It is great, at least on this one issue, to be able to echo the words of the Prime Minister of your country, and not have to "reinvent the wheel" because some politicians won't talk straight about Middle East violence.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, was invited to speak to the Israeli parliament (the Knesset) last week, and there are a lot of great "sound bites" from his speech, that stand out to me and most reasonable people. The following are some quotes from this speech.
Also, here is a link to the text of Harper's speech to the Knesset, and also a link to a video of the speech. The video is worth watching. It is 24 minutes of great history in the making and a memory forever.
On the Middle East, "In Harper's words..."
"(The Canadian government understands) that it is right to support Israel because, after generations of persecution, the Jewish people deserve their own homeland and deserve to live safely and peacefully in that homeland."
"I believe the story of Israel is a great example to the world. It is a story, essentially, of a people whose response to suffering has been to move beyond resentment and build a most extraordinary society, a vibrant democracy, a freedom-loving country with an independent and rights-affirming judiciary. An innovative, world-leading "start-up" nation. You have taken the collective memory of death and persecution to build an optimistic, forward-looking land, ..."
"Of course, no nation is perfect. But neither Israel's existence nor its policies are responsible for the instability in the Middle East today.
One must look beyond Israel's borders to find the causes of the relentless oppression, poverty and violence in much of the region, of the heartbreaking suffering of Syrian refugees, of sectarian violence and the fears of religious minorities, especially Christians, and of the current domestic turmoil in so many states."
"The friendship between Canada and Israel is rooted in shared values...
... the ideals of freedom, democracy and the rule of law... They are the things that, over time and against all odds, have proven to be the only ground in which human rights, political stability, and economic prosperity, may flourish."
"And what threatens them? Or more precisely, what today threatens the societies that embrace such values and the progress they nurture?
Those who scorn modernity, who loathe the liberty of others, and who hold the differences of peoples and cultures in contempt. Those who often begin by hating the Jews. But, history shows us, end up hating anyone who is not them. Those forces, Which have threatened the state of Israel every single day of its existence, and which, today, as 9-11 graphically showed us, threaten us all."
"So what are we to do? Most importantly, we must deal with the world as we find it. The threats in this region are real, deeply rooted, and deadly and the forces of progress, often anaemically weak. For too many nations, it is still easier to scapegoat Israel than to emulate your success. It is easier to foster resentment and hatred of Israel's democracy than it is to provide the same rights and freedoms to their own people."
"Canada has long held the view that every diplomatic measure should be taken to ensure that (Iran) never obtains a nuclear weapon."
(In conclusion...)
"...In the democratic family of nations, Israel represents values which our government takes as articles of faith, and principles to drive our national life.
And therefore, through fire and water, Canada will stand with you."
And just before he spoke to the Knesset, PM Harper made this announcement:"Canada will provide $66 million in economic aid to the Palestinians, in order to help foster 'peace and stability' in the region."
Maybe money will not buy peace, but it will buy a certain respect for the people who are peacemakers; the Canadians.
P.S. You may notice, that in his speech, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, did not once mention the word "God." However, when you are speaking in the Israeli Knesset, I assume, so to speak, "God", is the "elephant in the room." The topic everyone is thinking about but no one thinks appropriate, to discuss, at this time.
For me, it has always been a fascinating topic, "Is the history of the nation of Israel, evidence for the Bible as true?" I would be more skeptical, if, for example, when the Bible talks about the "Pyramids of Egypt", there were no such thing, as the "Pyramids of Egypt." However, of course, the "Pryamids of Egypt" are real. And so are the Jewish people. And so is the nation of Israel.
They came from somewhere and without the Old Testament they "would not be." And so then, perhaps, the accounts of the history of the Jewish people in the Old Testament are true also. Meant, as the Bible says, to bless the world, through the knowledge of God.