Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News: Transcript of David Cameron's speech in the Knesset

Here is the transcript for the speech that David Cameron, UK Prime Minister, gave in the Knesset on Wednesday. 

So far I haven't been able to locate a full video, but here is a small part:

Shalom le-kulam [Hello everyone]

Mr President, Prime Minister, Mr Speaker, Members of the Knesset, ladies and gentlemen. It is a great honour to address this historic Parliament – for sixty-five years the heart of the State of Israel and a beacon of democracy to the region – and to the world.

When I was last here in Jerusalem, I came as Leader of the Opposition and I remember being quite bemused as I sat listening to Israeli politicians telling me all about the challenges of coalition politics. They told me about building a coalition, keeping it together, balancing the demands of different parties, sorting out the disputes and I just didn’t understand this strange system of government. But after nearly four years as Prime Minister of my own coalition all I can say is: ach-shav ani mevin [now I get it].

What I have always understood is the extraordinary journey of the Jewish people. Thousands of years of history in this holy land. Thousands of years of persecution. And even today, some people despicably questioning your right to exist. My Jewish ancestry is relatively limited but I do feel just some sense of connection. From the lexicon of my great, great grandfather Emile Levita, a Jewish man who came from Germany to Britain 150 years ago to the story of my forefather Elijah Levita who wrote what is thought to have been the first ever Yiddish novel.

But more importantly I have learnt to understand something of Jewish values and character and I have grown to appreciate the extraordinary contribution of the Jewish people to my country and to the world. That sense of understanding has shaped my determination to remember the past, my commitment to Israel in the present and my hopes for Israel’s future.

And I would like to say something about each of these today.

First, remembering the past.

One of the most moving experiences I have had as Prime Minister came in January this year, when I held a reception in Downing Street for 50 survivors of the Sho’ah. I met some of the most inspiring people and heard some of the most incredible stories.

People like Harry Spiro who couldn’t understand why his mother pushed him out of her house and off to the factory, when she was actually saving his life.

Gena Turgel, who witnessed her brother being shot by the Nazis and lost another brother and two sisters before she was eventually liberated from Bergen-Belsen and went on to marry the British soldier who freed her.

And Ben Helfgott who endured three years in a ghetto, two labour camps and three concentration camps to make it to England where he was reunited with one of his sisters, the only other member of his family to survive. Ben went on to represent Britain as a weightlifter in two Olympics set up a society for Holocaust survivors and was honoured in Poland for his reconciliation work between Poles and Jews. And I am delighted that Ben has come with me here today.

All of the survivors have made such an incredible contribution to Britain.

And one of the things so many of them have done – and which never ceases to amaze me – is to go into our schools and share their testimony first hand.

It is hard to imagine the sheer strength of humanity it must take to do that.

To relive time and again the one thing that frankly many of us in their position would do almost anything just to try and somehow forget.

But they do it because they share an urgent sense of mission that their story must never be forgotten.

I share that mission too.

And I am determined that long after they are gone and long after we are all gone their memory will be as strong and vibrant as it is today.

As a father, I will never forget last year visiting the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin with my children and for the first time trying to explain to them quite what had happened.

I want every child in Britain to learn about the Holocaust and to understand just how vital it is to fight discrimination and prejudice in our world.

It is vital that we do all we can with our international partners to preserve the site at Auschwitz, which I will be visiting later this year.

But we need to do more.

That is why I have set up the Holocaust Commission in Britain. A number of the Commissioners are here with Ben and me today and as we visit Yad Vashem together later today, our pledge to Ben will be that Britain will never forget what he and his fellow survivors have taught us.

We will preserve the memory of that generation for every generation to come.

But remembering the past goes far beyond that horrific suffering of a generation.

It is about remembering the long and rightful search of a people for a nation. And the right for the Jewish people to live a peaceful and prosperous life in Israel.

From the early pioneers, the men and women of the Palestine Exploration Fund, who saw the Jewish history in this land and the possibilities for the future to the Balfour Declaration – the moment when the State of Israel went from a dream to a plan Britain has played a proud and vital role in helping to secure Israel as a homeland for the Jewish people.

And just as important as the history, is the partnership we are building between our countries today.

