President Reuven Rivlin says the segregation of Israelis and Palestinians on West Bank buses is “unthinkable.”
“This morning (Wednesday May 20th), as we witnessed the terror attack in Jerusalem, we received a painful reminder of the complex security situation Israel’s faces and the price we pay for our basic principles. We must confront terrorism firmly, whilst defending our democratic values as a country and as a people. I spoke this morning with the Defense Minister, and I welcomed halting the process that could have led to an unthinkable separation between bus lines for Jews and Arabs,” he says.
The president decries support for the torpedoed initiative, saying “the discordant voices that we heard this morning, supporting the separation between Jews and Arabs on the basis of ideas that have no place being heard or said.”
These statements “go against the very foundations of the State of Israel, and impact upon our very ability to establish here a Jewish and democratic state. Such statements cause great damage to the State of Israel, and to the settlement movement. It is important we remember that our sovereignty obligates us to prove our ability to live side by side,” the president says.
Reuven Rivlin speaking at the United Nations in New York on January 28, 2015. (photo credit: Mark Neyman/GPO)
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From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
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