PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF SPEECH AT WELCOME CEREMONY, JERUSALEM, 26 JANUARY 1987
E 0 E PROOF ONLY
Prim~ e Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you Mr Prime Minister
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for your welcome -pleasure for me to~ accept
renewed invitation extended to me by President Herzog and to
come here as the first Australian Prime Minister to visit Israel.
This is appropriate because Australia has had very close ties with
the Nation of Israel since the very prime of its * nception and I
personally have had close ties . since my first visit here in 1971,
and it is my hope as~ q~ Prime Minister that this visit, myself, my
wife and those accompanying me will1 playi? part in further
strengthening those ties which are long standing. Today,
Mr Prime Minister, is Australia's National Day and it is appropriate
for me to in those circumstances that Australia and Israel have
this very much in common. It has been the dream, the aspirations and
the endeavours of immigrants who have made our Nations strong.
Relations between us span so many fields of cultural, scientific and
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economic endeavour, but whatever rt-h-relations are in those
fields. whatever the relations between Governments it is the relation,
Mr Prime Minister, between people. between individuals which mean so
much in the ultimate, to strengthen the relations . between nations,
and in that regard, of course, there is a-special bridge between
Australia and Israel. In the facts of the very large Jewish
community that we have in our Nation, it is not possibleAPrime
Minister, to describe in a short time-on this occasion the magnitude
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of the contribution that has been made to Australia by the Jewish
people throughout our history, but it is a contribution which marks
and sustains everyjelement of the Australian endeavour. Mr Prime
Minister,, I look forward, with those accompanying me. to details
& constructive discussions with you and your Ministers about the
issues of great importance in isreion~ f 1temtTT f
bilater-al interest between-us and overwhelmingly, Mr Prime Minister,
I trust that in the discussions we have, we will be able to talk
about that issue/ of overwhelming importance and that is the question
of securing in the future, peace for Israel and peace in this region,
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and I know Mr Prime Minister, that we will be able to have/ useful
discussions on that matter. I thank you agait for your welcome
and I bring to you and the people of Israel the best wishes of the
Government and the people of Australia.