That begins with our commitment to Israel’s security. On my last visit here I took a helicopter ride heading north over Israel.

Looking right to the Jordan River and left to the Mediterranean Sea, I really appreciated for the first time just how narrow and vulnerable this land is.

A vulnerability that has already seen 38 missiles from Gaza this year alone.

A vulnerability that just this week has seen the interception of the Klos C ship – yet another despicable attempt by the Iranians to smuggle more long-range rockets into Gaza. A vulnerability that has too often seen nearby Palestinian schools being named in honour of suicide bombers.

It gave me a renewed understanding of what it must be like to be afraid in your own home.

So let me say to you very clearly: with me, you have a British Prime Minister whose belief in Israel is unbreakable and whose commitment to Israel’s security will always be rock solid.

I understand the concern of Israelis who have seen land that Israel has pulled out of, becoming a base for terrorist attacks. And I will always stand up for the right of Israel to defend its citizens. A right enshrined in international law, in natural justice and fundamental morality, and in decades of common endeavour between Israel and her allies.

When I was in Opposition I spoke out when – because of the law on universal jurisdiction – senior Israelis could not safely come to my country, without fear of ideologically motivated court cases and legal stunts. When I became Prime Minister I legislated to change it.

My country is open to you. And you are welcome to visit anytime.

When I saw the threat that Hezbollah represented to Israel and beyond I forged a Europe-wide consensus to proscribe its military wing, a key step in the fight against this enemy on your borders.

I have led the fight against anti-Semitism and extremism in Britain.

We’ve removed over 26 thousand pieces of illegal terrorist content from the internet worked with the police and with universities to stop extremists spreading their divisive messages on our university campuses and we’ve excluded more foreign preachers of hate on the basis of our strategy for preventing extremism than ever before.

We said no to Zakir Naik. We said no to Yusuf Qaradawi. And we said no to Dieudonne M’bala M’bala whose abhorrent displays of anti-Semitism have no place in a tolerant and inclusive Britain.

I’ve stood up to protect Jewish practices too. The Jewish community has been an absolute exemplar in integrating into British life in every way but integration doesn’t mean that you have to give up things that you hold very dear in your religion.

When people challenged kosher Shechita. I have defended it. I fought as a back-bench Member of Parliament against the last attempt to do something to change this. And there’s no way I’m allowing that to change now I’m Prime Minister. On my watch Shechita is safe in the UK.

I am proud to be pursuing the strongest and deepest possible relationship between our two countries.

From our trade – which has doubled in a decade and is now worth £5 billion a year to the world leading partnerships between our scientists, academics and hi-tech specialists.

Britain and Israel share a commitment to driving the growth of high-tech start-ups. In Britain we’ve introduced huge tax breaks on early stage investment and special visas for entrepreneurs and in just three and a half years we have grown our Tech City in East London from 200 digital companies more than 1300 today.

Israel is the start-up nation – with the second highest density of start-ups outside of Silicon Valley anywhere in the world. As the inspirational President Peres has put it: Israel has gone from oranges to Apple. There are now more than 60 multinational companies with research and development facilities in Israel.

Israel’s technology is protecting British and NATO troops in Afghanistan. It is providing Britain’s National Health Service with one in six of its prescription medicines through Teva and it has produced the world’s first commercially available upright walking technology which enabled a British paraplegic woman to walk the 2012 London Marathon. And together British and Israeli technical expertise can achieve so much more.

From our scientists working on stem cell cures for some of the worst diseases on the planet to our hi-tech specialists who are making a reality of the UK/Israel Tech Hub – the first of its kind in the world I hope this visit can lay the foundation for even more collaboration and even more business between our countries.

And to those who do not share my ambition who want to boycott Israel I have a clear message. Britain opposes boycotts. Whether it’s trade unions campaigning for the exclusion of Israelis or universities trying to stifle academic exchange Israel’s place as a homeland for the Jewish people will never rest on hollow resolutions passed by amateur politicians.

It is founded in the spirit and strength of your people. It is founded in international law. It is founded in the resolve of all of your allies to protect an international system that was forged in our darkest days, to put right historic wrongs. It is founded in the achievements of your economy and your democracy – a country pledged to be fair and equal to all its citizens whether Jewish, Muslim, Christian Arab or Druze.

