Posted on 05/26/21
President Rivlin:
“It is inconceivable that Hamas is not designated around the world as a war criminal, and it is vitally important to apply this designation. When IDF soldiers, our children, are facing the International Criminal Court, the world should understand that the real war criminals are hiding in Gaza, behind civilian populations.”
“We are deeply concerned about rising antisemitism around the world, including in the United States, particularly since the beginning for the recent round of fighting in Gaza, and we thank the United States for fighting it.”
In light of Operation Guardian of the Walls and rising cases of antisemitism around the world, President of Israel Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin today, Wednesday 26 May,/ 15 Sivan, held a working meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is visiting Israel.
During their meeting, the president noted that Israel has no more important ally than the United States and that relations between the countries cross political lines. “We know that you are strong allies and that is something that brings us great strength. The bipartisan relations allow us also to agree not to agree, from time to time.”
The president spoke at length about his concerns regarding rising antisemitism following Operation Guardian of the Walls, saying. “We are very concerned about the rise in cases of antisemitism, including in the United States, particularly since the beginning for the recent round of fighting in Gaza, and we thank President Biden for expressing his position strongly and clearly on this issue.”
The president also spoke about the importance of designating Hamas as a war criminal, saying, “It is inconceivable that Hamas is not designated around the world as a war criminal, and it is vitally important to apply this designation. When IDF soldiers, our children, are facing the International Criminal Court, the world should understand that the real war criminals are hiding in Gaza, behind civilian populations.”
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken thanked the president and said he had come to express full solidarity with the State of Israel. He added, Secretary: “As you know, President Biden asked me to come to Israel this week, to underscore our commitment to our relations and to the work that we need to do together to continue to try to bring peace, to bring communities together and to deal with the challenges that you have so eloquently alluded to. It is an honor to be together with you today. Your own remarkable leadership and statesmanship is expressed in bringing communities together and also in being such a powerful voice around the world for Israel’s story. We have seen eruptions of antisemitism just recently in my own country, incidents that President Biden immediately denounced as despicable, that we stand strongly against. We know that when we see the reemergence of antisemitic incidents it is the ‘canary in the coalmine’, because it almost always suggests that more will come, directed against other communities as well.”
He added, “There is a lot to be done of course here in trying to advance the cause of peace and reconciliation and there is work to be done around the world. We are very grateful that your voice is such a strong one in these efforts.”
At the end of his remarks, Secretary Blinken conveyed President Biden’s invitation to visit the United States before the end of his term of office. The president accepted the invitation and asked Blinken to convey to the president that he will gladly visit before his presidency ends.