freedom. Haters prosecuted us in each generation, harmed us and sought to erase Israel off the face of the earth," Netanyahu opened his speech at the Yad Labanim memorial site in Jerusalem.

"We are not eager to fight and we are not blood thirsty, our hand is outstretched for peace with all nations, all countries," the prime minister said. "But throughout the generations, we learned that only a strong defensive force can ensure that we will not be harmed."

Eve of Remembrance Day for fallen IDF soldiers, April 14, 2013. 1 OF 5

Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post
Eve of Remembrance Day for fallen IDF soldiers at Mount Herzl, April 14, 2013.

Netanyahu also related to the bereaved families through his own loss, of his brother Yonatan Netanyahu, who was killed in action during the 1976 Operation Entebbe in Uganda.


Netanyahu: Israel is here thanks to fallen soldiers
"My family also paid the price of Israel's independence. I too experienced the agony of loss and grace," he said.

The prime minister told of a dedication his father, Benzion Netanyahu, wrote for Yonatan in his book, describing grief as something that does not let go. "Grief doesn't let go of any one of us of the bereaved families," he said.

However, Netanyahu noted that "bereavement does not take away from your soul and your strong spirit. This is the secret of our strength and fortitude."



On this day of remembrance, the "eyes of the nation are turned to [you, the bereaved families] and the nation takes you into their hearts and pays their respect," he said. The prime minister told the bereaved families that today, the nation looks "to your noble behavior facing a pain that doesn't let go, and takes from the strength of your spirit."

And comforted them with the thought that "the sons and daughters, the fathers and mothers, the brothers and sisters did not die in vain, and only thanks to their self-sacrifice can we be a free nation in our country."

http://www.jpost.com/National-News/PM-Israel-has-been-forced-to-fight-for-its-right-to-exist-309789