In the history of Zionism, the small Italian resort town of San Remo holds a place of honor. It was there, 101 years ago, that the Jewish people's right to self-determination in their ancestral Land of Israel was officially recognized.
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Twenty-three years before the San Remo Conference, which was convened by the nations that won World War I, the flame of Zionism that Benjamin Zeev Herzl lit began to burn. After the First Zionist Congress, Herzl wrote, prophetically, that "In Basel, I founded the Jewish state." At that time, 1897, he knew that such a statement would cause laughter. But Herzl added that in another five years, or 50 at the most, everyone would recognize the state. And it indeed happened.
Two decades after the World Zionist Congress was founded, the British government published the Balfour Declaration in November 1927, as our people were exerting themselves to help the British army win the Great War. When then-Foreign Secretary of Britain Arthur James Balfour signed the declaration stating that Britain would support the establishment of a national home for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel, Zionism secured public international support from a leading world power.
Jews throughout the Diaspora were excited. Zionism had paved the way to the family of nations. Our ancient, daily connection to our land, which cannot be detached from the Bible, received a new life. My grandfather, Rabbi Nathan Milikovsky-Netanyahu, wrote movingly about the Balfour Declaration: "Suddenly, there was a flash of light that tore apart the dark sky of the Jewish people, lifted our spirits, strengthened us, and gave us new life. This is our 'Magna Carta,' this is the same call as was heard in the time of King Koresh."
Our fate is once again in our hands
Three more years went by, and in 1920, we reached the final stop on the route to the success of political Zionism. At San Remo, the world powers legally adopted the Balfour Declaration. They gave Britain the Mandate over the Land of Israel so it could implement the decision to found our national home. It was no longer merely a "declaration," it had become a tangible step to implement our national aspirations in the land of our forefathers.
Given the unusual diplomatic success, the Jewish Yishuv felt uplifted. A few weeks after Yosef Trumpeldor and his comrades fell defending Tel Hai and the rioting by Arab hordes in and around Jerusalem, the gloom was replaced by great joy. When the news of San Remo reached the Jerusalem synagogue where Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Kook prayed in Jerusalem, those present recited the "Sheyechyahnu" blessing, with tears of joy in the eyes, and sang Psalm verses. Shofars were blown.
The historian and literary researcher Professor Yosef Klausner, who was my father's great teacher, listed three standout achievements of the "San Remo event": First, that Zionism was continuing to make its way out of the fringes of the international arena. The Zionist idea had stopped being a matter for the Jewish people only and was being discussed in every country. Second, it was a signed commitment from one of the leading world powers to bring the Jews out of exile into an era of redemption. Third, it returned to us control over our own fate. The decisions at the San Remo Conference recreated the Jews' sense of ownership, in the positive sense of the world. A right greater than any other allowed us to plant roots in the Land of Israel and lead a fitting life there.
Of course, we needed to take a serious approach even in the moments of joy over the decisions by the San Remo Conference, which were approved by representatives of the League of Nations. We knew that we must not sit idly by. The opposite: that we had to develop the land quickly, make the desert bloom, bring masses of new immigrants, establish a defense force, build and create – both physically and spiritually.
Thanks to the efforts of generations, we were able to renew the independence of the nation of Israel 28 years after the San Remo Conference. Since then, we have marched forward, secure in the strength of our state, turning it into a world-class success story in many fields. The San Remo decisions concluded with the assumption that the Jews would be able to meet the challenge of returning to their land. We are fulfilling those expectations far beyond anything that could have been imagined.
We are not foreigners in our land
Sad to say, there are some who even today deny the historical truth declared in the Balfour Declaration and the San Remo Resolutions. The root of the conflict with the Palestinians lies in their consistent refusal to recognize Zionism, the legitimacy of the Jewish people's national home and the state of Israel along any borders. Palestinian spokespeople call the memos published 100 years ago a "crime" and a "tragedy," while exempting themselves from any accountability for their calls to destroy Israel.
The intention of the International Criminal Court in The Hague to investigate Israel for actions our soldiers and officers carried out to protect Jewish communities from attacks by terrorist organizations is a complete perversion of justice. We are here by right, not as foreigners in our own land. We will fight our enemies with determination, as well as any attempt to slash the thousands of years-long thread that ties us to the homeland.
On the other hand, the positive developments in our region give a great deal of hope for the future of the Middle East. The peace and normalization agreements we reached last year with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco represent a major change in the Arab world's attitude toward Israel. These countries and others see Israel as a strong ally in the fight against radical Islam. A hundred years ago, the Emir Faisal, one of the most prominent Arab leaders of the time, took a moderate line when he backed cooperation between Arabs and Jews. We are continuing this movement by promoting security and peace, progress and prosperity, for our peoples and our nations.
We will etch the San Remo resolutions into the nation's consciousness as a major milestone on the way to fulfilling the vision of Israel's establishment.
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