Remarks by President Obama at the 2012 AIPAC Policy Conference, where he announced he would award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Israel Leader Shimon Peres: ■ Every time I come to AIPAC, I’m especially impressed to see so many young people here. (Applause.) You dont yet get the front seats -- I understand. (Laughter.) You have to earn that. But students from all over the country who are making their voices heard and engaging deeply in our democratic debate. You carry with you an extraordinary legacy of more than six decades of friendship between the United States and Israel. And you have the opportunity -- and the responsibility -- to make your own mark on the world. And for inspiration, you can look to the man who preceded me on this stage, whos being honored at this conference -- my friend, President Shimon Peres. (Applause.) Shimon was born a world away from here, in a shtetlin what was then Poland, a few years after the end of the first world war. But his heart was always in Israel, the historic homeland of the Jewish people. (Applause.) And when he was just a boy he made his journey across land and sea -- toward home. Shimon once described the story of the Jewish people by saying it proved that, “slings, arrows and gas chambers can annihilate man, but cannot destroy human values, dignity, and freedom.” And he has lived those values. (Applause.) Shimon has taught us to ask more of ourselves, and to empathize more with our fellow human beings. I am grateful for his life’s work and his moral example. ■ And Im proud to announce that later this spring, I will invite Shimon Peres to the White House to present him with America’s highest civilian honor -- the Presidential Medal of Freedom. (Applause.) In many ways, this award is a symbol of the broader ties that bind our nations. The United States and Israel share interests, but we also share those human values that Shimon spoke about: A commitment to human dignity. ■ When one-sided resolutions are brought up at the Human Rights Council, we oppose them. When Israeli diplomats feared for their lives in Cairo, we intervened to save them. (Applause.) When there are efforts to boycott or divest from Israel, we will stand against them. (Applause.) And whenever an effort is made to de-legitimize the state of Israel, my administration has opposed them. (Applause.) So there should not be a shred of doubt by now -- when the chips are down, I have Israel’s back. (Applause For over six decades, America’s commitment to Israel has endured under Democratic and Republican Presidents, and congressional leaders of both parties. (Applause.) In the United States, our support for Israel is bipartisan, and that is how it should stay. (Applause.) whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/03/04/remarks-president-aipac-policy-conference-0
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 21:28:38 +0000
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