Brothers forever

George Bush showered Israel with compliments

US President George W. Bush arrived in Israel yesterdayfor the second time in the last six months . The guest was greeted by President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and chief rabbis. "I'm glad to be here again," Bush said, "and proud to once again prove how strong the relationship is between the United States and Israel." From Israel, the US President will travel to Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry told Vremya Novostei that the purpose of Bush's visit was “to promote peace initiatives related to the achievement of a Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement and to participate in events dedicated to the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel.” According to the Israeli media, no breakthroughs in relations with the Palestinians can be expected from the visit. The program of Bush and his wife Laura's stay shows that the guests are going to pay considerable attention to anniversary events.

In addition to meeting with Israeli leaders and participating in the "Looking to Tomorrow" conference, the first US couple will visit the Israel Museum and the Bible Museum in Jerusalem, and will also climb Mount Masada, where the fortress of the ancient Jews is located on the shores of the Dead Sea. Bush, as is customary on his birthday, began complimenting the young Jewish state right at the plane's steps: “Israel can be proud of the path it has traveled. The US and Israel are founded on the same principles - the principles of democracy. Together we defend the freedom given to us by the Almighty. We are bound by an unbreakable alliance to fight together against terror and tyrants.”

Today, from the rostrum of the Knesset, Bush will address its deputies and all Israelis with a congratulatory speech. On May 14, 60 years ago, Israel's declaration of independence was proclaimed. And in the evening of the same day, the first war of independence in its history began. And even now, not all countries recognize Israel’s right to exist; in the Arab world, it managed to establish diplomatic relations only with Egypt, Jordan and Mauritania.

Its current president, 82-year-old Shimon Peres, has done a lot to strengthen Israel’s authority in the world by organizing the “Looking into Tomorrow” conference in Jerusalem for the anniversary of the Jewish state. A dozen heads of state came to Israel to participate in it, including Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, and Polish President Lech Kaczynski. Among the guests of honor are USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Russia is represented by the head of the Federation Council Sergei Mironov. Perhaps Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will also come to Israel in July, but the Israeli Foreign Ministry has not yet confirmed this to our newspaper.

“The presence of so many famous people is proof of the true greatness of the State of Israel,” Shimon Peres noted at the opening of the forum. He emphasized that the topic of the meeting was “not so much politics as the recognition of Israel as one of the leaders among countries with developed high technologies.” 60 - according to the number of years of the Jewish state - Israeli companies that have achieved global recognition in the field of high technology were selected to participate in the conference. Peres tried to present Israel to the guests from a new side: “The sounds of gunfire in Beirut are a legacy of the past. Today, a country’s potential is measured not by its territory or natural resources, but by the number of “Columbus” pioneers living in it, discoverers of new fields of activity and opportunities. Therefore, Israel is the country of the future.”

“We invited our guests to analyze global trends and think about what awaits Israel and other countries in five to ten years,” one of the organizers of the conference, Israel Maimon, former chief of the office of the Prime Minister of Israel, told VN. Speaker Sergei Mironov proposed creating a “Center for Interreligious Cooperation” in Israel, which could become “a support for the international community in the framework of building interfaith dialogue.” Mikhail Gorbachev, in a conversation with a VN correspondent, expressed “admiration for the Israelis, who in 60 years in the desert created not just some village, but a highly developed state.”

A few hours after George Bush's arrival in Israel, Palestinian militants made their presence felt. A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip fell on the roof of a shopping center in the southern city of Ashkelon. As a result of the shelling, 23 people were injured, three are in serious condition. Among the victims is a little girl. She was slightly injured, but her mother was seriously injured. Several radical groups, including Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for the shelling. Palestinian rockets have fallen on Ashkelon before, and the Israeli logistics service even installed an early warning system in the city. But this time, according to eyewitnesses, it did not work.

Maria GRISHINA, Dmitry DUBOV, Jerusalem