The following speech was made by US president Donald Trump at the residence of the president of Isr
ael Reuven Rivlin on Monday May 22, 2017.
“Thank you and Shalom. I am honored to be in the great State of Israel, the homeland of the Jewish People, I am awed by the beauty and majesty of this sacred and very holy land.
President Rivlin, Mrs. Rivlin, thank you so much. Thank you for opening your wonderful home and welcoming Melania and myself to your amazing country and that’s what it is, it’s an amazing country. What you have done perhaps has virtually never been done before. On my first trip overseas I have come to this ancient land to reaffirm the enduring friendship between the United States and the State of Israel. And it will always be enduring and that’s number one to me. We are not only longtime friends, we are great allies and partners. We stand together always. This moment in history calls for us to strengthen our cooperation, as both Israel and America face common threats from ISIS and other terrorist groups, to countries like Iran that sponsor terrorism, and fund, ferment terrible violence, not only here, but all over the world. Together we can work to end the scourge of violence that has taken so many lives here in Israel, and around the world. Most importantly, the United States and Israel can declare with one voice that Iran must be never be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon, never ever. It must cease its deadly funding, training and equipping of terrorists and militias. And must cease immediately.
On those issues there is a strong consensus among the nations of the world, including many in the Muslim world. I was deeply encouraged by my conversations with Muslim world leaders in Saudi Arabia, including King Salmon, who I spoke to at great length. King Salmon feels very strongly, and I can tell you would love to see peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Many expressed their resolve to help end terrorism and the spread of radicalization. Many Muslim nations have already taken steps to begin following through on this commitment. There is a growing realization among your Arab neighbors that they have common cause with you in the threat posed by Iran. And it is indeed a threat, there is no doubt about that. I thank both you and Prime Minister Netanyahu for your commitment to achieving peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. I also look forward to discussing the peace process with Palestinian President Abbas. Young Israeli and Palestinian children deserve to grow up in safety and to follow their dreams, free from the violence that has destroyed so many lives. The United States and Israel can also bring safety and greater prosperity to our peoples through stronger ties of trade and commerce. Already our two countries do a great deal of business together. We have a strong foundation on which to build an even closer trading relationship that benefits both of our countries.
Today we have so many incredible opportunities before us, and my hope for this visit is that we cease every single one of them. I am thrilled to be here on behalf of the American people. I know Israel and America share the same goals, and I have great confidence that we can achieve tremendous success together, we can achieve all of our goals together. President Rivlin, I look forward to working with you, and to seeing more this sacred land, and getting to spend time with the remarkable people of Israel. Thank you very much.”