Washington, 26 March 2017
- AIPAC Leaders and Supporters
- Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen
Good morning, and thank you very much.It is an honour to be here with you.
My message today is simple: Rwanda is, without question,a friend of Israel.
I wanted to take a moment to tell you why.
No tragedy is so great and so vast that human ingenuity and resilience cannot give rise to a better future. The survival and renewal of our two nations testifies to this truth.
The security of peoples who have once been targeted for extermination can never be exclusively physical. Until all ideologies which justify killing as a patriotic duty are defeated, our world is not truly safe.
Not for us. Not for anyone.
Together with friends like the United States,we must call for renewed global solidarityagainst the relentless efforts to deny genocide and trivialise the victims.
Israel has the right to exist and thrive as a full member of the international community. This is not an infringement on the rights of any other people, and should not be seen as such. It makes our world more secure and peaceful.
For Rwanda and many other countries in Africa, engaging productively with Israel has opened new horizons. We look forward to doing even more together.
I wish to take this moment, once again, to thank you.