Chaim HerzogMr. President, You Excellencies, My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen.
May I first of all give a very warm welcome to you. Mr. President, to Mr. Herzog and to the members of your family who we are so very pleased to have with us here at No. 10. [end p1]
You comes as we approach the end of what has been an extraordinarily active year. So busy indeed that I am reminded of Henry Kissinger 's remark: ‘… . there can't be a crisis next week: my diary is already full’ But it has been a year of many remarkable achievements culminating in the recent Summit in Washington. For us, your visit brings it to a [end p2] particularly happy conclusion.
Whenever we have a lunch in honour of the President of an important country here at No. 10, we try to get together the widest possible representation of all the talents. Well, we have not done badly today in bringing together a soldier and a student of divinity, a politician and a radio [end p3] commentator, a military strategist and a lawyer, a historian and a diplomat, an author and a statesman, an Irishman and an Israeli.
What is really remarkable is that they all turn out to be one and the same man—in this case our guest of honour—President Herzog. [end p4]
What is more, during this visit the list has grown and we also have among us an honorary member of Lincoln 's Inn and an honorary fellow of University College, London.
One can only conclude that President Herzog is the complete Renaissance man. And certainly a leading representative of Israel's Renaissance. [end p5] He has seen Israel through all its forty years. And he has become a most distinguished President of a country that deserves and matches his talents.
It is not because there are not enough Israelis to go round that you have had to take on so many roles, Mr. President. Rather it is a reflection of the enormous [end p6] zest for life that all Israelis share and the tremendous vitality to be found in your nation. It is one of the things that makes any contact with Israel so stimulating. And that is something which I remember from my own visit to Israel, as Prime Minister, which was an experience I shall never forget. [end p7]
It is a particular pleasure to have with us to honour you so many of the leading members of our own Jewish community who have contributed in such outstanding measure to our country's life. We admire their talents and their commitment and we thank them for all they have done.
Mr. President, there is another experience [end p8] which many of us in this room will never forget and that is the speech which you made during your last visit to us about the rule of law.
It was one of the most thoughtful and telling speeches that I can recall and it made a profound impact here. The rule of law is absolutely fundamental to everything which we believe in. It was borne in on me more than ever [end p9] during my visit to the Soviet Union earlier this year, when one witnessed attempts to extend democracy, attempts which I believe are sincerely meant but which cannot be effective without the rule of law. That will be the true test of the policies of perestroika and glasnost: a law which applies equally to all and which is independently and impartially [end p10] administered. And it must also be a law which admits the right of fully acknowledged and respected under [end p11] the law.
Nothing could be more important for the Jewish people whose whole existence has been built upon the rule of law, as Paul Johnson 's remarkable History of the Jews remind us. If Istael is to live up to the ideals and faith of the Jewish people, it must be on the basis of a rule of law which applies [end p12] equally to all the people who find their home within its borders, Jews and Arabs alike. I say that not to preach, Mr. President, but because Israel sets such high standards, that those of us who love and admire your country desperately want to see it meet those standards in every field. [end p13]
We also want to see Israel able to live at peace with its neighbours—which I know is the dream of the Jewish people. I really believe that goal can be attained if we follow the lead set my men of courage and vision—Arab and Israeli alike—who have shown a way ahead through peaceful negotiation in the framework of an international conference. [end p14]
Mr. President, yours is a private visit and this is not the occasion for a political speech. You are among friends in this room, just as you are among friends in this country. Friends who wish you well and wish Israel well. friends who are delighted that the relationship between Britain and Israel is better today than it has ever been. [end p15] I ask all our guests to raise their glasses to you, Mr. President, to Mrs. Herzog and to the continuing success and prosperity of the State of Israel.