Israeli President Reuven Rivlin concluded a visit to Washington and New York on Sunday, which included meetings with Obama and other high-ranking officials.
In an interview with Israel Hayom, Rivlin addressed several of the topics recently making headlines in Israel.
The United States is fully committed to Israel’s prosperity and security, and “it is something that transcends political affiliation. The president underscored his commitment to Israel, saying clearly he will promote its security abilities, be it versus Iran or Islamic State,” Rivlin said.
He described his meeting with Obama last week as “a friendly, warm meeting. We met in 2007 when he visited Jerusalem and I accompanied him. The meeting was friendly on both a personal level and on a national level.”
Rivlin spoke to Israel Hayom ahead of attending the “HaaretzQ with New Israel Fund” conference in New York. His participation in the symposium was criticized, as it meant he would share the stage with representatives of Breaking the Silence, an organization dedicated to exposing alleged mistreatment of Palestinians by the Israel Defense Forces.
Dozens of military reservists staged a protest rally outside the President’s Residence in Jerusalem on Saturday, urging Rivlin to cancel his appearance. Their efforts were echoed by Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, but to no avail.
“I’m also an IDF officer. I was a reservist until I turned 50. My sons serve in the IDF, as do my grandchildren,” Rivlin explained.
“I’m attending Haaretz’s conference, a paper that I have been reading for 70 years. While I never agreed with the views expressed in its editorials, it reflects the variety of opinions in Israel, including those I adamantly oppose.
“I heard there was a Breaking the Silence session in the conference, which is why I state the obvious – no other military in the world is as moral as the IDF. I would not attend a Breaking the Silence conference, but this [conference] is hosted by Haaretz, and I [would] not attend the Breaking the Silence panel.”
Commenting on the surge in violence and on how it might be quelled, Rivlin said, “We are in the midst of an unprecedented wave of terrorism. During previous ones there was a [Palestinian] mechanism that could calm things down.
“We are facing a situation where violence is taking place by people influence by the modern town square, by grave online incitement, or by the fundamentalist incitement preached in mosques.
“When 13-year-old kids wake up in the morning and decide to take a pair of scissors and kill people, we have no way of convincing them they shouldn’t do that [and] it’s up to their own system to do that. They have to understand that Israeli public will not allow them to terrorize it, or to disrupt our lives.”
The Palestinian system of government, the president said, “is made up mostly of Hamas supporters. There was a time when people saw Hamas as the problem, but now many see it as the solution. I urge Palestinian children to steer clear of the pornography of death. I urge them to realize life is better than death.”
Asked about the criticism leveled at him over his comments following the July 31 terrorist arson attack in the Palestinian village of Duma, near Nablus, saying, “My people have chosen terror,” which many lambasted as harsh and generalizing, Rivlin said Israel must remain doubly vigilant and maintain its moral values.
“What happened in Duma wasn’t am ‘unfortunate incident’ or a ‘tragedy’ –it was a horrific crime. When I said ‘my people have chosen terror’ I naturally meant some of my people, the perpetrators, but saying ‘some of my people’ implies they are out there and we didn’t know about it. It’s clearly shirking responsibility.