The Israeli embassy marked the 71st Independence Day of the Jewish State with a special celebration, during which Jerusalem’s Ambassador to Washington termed the return of the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland as a modern miracle.
Ambassador Ron Dermer said in his remarks that “Israel is a place for people who dream big, don’t fear failure, and who if at first don’t succeed, try and try again. In fact, Israel is the place where the Jewish people boldly went to where no people had gone before, where a powerless nation was transported from 2,000 years of statelessness into a sovereign future, where an exiled people returned to the same land where their patriarchs prayed, their prophets preached, and their kings ruled, where the laws of history were defied, and where an ancient dream became a modern miracle.”
The Israeli diplomat also took the opportunity to thank the United States for its unwavering friendship. He said, this “Independence Day is also a time to celebrate the great alliance between Israel and the United States, which today is stronger than ever,” and underscored Jerusalem’s deep gratitude for “the tremendous support it has received from President (Donald) Trump and the entire Trump administration.”
Among the dignitaries attending the celebration, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that over the course of the past 71 years, the Jewish State “has developed into an inspiring example of a free, democratic, and prosperous nation.” According to Pompeo: “Since Israel’s declaration was issued in 1948, the Jewish state – in the face of so many challenges that we all know – has developed into an inspiring example of a free, democratic, and prosperous nation. Its population has exploded to more than 9 million citizens today. I had the chance to meet some of those men and women over my time in service in Congress and now. I met some with my wife Susan this past March when we were there. I met some of the most amazing people, one of them being your current Prime Minister in Israel, and the chance to visit him at the Western Wall. I was truly honored to go there to that special place with him on the day that President Trump boldly recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. (Applause.) It was remarkable to be there as the first senior American to have gone to the Western Wall alongside an Israeli prime minister. And as you all know, and as Ambassador Dermer recounted, it was just one of the many things that this Administration has done to stand with Israel.”
After citing the long list of measures that the Trump Administration implemented with the aim of promoting the U.S.-Israel alliance and security, Secretary Pompeo also made mention of the anticipated U.S. peace initiative for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He insisted that while “The White House has a vision for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, which we will unveil this summer. It offers an opportunity, although no guarantee, that we hope we can have a brighter future for the Palestinian people.”
As part of the initiative, which President Trump dubbed as “the Deal of the Century,” the White House announced a global conference that aims to encourage international investment in Palestinian-controlled territories in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Washington titled the conference, the “Peace to Prosperity” economic workshop, and it is scheduled to be held on the 25th and 26th of June, in the Bahraini capital of Manama. While the workshop is expected to be attended by representatives and business executives from Europe, the Middle East and Asia, the Palestinian participation appears to be questionable. In a joint statement issued, the Palestinian Authority, the Palestine Liberation Organization and non-PLO affiliated factions, emphasized that they will not participate in the U.S.-led conference. The decision was made amid an ongoing boycott of all U.S. initiatives by the Palestinian leadership, since late 2017, in response to the relocation of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and Washington’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Israel.