I am going to take something I learned over in Israel. Their Independence Day is preceded the 24 hours before with Memorial Day so it gives them a chance to serve and reflect and then celebrate. I am going to try to start that tradition here in America.

The idea that the rest of the world was somehow being held hostage by the Arab-Israeli conflict once had a minimal basis in reality. In the first 20 years of Israel's existence every Arab country was in an active state of war with the Jewish state.

None of us and none of the Arabs trust Israel.

Well first of all we now have everybody with the exception of India Pakistan and Israel and I don't think these three countries are going to join by simply providing them an incentive in terms of technology.

Our role in Israel is a pioneering one and we need people with certain strength of fiber.

It was in our power to cause the Arab governments to renounce the policy of strength toward Israel by turning it into a demonstration of weakness.

In Israel a land lacking in natural resources we learned to appreciate our greatest national advantage: our minds. Through creativity and innovation we transformed barren deserts into flourishing fields and pioneered new frontiers in science and technology.

And in this respect the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been a tragedy a clash between one very powerful very convincing very painful claim over this land and another no less powerful no less convincing claim.

The Arab-Israeli conflict is also in many ways a conflict about status: it's a war between two peoples who feel deeply humiliated by the other who want the other to respect them. Battles over status can be even more intractable than those over land or water or oil.

To our Palestinian neighbours I assure you that we have a genuine intention to respect your right to live independently and in dignity. I have already said that Israel has no desire to continue to govern over you and control your fate.