Prime Minister Designate, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu,
Madam President of the Supreme Court, Ms. Dorit Beinish,
Honorable Former president of the Supreme Court, Meir Shamgar,
Mrs. Miriam Eshkol,
Ms. Miriam Ben-Porat, Former State Comptroller and Supreme Court Justice,
Honorable Minister, Rafi Eitan,
Honored Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

The people we are honoring today at this State memorial ceremony – the presidents and prime ministers who have passed on – are not a passing cloud in the skies over the State of Israel.  Each and every one of them, in some measure, left their mark deeply etched in the history of the Zionist movement and the country.  With regard to two of them, the first president, Chaim Weizmann and our third prime minister, Levy Eshkol, who this year are at the center of this ceremony, I will expand briefly on my comments later.  However, I do not exempt myself from mentioning the other leaders for whom we are here to pay our respects:

Yitzhak Ben-Zvi, member of “Bar-Giora” and “HaShomer” and president of the National Committee, who was the second president of the State of Israel – a researcher of the tribes of Israel – whose modesty and humility endeared him to all citizens of the country; Zalman Shazar, the poet and historian with the enthusiastic Orthodox soul, who imparted to the institution of the presidency a tinge of Jewish legacy; Chaim Herzog, who won over the world through his calming broadcasts to the people in times of emergency and through his proud stand as Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, and who conducted his tenure as sixth president with majesty and brilliance; and Ezer Weizmann, the seventh president, the commander who imbued the Air Force with his bold and sky-high spirit, the man who played an important personal role in the effort to achieve peace with Egypt, and who also radiated the charm of his impetuous and naughty Sabra character on the President’s Residence.

And opposite them: David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister, the greatest of leaders of the generation which revived the State, who was privileged to announce the birth of “the Jewish state in the Land of Israel, the State of Israel”, after 2,000 years, commander-in-chief of the War of Independence, founder of the IDF as a State army and outliner of the State’s path for its first 15 years; Moshe Sharett, blessed with talents and pure of tongue, first in Israel’s foreign service, for whom the political and diplomatic front was his art and his craft in the years of the state-to-come and who served as the first Minister of Foreign Affairs and second prime minister; Golda Meir, the woman who demonstrated assertive and steadfast leadership during trying times in the War of Attrition and in the days of crisis of the Yom Kippur War, who intensified the relations between Israel and the United States and who won the hearts of our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora; Menahem Begin, commander of the Irgun who became the leader of a political movement, an illustrious parliamentarian and exemplary democrat, who as the sixth prime minister brought the historic peace accords with the greatest of Arab countries to Israel; and Yitzhak Rabin, member of the Palmah, celebrated commander and Chief of General Staff during the Six Day War, the ambassador who safeguarded the special alliance with America, who as prime minister – together with the current president, Shimon Peres, long may he live – led to a political breakthrough between Israel and the Palestinians, and signed a peace agreement with the Jordanian government, the man who, to our shame and dishonor, was slain by a despicable and villainous Jewish murderer on the path to the long-awaited destination.

Honorable President, Distinguished Guests,

With your permission, I will dedicate several sentences about the work on behalf of the State of Israel by both people on whom this ceremony is focusing this year:

Professor Chaim Weizmann, who was elected the first President of the State, was the most central and important figure in laying the political foundations for Israel’s revival.  The amazing achievement which awarded him his special status was that same brief, modest letter dated 2 November, 1917, signed by the Foreign Minister of the British Empire, Lord Arthur James Balfour, which earned the title, “The Balfour Declaration”.  It is nearly impossible to perceive how Weizmann succeeded, using his winning personality, in motivating His Majesty’s government to commit – at the height of a global war – to supporting the ambitious goals of the movement which at that time represented a minority of the Jewish people.  The visionary of the State, Benjamin Ze’ev Herzl, toiled fruitlessly and paid with his health for the Sisyphean effort of achieving an international “charter” for the Jewish people regarding the Land of Israel, and died broken hearted.  Weizmann achieved the longed-for commitment, which was anchored in the British Mandate.  As President of the Zionist Organization for no less than 22 years, Weizmann ensured the fulfillment of that commitment in the international arena in the face of tremendous obstacles.  When Britain rescinded its commitment and adhered to the “White Paper” policy even after the Holocaust, the Jewish yishuv in Israel was drawn into a struggle against Weizmann’s position.  However, even after his dismissal from the presidency of the Zionist Organization, Weizmann’s prestige stood in the breach during the campaign to achieve a majority in the United Nations on the 29th of November, and in blocking the scheme to tear the Negev away from the territory of the Jewish state.

Levy Eshkol, the third prime minister, was a practical man, a pioneer, a farmer; a man of the soil and water and the money man who made security purchases, a great Minister of Finance.  I personally, like many others who came from homes espousing the rival ideology, will never forget his decision to fulfill Ze’ev Jabotinsky’s will and brought his remains to Israel.  Eshkol eased the atmosphere of polarization, inspired reconciliation and unity and firmly established the customs of Israeli democracy.  As Prime Minister and Minister of Defense he won the campaign at sea, for the first time acquired heavy weapons for the IDF – tanks and planes – from the United States, and strengthened Israel’s security.  The magnificent pinnacle of his prudent leadership was discovered during the “waiting period” on the eve of the Six Day War and in fortifying the IDF’s achievements after the war.  Unfortunately, Eshkol passed away before he could realize his plans to advance peace.  During his tenure, he was severely criticized and accused, but with a historic perspective he is considered to be one of the best of Israel’s prime ministers.

I would like to add a few personal words about Levy Eshkol, the first prime minister I met when I began my political career; he was already prime minister then.

I always wondered: how can people who are so different from one another – in their abilities, their personalities, the patterns of their behavior, their academic and educational background – fill a position which, in the end, demands a fairly clear pattern of attributes and abilities?

There is no comprehensive, proper or exhaustive answer to this question.  No one can provide one, and perhaps it does not even exist.  There are those who succeed, there are those who fail, there are those who leave their mark, others less so.  Perhaps the reason for this is the differences in personalities.  Therefore, it is important for me to say something about Eshkol’s personality.

He was a man of humor and wit, a humble man.  He was someone who spoke with his colleagues, his constituents and his countrymen, with a simplicity that typifies truly great men.  However, he was also sensitive and vulnerable, and at times hesitant.  These hesitations, even the most well-known of them, were not the result of weakness nor of insecurity.  Rather, from the simple, natural, normal humanity of a man.

There may have been personalities that left a greater historic mark on the Prime Minister’s Office – there was no man like him.

I congratulate both winners of the prizes bearing the names of this year’s honorees: the Weizmann Institute and the two Levy Eshkol biographers and researchers.  The effort made by the research institutes and institutions for higher education in Israel to bring back to Israel the finest researchers, the brightest of our young men and women – and I say women because, as you can see, Noa is very young, but I am acquainted with her and let me tell you, she is very talented.  It is good that she is here and not somewhere in the United States or another country, places with conditions which often tempt young, talented people, but we love them a great deal and would like to see them here with us.

Congratulations to the Weizmann Institute; congratulations to the researchers who did such an impressive job in reminding us of Levy Eshkol’s important historic contribution to the establishment of the State.

With great appreciation and profound gratitude let us remember all the presidents and prime ministers who have passed on.

May the memories be blessed.