It is your destiny. Delegitimising the State of Israel is wrong.It’s abhorrent.

And together we will defeat it.

Let me turn to my hope for Israel’s future. We all yearn for a lasting and secure peace between Israel and its neighbours.

Britain fully supports the great work that American Secretary of State John Kerry has been leading. And we believe that in Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas you have leaders who want peace too.

We back the compromises needed – including the halt to settlement activity and an end to Palestinian incitement too.

And we recognise the difficult and courageous decisions both sides are taking not least with Prime Minister Nethanyahu’s decision to release terrorist prisoners, with all the anguish that can bring for affected families.

But people come to this Parliament from all over the world and talk about maps and population numbers and processes and deadlines. They tell you how to run your peace process. I will not do that. You know I want peace and a two state solution.
You don’t need lectures from me about how to get there.

What I want to say is something different. What I want to say is this:

Imagine what this land would be like if a two state solution was actually achieved.

Think of all the aspects of life that would change.

Israel’s relationships with the world. Its security its long-term prosperity and the quality of life for all its people.

On Israel’s relationships, imagine, as John Kerry put it: mutual recognition of the nation state of the Palestinian people and the nation state of the Jewish people

Let’s be clear what that means.

An end to the outrageous lectures on human rights that Israel receives at the United Nations from the likes of Iran and North Korea.

An end to the ridiculous situation where last year the United Nations General Assembly passed three times as many resolutions on Israel as on Syria, Iran and North Korea put
together.

No more excuses for the 32 countries in the United Nations who refuse to recognise Israel.

And for the Arab League, how many of those States today yearn for a different relationship with Israel – which the peace agreement would enable them to deliver?

Think of the capitals in the Arab world where Israelis could travel, do business, and build a future.

Imagine Israel – like any other democratic nation – finally treated fairly and normally by all.

On security, imagine a peace deal that would leave Israel more secure, not less secure.

Not a temporary deal, broken by Hamas firing rockets at you or Iranian proxies smuggling weapons through the Jordan Valley.

But a proper lasting peace that allows a strong moderate Palestinian government to end the fears of a failed state on Israel’s border.

A deal that means an end of all claims – and an end of all conflict.

Israelis and Palestinians no longer each other’s enemy, but actually working together to maintain security against those who would seek to harm us all.

On prosperity, the possibilities of peace are extraordinary.

This is a region where demographics are demanding 40 million jobs in the next decade, to keep pace with the rising expectations of young people.

A region where the thirst for higher education today will need to be met with the jobs of tomorrow.

So imagine the engine of Israel’s economy fully unleashed to work in the region – and to meet the needs that are common to all.

How to make the best use of land and technology to feed a rising population?

How to harness water resources so precious to all?

Imagine Israel’s technology working hand in glove with those making strides with renewables – securing the future needs of their peoples for a time when their economies can no longer rely on carbon.

Imagine the agreements ready to be signed off with every major trading bloc in the world.

Committees deliberating not on what products to stop from Israel – but on what products they can bring in.

Imagine too how this new future would feel.

Because this isn’t just about security and prosperity – as important as those are.

This is about justice for two peoples.

Dignity for the Jewish people and yes, dignity for the Palestinian people too.

Generations of Jewish and Palestinian children for once growing up in hope not fear.

Israel is a nation where around every corner there is a memorial and a reminder of those who fought to create a modern Israel from the human tragedies of the past.

But those sacrifices were not just to build a State that was physically secure.

They were to build a state that would fulfil its rightful moral position in a region where security, dignity and mutual respect would be the new watchwords.

For Israelis, a life free from the everyday fear of terror.

For the Palestinians, finally, the chance to live autonomously in a state of their own.

Imagine if you could look your children and grandchildren in the eye and know that your hope could become their reality.

These are the dividends of peace that I long for in Israel.

And I will do everything I can do help bring them about.

At the same time, we must be constantly vigiland about the wiuder challenges in the region.

These are challenges we all face.

The threat of a nuclear-armed Iran and perhaps the greatest challenge of all, the poisonous ideology of Islamist extremism.

