Présidence de l'état d'Israël - Les Parlementaires souhaitent à Ariel Sharon un rétablissement rapide
The President of Israel, Mr. Moshe Katsav, met in his Residence with 55 Jewish parliamentarians from 26 countries throughout the world who came to Israel for the Sixth International Council of Jewish Parliamentarians which is dealing with electronic anti-Semitism, interreligious relations and ways of carrying out tasks relating to the Jewish people and which express the value of "Tikun Olam" (repairing the world).
The International Council of Jewish Parliamentarians was established in 1988 with the aim of being a platform for dialogue and for voicing the united position of the Jewish people on many issues.
The President of Israel, at the commencement of his address, wished Prime Minister Ariel Sharon a speedy and full recovery. "I hope for his recovery and believe that the citizens of Israel and Diaspora Jewry pray every minute for his well-being." The President surveyed the relations with the Palestinians and the concessions made by Israel.
The President also referred to the statements of the President of Iran concerning Israel and Iran´s attempts to obtain mass destruction nuclear weapons. The President emphasized that the international community must raise a clear and determined voice on these issues against Iran.
The President also noted the weakened relations between Diaspora Jewry and Israel and stated that the majority of the Jews in the United States had never visited Israel, that 70% of Jewish children in the Diaspora do not receive Jewish education and that the percentage of assimilation is rising.
The President called on the participants to act in order to strengthen the bond with the State of Israel and to prevent this negative trends.
Lord Greville Janner, a Jewish Parliamentarian from Britain, thanked the President for hosting the parliamentarians and added that they salute the democracy in Israel which remains steadfast in these difficult times.
Mr. Tom Lantos, a Jewish Member of Congress from California, said that he is optimistic regarding the future of the State of Israel and related the moving experience he had had when he attended the ceremony at which the President inaugurated the museum commemorating the victims of the Holocaust in Budapest, the city the his birth.
Mr. Michael Danby, a Jewish Parliamentarian from Australia, said that the events in Israel have an impact on the whole world.