Israeli President Shimon Peres awarded his US counterpart Barack Obama with the Presidential Medal of Distinction at a state dinner held in his honour at Peres’ official residence in Jerusalem Thursday, as he praised the historic alliance between Israel and the US, revealing: “When it comes to values, we are you and you are us. On occasions when we were alone, you stood with us. So we were not alone. We were alone together, we will never forget it.”
Reciprocating his own receipt of the US Presidential Medal of Freedom from Obama on a visit to Washington last June, he extolled a message of peace in gifting his close ally with Israel’s highest award, as he said that whilst “the path to tomorrow may be fraught with obstacles, I believe we can overcome them with our determination and with your commitment”.
The unprecedented decision to acknowledge a serving US President for the first time in Israel’s historic relationship with the US, at the start of the official state dinner in the presence of Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara, as well as members of his newly-formed cabinet, Israeli public figures and senior US administration officials including Secretary of State John Kerry, was designed to recognise the American leader’s “unique contribution to the security of the State of Israel”, a key focal point of the Israeli administration during the course of Obama’s stay in Israel.
Speaking of his hopes for Obama’s administration at the start of his first term in office in 2008, Peres told the assembled guests, he had hoped Obama would meet the daily challenges facing him “with wisdom and determination, without losing hope, without allowing others to lose hope. Those prayers were answered and they came as a great message”.
“It is a tribute to your strength of character, to your principles that you’ve never surrendered to hopeless,” he continued. “You stood and stand firmly by your vision. Your values serve your nation, they serve our nation as well. I know that you will never stop to strive for a better future.”
Invoking the foundations of the State of Israel, as the Jewish State approaches its 65th anniversary, he said that “Israel today has exceeded the vision we had 65 years ago. Reality has surpassed the dreams and the US helped us to make this possible”. “The path to tomorrow may be fraught with obstacles – I believe we can overcome them with our determination and with your commitment,” he continued, as he reiterated his conviction Obama would do “whatever is necessary to free the skies of Jerusalem and the world from the Iranian threat”, which he condemned as “the greatest danger to the word of peace”.
“History has shown time and again that peace, prosperity and stable civil society cannot flourish when threats and belligerency abound,” he added, as he heralded Israel’s security forces and its ability to seek peace.
“America’s contribution to our security is the best guarantee to end the march of folly, the march of terror and bloodshed. We watch with admiration the way you lead the US, the way you stay true, time and again, to your bonds of friendship with us. Your commitment to peace speaks volumes about the principles which guide America to strive for freedom and democracy at home, and also all over the world,” he concluded.
What is uplifting is that the US brought peace not only to its own people, but never stops and never will stop to help other people to become free. You represent democracy at its best – democracy is not just the right to be equal but the equal right to be different; democracy is not just free expression, but self-expression as well. You exemplify the spirit of democracy by striving for justice and equality,” he finished, before conferring Israel’s highest award on his American counterpart.
In his acceptance speech that followed, Obama once more invoked the post-Holocaust foundations of the State of Israel as he said “our very existence, our presence here tonight, is a testament that all things are possible, even those things that, in moments of darkness and doubt, may seem elusive”.
Acknowledging the honour, he concluded: “I very humbly accept this award, understanding that I'm accepting it on behalf of the American people, who are joined together with you.”