And to people who try to say that Israel is the cause of these problems. I say that fundamentally misunderstands what these problems are about.

Take Iran. Israel is not the cause of the shadow that Iran casts over the world. There is no rule that says if Israel and the Palestinians make peace, Iran is somehow going to dismantle its despotic regime or abandon its nuclear intentions.

That can only be done through sustained international pressure. I share your deep scepticism and great concern about Iran. I am not starry eyed about the new regime. A nuclear armed Iran is a threat to the whole world – not just to Israel and with Israel and all our allies, Britain will ensure that is never allowed to happen.

Similarly, while of course, extremism feeds on conflict in the Middle East and elsewhere Israel is not the cause of the poisonous ideology that fuels terrorism across the region and across the world.

We must be clear what we mean by this term – the poisonous ideology of Islamist extremism – and distinguish it from Islam. Islam is a religion observed peacefully and devoutly by over a billion people.

Islamist extremism is a warped and barbaric ideology that ties to set our societies against each other by radicalising young Muslims all across the world.

At its furthest end are those who back terrorism to promote their ultimate goal: an entire Islamist realm. Governed by an interpretation of Sharia.

Move along the spectrum and you find people who may reject violence, but who accept various parts of the extremist world view, including real hostility towards Israel and the West, towards our democracy and liberal values.

They provide succour fort the men and women of violence – and we must confront and challenge them too.

That is what Britain’s approach to anti-extremism is all about.

No country knows more about the threat of terror justified by this grim Islamist mind-set than you do here in Israel.

But we too have paid our own prices on the streets of London, elsewhere in the country and around the world.

So we share your resolve top overcome this evil. And I believe that like our closest allies, Britain and Israel have the history, the values, capability and – yes – the historic responsibility to take this on.

We need a response that is tough, intelligent and patient.

Tough – in that it demands a strong security response. Whether that’s military action to go after the terrorists, or international co-operation on intelligence and counter-terrorism.

To make sure that the Taleban don’t take over Afghanistan. To support AMISOM against Al-Shabab in Somalia. To support the government in Libya to build new and effective security forces. To support the people of Mali, together with their neighbours and our French allies to prevent a new terrorist haven developing on our doorstep and yes, it requires a tough, strong security response to defeat the Al Qaeda linked extremists in Pakistan, in Syria, in Sinai – and wherever else they are found.

But second, alongside a tough security response must be an intelligent political response. We know that Al Qaeda franchises thrive where there is political instability and weak or dysfunctional political institutions.

So we must match a strong security response with a political approach that addresses these issues.

That means supporting the building blocks of democracy – the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, the rights of minorities, free media and association and a proper place in society for the army.

I’m a Conservative. I don’t believe in dropping these things from a great height. Every country must make its own way. But we should never forget those values that are at the heart of our own progress.

And that means supporting the evolution of effective and accountable government and backing people in their search for a job and a voice.

Third, we must be patient and resolute. We are in the middle of a generational struggle against a poisonous ideology which is an extreme distortion of the Islamic faith – and which holds that terror and mass murder are not only acceptable but necessary.

I am convinced we will be fighting Islamic extremism for the rest of my political lifetime.

We must tackle this poisonous thinking at home and abroad and resist the ideologues’ attempts to divide the world into a clash of civilisations.

The underlying conflicts and grievances that are exploited by terrorists are in many cases long-standing and deep.

And the building blocks of democracy, which are a big part of the solution, take time to put in place.

But this tough, intelligent and patient approach is the best way to defeat terrorism and ensure our own security.

And we must – and will – pursue it with an iron resolve.

Later this week you will celebrate Purim.

You will recall the time when the Jewish people were under threat of extermination in ancient Persia.

And you will experience a day of joy in memory of the way the Jewish people were saved and freedom was delivered.

All of us here long for the day that the Jewish people can be free and safe in their homeland.

I know the challenges in getting there are great. But far greater is the friendship I bring from Britain – and the strength of our collective resolve.

So as I stand here with you and look to the future, my message to you today is simply this: we’ll be with you every step of the way.

Anachnu Beyachad [We are with you].

