President Reuven Rivlin hosted Arab media at his official residence Sunday night to break the daily fast in the Muslim month of Ramadan, which he said “is based on the values of compassion, mercy, and grace.”
President Rivlin added:
Unfortunately, there are those who seek to exploit the sanctity of Ramadan, and distort its meaning in favor of criminal and murderous terrorism.
I join in the concern of those countries around us, about the increase in terrorism, and I send my condolences to the President of Egypt, and the Egyptian people, following the horrific terrorist attacks in the Sinai.
In the face of these bloody events, we have the duty, all the children of Abraham, to condemn strongly, loud and clear, these atrocities committed ‘in the name of God’, or ‘in the name of Islam’.
He declined to specifically remind his guests of last week’s Palestinian Authority terrorist attack that killed Malachi Rosenfeld and wounded two others . He only referred to it vaguely while balancing the murder with Jewish “price tag” attacks of vandalism, by stating:
These have not been easy weeks for anyone who loves this country; for those who believe we have the ability and the duty – as Arabs and Jews – to live together. At this time, in the face of those on both sides who seek to fan the flames, we cannot and must not remain silent.
He finally made one explicit reference to Palestinian Authority terror, saying that the Abbas regime “has a responsibility to act decisively against terrorists seeking to sabotage our daily lives here.”
The President reminded the Arab media that while Muslims were breaking the fast, Jews also were ending their fast of the 17th of Tammuz, which was postponed until Sunday because of the Sabbath.
President Rivlin also said he is working with the Netanyahu administration on the issues of “distress and pain of the Israeli Arab society” and “violence in the Arab community, shortages in housing and employment.”
“The citizenship of the Arab residents of the State of Israel is not a goodwill gesture, President Rivlin said. ” It is the citizenship of individuals and of a society which is part and parcel of this land; this land is their homeland, the State of Israel is their home.”
Wouldn’t it be nice if Arab Knesset Members would agree?