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Peres on Memorial Day: Israel yearns for peace, but will defend itself

Israel fell silent on Sunday night as sirens wailed across the country to mark Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror attacks.
At the evening's main ceremony, President Shimon Peres addressed Israel's bereaved families after lighting a memorial flame at the Western Wall plaza, saying that Israel seeks peace, but knows how to defend itself in case of war.
"On this blessed occasion, I want to say in the name of the state of Israel at large: We do not seek war," Peres told the famileies. "We are a nation that yearns for peace, but know how to, and will know how to, defend itself."
Peres also told that families that nothing can compensate for the loss of a loved one.
"I am aware that nothing can compensate for the sound of the steps of a son you expect to hear in the staircase and that has suddenly turned silent, the son whose uniform you hung on a hanger in the closet and that generates a yearning to smell the smell of his body one last time," Peres said.
"Facing your tormented eyes - there is a loss of words," Peres said, going on to compare Israel's destiny to that of an only son in human history.
"Israel's strength springs from the strength of its faith, and its greatness emanates from the heroism of its sons," said Peres. "Today we grieve for their loss and are blessed by their legacy."
Peres went on to say that Israel still faces threats that must not be ignored, and warned those who seek to harm Israel not to "belittle our capabilities."
"There are still those who wish to annihilate us," Peres told the families. "And at their head, the autocratic Iranian regime that seeks to cast its rule over the Middle East, silence it with lethal weapons, and launch an anti-Israel incitement campaign to deflect Arab concerns."
Peres said that Israel is a minority among the nations, but "we had the good fortune to have sons that defended us with great courage. Alone we won seven wars, and emerged from them more strengthened and more determined.
"We are a democratic country, with a great deal of divisiveness and chasms, and internal disagreements and wrangling," said the president, "yet we are also a nation that knows how to stand united and put aside the bickering in times of need, able to defend itself and inflict a resounding defeat on those who wish to destroy us."
Peres ended by thanking all those who have defended Israel and their families.
"We want to express our gratitude from the bottom of our hearts to the youths that are no more, whom you raised and in whom you instilled the values that made them into what they were until their last breath," he concluded.
"It is their courage that gave our people the strength to face the challenges ahead - not to fear the enemy, not to cease building, not to lose faith in the peace to come. And it will come."

Haaretz.com