David Cameron: full speech to Conservative Friends of Israel

Speech by the David Cameron at the Conservative Friends of Israel business lunch, December 13

I woke up at about 10 in the morning on May 7th and thought ‘What the hell am I going to do now!”

But I would like to think that the decisions I made with others that morning to do the big and the bold and the brave thing and to reach out to form the first coalition government this country had seen in 65 years was right for our party and right for our country and we are seeing the dividends today.

Now for years I have been coming to these CFI lunches. For years I have been grateful for your support. And for years I have spoken to you about how we can bring the values of our party to government. So today, I cannot tell you what pleasure it gives me to be here, finally, as the Conservative Prime Minister.

I want to start by thanking His Excellency Ron Prosor, for joining us and for that excellent speech. I want to thank Andrew Heller, the new Board Chairman, James Arbuthnot, who does a brilliant job at leading CFI in Parliament, and Michael Heller, for hosting this event today.

And I know that everyone here will be thinking of his co-host in previous years, Leonard Steinberg, and the fantastic job that he did – and we are all grateful to Michael for carrying on that tradition but I think we should remember Leonard with a warm round of applause.

I am sure he would have enjoyed yesterday’s ‘X Factor’, not the music but the fact that it was a bonanza for bookmakers right across the country!

Ron, in your speech, you very kindly alluded to my fantastic success in Zurich. Thank you for bringing that up. I always thought it was politicians that looked you in the eye and made you a promise and lied blind to you, But that was before I discovered the world of international football!

I did make one good friendship which was Prince William who did a fantastic job – he worked round the clock meeting every person we could think of who could possibly influence the outcome. And I remember bumping into him in the corridors of our hotel at midnight, the night before the vote. And I said how did it go with the Guatamalans. And he said “Prime Minister I think I have got them in the bag, I have promised him pretty much everything I could”. And I said “What was that Your Highness” and I said “Did you for instance ask him to the wedding?” He said, Prime Minister, I think I promised to marry him!” I do not think that would get quite the same box office, but there we are.

It is great to be at CFI and let me add my own tribute to the Conservative Friends of Israel. What you do in terms of taking people to see Israel for themselves is absolutely invaluable. Seeing is believing, I will never forget the impression it made on me when you see the landscape turn from desert to fertile pasture, when you see the record of that country in turning poverty into prosperity, when you see the creativity, the energy, the dynamism and yes, the democracy.

And as Michael said, you also get such a strong impression of the problems of security that Israel faces. I will never forget being taken to the Lebanese border and knowing just how precarious Israel’s security is. It is an impression that has stayed with me and that I will never forget.

Now looking around this room I can see hundreds of friends of the Conservative Party. And there is one in particular I want to single out. We are here at this lunch in honour of David Lewis, and it is an honour truly deserved.

Einstein once said it was better to be a man of value than a man of success, but David has achieved both. We see the success in his phenomenal business achievements and we see the value, too, in The Lewis Family Charitable Trust, as well as his generous support for Conservative candidates – many of whom are sitting here as MPs today. There is so much this party and this country has to thank him for.

But more than anything else, I want to commend David Lewis, the war hero. As a teenager he navigated a Lancaster bomber in the 75 New Zealand Squadron. He and his colleagues played a crucial role in freeing Europe from tyranny – facing the most extraordinary danger.

I’m told that one night when David was flying over Germany with his navigation equipment all but destroyed, he had to find his way home by looking out of the window. That was just one chapter in a life of extraordinary achievement. So now it gives me great pleasure to present David with this picture of a Lancaster bomber – and thank him for all he has done.

Today I want to talk to you about friendship. I want to argue that being a friend of Israel means three things.

It means solidarity – sticking up for Israel. It means honesty – being frank with Israel. And it means respect – learning from Israel. Let me take each in turn.

First of all, friendship is about solidarity.

I’m proud that when the forest fires started burning in the North of Israel, when our friends were in danger, one of the first rescue efforts to arrive at the scene as Ron Prosor said, was the Royal Air Force sending our helicopters from Cyprus to make sortee after sortee, dropping tons of water on the blaze.

I was one of the first leaders to talk to Prime Minister Netanyahu about the strategy. And I expressed to him not just condolences for the tragic number of lives lost, but also my personal assurance that we were standing by to help – because that is what friendship is about.

Solidarity also means sticking up for Israel – and Jewish people – against those who attack them. So when vile antisemitic threats are made against Jewish faith schools – endangering young children – we need to step in and protect them. That’s why I’m so pleased that last week, Michael Gove committed up to £2million via the Community Security Trust to protect those schools and keep those children safe. The CST is here today and does a fantastic job.

When biased elements in the media paint Israel’s defence of its people as unwarranted aggression, we need to make it clear: when rockets are being launched at Israeli citizens, when children are in danger, Israel is within its rights to protect its people.

When we see the abuse of the UK’s laws to try and detain Israeli politicians who visit these shores, we need to act: changing the law so people don’t fear coming to our country. That’s what we are doing on Universal Jurisdiction. The vote is actually today so I hope my colleagues will not linger for too long over the coffee.

And when we see boycotts and calls for boycotts on Israel, we shouldn’t just dismiss them, we should go in completely the opposite direction: showing the world that we are proud to do business with Israel.

So I am proud of last month, when the Foreign Secretary was in Tel Aviv, making the case for closer trade links and signing a new treaty between our film industries.

Some of these attacks on Israel can be subtle in nature. But there are, of course, those threats that are there in plain sight. Take Iran. All the evidence points in the same direction: that country’s leadership is intent on developing a nuclear weapons capability.

There are no ifs, buts, maybes, I’ve read the reports, I have had the briefings: they are stockpiling enough uranium to make a nuclear weapon over time.

Of course, that’s a huge threat to the world but it’s a particular threat to Israel. We support tough engagement with Iran, but it is time to ratchet up the pressure. And time is, frankly, short.

That’s why since we came into power we have wasted no time in securing tougher sanctions. We backed tough sanctions in the United Nations – and we championed and led, at meeting after meeting, even tougher sanctions at the European level. Iran needs to know if they continue on this course they will feel international pressure and international isolation.

As well as showing solidarity, true friendship means being frank with our friends and being frank with Israel. I know, and you know, that one of its biggest threats comes from those directly on its borders. Hezbollah, Hamas – terrorist organisations that are determined to use violence against Israel. We must confront their ideology – and help Israel achieve the security she deserves.

But here’s something I passionately believe – as a true friend. That security won’t come through fighting a grinding war of attrition. It will only come through peace. And that real peace will only come through a two-state solution. Two states living side by side, in peace – there is I believe, no other realistic option.

The obligations are clear – on both sides.

For Palestinians: Take the path of a negotiated peace. Show you are serious. Show your commitment to defeating terror.

For Israel there are clear responsibilities too.

There needs to be a real drive to help improve life for ordinary Palestinians. That means humanitarian goods and people must flow in both directions to and from Gaza, as far as the security of the Israeli people allows. It means more support for economic development in the West Bank.

And yes, above all, there is the need for an end to the expansion of settlements.

I know and commend the steps towards peace that have already been taken but I do Israel no favours if I deny the truth that settlement building is currently an obstacle to that peace. It is disappointing that direct peace talks are stuck on this issue.

And look: I know that many in Israel already feel they have bent over backwards. But compromise is the only path to peace. The alternative to compromise is that the moderates will always lose out.

Every time concessions are refused, every time the peace process fails, the extremists win and several steps are taken backwards.

I’m not going to deny for one moment how difficult this is. As Conservatives, we understand how hard this is. The IRA tried to kill Mrs Thatcher, yet I now have to sit in a Cabinet room with Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams.

My point is this, putting the past aside can be the right thing to do. However unpalatable it may be, it can mean progress towards peace.

And this government will always be there to help. Like my predecessors, I make a personal commitment to be active in the Middle East peace process.

As a friend of Israel, there is nothing I want more than that country to live in peace, in security – and in harmony with her neighbours.

But friendship means a third thing: learning from each other. There’s much in Israel that can inspire the changes that we need to make in our country, not least its economic success.

Israel has more start-ups per capita than any other country. It attracts as much venture capital as France and Germany combined. Its economy grew by 4 per cent last year. And that hasn’t happened by chance.

It’s happened by design – a strategic seizing of opportunity by the Israeli government. Public spending – controlled, taxes – cut, innovation and science – invested in, free trade agreements – signed. One by one, they have ticked off the list of what modern, dynamic enterprise economies need.

Of course Israel is facing its own economic challenges too, but we can be inspired by its resilience – and back home we are pursuing a similar course. We are dealing with our deficit – balancing the books over this Parliament. We are making our tax system more competitive – cutting corporation tax to 24 per cent. We have prioritised investment in science and innovation. And we’ve put massive efforts into selling British business abroad. I have already taken trade delegations to China and India. Next year, I will be taking a huge delegation to going to Brazil. We are sending out a powerful message around the world that Britain is back open for business again.

But there is one final thing we can learn from Israel and that is about community spirit. It’s a country where they don’t always say ‘there’s a problem – so what can the government do about it’ – they say ‘what can I do about it, what can my community do about it?’

Just look at the Israeli police force. The professional officers on the payroll are far-outnumbered by 70,000 police volunteers who give up their time for free. That’s the Big Society spirit that we want to build here in Britain. So whether it’s letting parents set up a new school, giving young people the chance to do National Citizen Service or allowing our neighbourhoods to take control over housing developments, we are encouraging people to play their part and recognise that they have obligations beyond simply paying your taxes and obeying the law.

Another lesson from Israel is its national pride.

Whether you’re talking to an Israeli who is left-wing or right-wing, young or old, you get an unashamed patriotism – a sense that country matters. If we are honest that’s something we need more of in Britain today and if you look at so much of what this government has done so far, the is a thread of national pride running through it.

Re-writing the military covenant is about strengthening people’s emotional connection to one of our great institutions. Asking immigrants to learn English is a demonstration that we are all in this together. Protecting our aid budget does not just do good in the world, it reminds the British people that compassion does not stop at our borders.

Making sure that our schools are teaching the full spectrum of British history is essential too, because you cannot feel fully patriotic about your country if you don’t know its past. And that by the way should go for Cambridge history graduates as well.

Just as they are in Israel we must be prouder of our history, louder in celebration of our achievements and bolder in cementing the ties that bind us.

So this is what real friendship is about. Not just fair-weather support – but sticking up for your friend through thick and thin. Not just dealing in superficial pleasantries – but telling your friend the unvarnished truth. Not just solidarity – but sharing in each other’s success and learning from it.

The friendship we celebrate today has thrived in the long years of Opposition and I know in government, it will deepen, because the ties between this party and Israel are unbreakable. And in me, you have a Prime Minister whose belief in Israel is indestructible. Thank you.

David Cameron: Britain's Ties With Israel Are 'unbreakable'

London - David Cameron has promised that while he is in office, Britain has “a Prime Minister whose belief in Israel is indestructible”.

Mr Cameron told guests at the annual Conservative Friends of Israel business lunch in London on Monday that “the ties between this party and Israel are unbreakable,” and praised Israel for its dynamic enterprise, community spirit, and for instilling national pride in its youth.

Five months after he provoked anger for calling the Israeli naval operation on the Mavi Marmara flotilla “unacceptable, ” Mr Cameron appeared committed to strengthening the relationship of the two countries.

He said: “When rockets are being launched at Israeli citizens, when children are in danger, Israel is within its rights to protect its people.”

He said Britain should help Israel ensure its security by confronting “terrorist organisations that are determined to use violence against Israel” such as Hizbollah and Hamas.

“As a friend of Israel, there is nothing I want more than that country to live in peace, in security – and in harmony with her neighbours.”

Referring to the planned change to the law on universal jurisdiction, which the government announced as part of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill, the Prime Minister added: “When we see boycotts…we should go in completely the opposite direction: showing the world that we are proud to do business with Israel.”

In July Mr Cameron caused a stir by describing Gaza as a “prison camp” during a visit to Turkey. At the lunch he said: “For Israel there are clear responsibilities...above all, there is the need for an end to the expansion of settlements.”

Mr Cameron used the speech to discuss Britain’s commitment to championing tougher sanctions on Iran.

He said: “Iran needs to know if they continue on this course they will feel international pressure and international isolation.”