The helicopter carrying the Holy Father, Pope Francis, having travelled from Bethlehem, arrived at Ben Gourion international airport in Tel Aviv at 4:30pm local time today.
The Pope was welcomed there by the President of the Republic of Israel, His Excellency, Mister Shimon Peres, and by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Also present were political, civil and religious authorities, the Ordinaries from the Holy Land and a group of young people.
After the presentation of military honours and the playing of the National Anthems, the following addresses were given:
On behalf of the Jewish people and in the name of all the people of Israel, I welcome you with the age old words from the Book of Psalms: Welcome in the name of the Lord. Welcome at the gates of Jerusalem.
Your Holiness,
You have arrived in the State of Israel where today members of different religions and nationalities live together – Jews, Christians, Muslims, Druse and Circassians.
Israel is a Jewish and democratic state where coexistence in peace is implemented, and a state that aspires for peace with all its neighbours. Even if peace calls for sacrifices, the sacrifices of peace are preferable to the threat of war. Our hand is stretched out in peace and will continue to be stretched out in peace, and we shall seek the right path to achieve it.
Israel is a state in which there is no religious coercion or anti-religious outlooks, and where the right to freedom of religion is respected. We are responsible for its implementation, and we shall not allow anyone to violate this commitment.
We take pride in this pluralistic nature of our society, which respects all its citizens, regardless of religion and nationality.
You bring with you great tidings and hope for all. You carry a message of brotherhood among peoples, and friendship for all. Nothing enriches more than love of humanity. Indeed, our Sages taught us that only love will build Jerusalem. You bring inspiration. A call to choose values over assets, generosity over envy, goodwill over power.
Your Holiness,
You have brought to the Holy See a noble and natural humility. Deep identification with the poor, the oppressed and destitute. A profound sense that the task of man is to mend the world – Tikkun Olam – and engage in scientific activities for which the sanctity of life are their supreme value.
These values were voiced by the Prophets Isaiah and Amos in Jerusalem, prophets who represented a beacon to Jesus, the Nazarene, and to Saint Francis of Assisi, whose name and spirit you embraced, as Pope and Head of the Catholic Church.
Your Holiness,
We are grateful to you for assuming your sensitive and resolute stand against all expressions of anti-Semitism. Against all manifestations of racism.
Only yesterday, criminals shot innocent people in the Jewish Museum in Brussels only because they thought they were Jewish. This is a manifestation that poison's will and cannot be accepted.
You assumed the position of builder of bridges between all religions, among diverse cultures: the creation of new relations, free of the residues of the past, between Judaism and Christianity. We are attentive to your words and respect their content. The people of Israel are thrilled by your arrival and are in anticipation of your remarks.
And we see in you a modest and far-sighted shepherd. The Jewish people are an ancient people, that rejected idolatry and denied goddesses, and swore to believe in one God, our Father in Heaven. And although our people knew destruction and exile, suffering and violence, a horrific Shoah and wars of survival, they did not deviate from their path.
Even when their condition degenerated, their spirit never failed. They safeguarded the legacy of their forefathers and the revival of the Jewish people emanated from the birth of their descendants. With the help of their faith and scientific advances, they turned a meagre and parched land into green fields and blooming gardens.
Whatever knowledge we acquired, we were happy to put it at the disposal of other peoples who so desired, and we are willing to share our expertise with our neighbours, close and afar, so as to jointly fight hunger and poverty, hopelessness and violence. It is necessary for us all to pool our resources to save the poor from their destitution and provide the young with opportunities to reach the peaks of success.
And we shall all pray for peace in the world and justice in our society. In the words of Isaiah: Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? (Isaiah, 58:7)
And to this I shall add: And you will know no more wars. And may the Ten Commandments, written 3500 years ago, continue to serve as a guiding light also for our future.
Please accept my gratitude, and that of my people, for your warm and loving attitude to the Jewish people, which I have always observed, and which the Church you head called my older brothers. Your Holiness, our brother you are.
Welcome to the Eternal City, the city of justice and peace. May they yield their fruit soon. Salve in Terra Sancta.
Your Holiness, Pope Francis,
Welcome to our land, the Land of Israel, the Holy Land. You bring with you the spirit of reconciliation, faith and peace of millions of Christians worldwide, and also of many who are not Christian yet who are caught up in the spirit of love for humanity which you embody. Your visit is an important chapter in the history of the relations between Christians and Jews, a bond which has lasted for 2,000 years.
These relations are anchored in the Bible, which is the moral, historic and religious keystone on which Judaism rests, and from which Christianity grew. The Bible articulates man's relationship with his fellow man, the relationship of man with God and it articulates our people's prayer for the redemption of its homeland and man's prayer for the day nation shall not lift sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
It is against the backdrop of the suffering of the past that I welcome the good relations between the Holy See and the Jewish people and the Jewish State that have been built during our generation. We admire and appreciate your decision to lay a wreath on the grave of Benjamin Zeev Herzl, the founder of the Zionist movement. We know that when you light the eternal flame at Yad Vashem in memory of the one-third of our people who were murdered in the Holocaust, it will be another expression of your belief that antisemitism is a crime against God and against humanity, as was the heinous anti-Semitic crime perpetrated yesterday on European soil.
Your Holiness, despite all the incitement and disturbances and pogroms against our people, we regained our independence in our ancestral homeland, to be a free people in our land, the land of Zion and Jerusalem. Your visit here is an opportunity to show you the real Israel – a democratic, advanced, prosperous country.
Your Holiness, in the heart of the Middle East, the turbulent and violent Middle East, where Christians are often persecuted, Israel is an island of tolerance. We safeguard the rights of all faiths. We guarantee freedom of worship for all and we are committed to maintaining the status quo at the Holy sites of Christians, Muslims and Jews.
Your Holiness, Pope Francis, you are leaving here for Jerusalem, our eternal capital, the heart of our faith. In Jerusalem and around our country, the prophets' vision of our people's renaissance is being fulfilled. This renaissance is one of the greatest symbols of humanity. It is not just the story of the Jewish people, but also the triumph of the human spirit which does not surrender to the horrors of history and succeeds, despite all obstacles, to rise up to the heights of progress, creativity and hope for peace.
Your Holiness, Pope Francis, welcome to Israel. You are welcome to the State of Israel.
Mr President,
Mr Prime Minister,
Your Eminences, Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen, Brothers and Sisters,
I thank you most heartily for your welcome to the State of Israel, which I have the joy of visiting on this pilgrimage. I am grateful to President Shimon Peres and to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for their kind words and I willingly recall my meetings with them in the Vatican. As you know, I have come on pilgrimage to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the historic visit of Pope Paul VI. Since then, much has changed in the relationship between the Holy See and the State of Israel: diplomatic relations, established some twenty years ago, have favored the development of good relations, as witnessed by the two Agreements already signed and ratified, and a third which is in the process of being finalized. In this spirit I greet all the people of Israel with prayerful good wishes that their aspirations of peace and prosperity will achieve fulfillment.
In the footsteps of my predecessors, I have come as a pilgrim to the Holy Land, rich in history and home to the principal events in the origin and growth of the three great monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. As such, it is of immense spiritual significance for a great part of humanity. So I express my hope and prayer that this blessed land may be one which has no place for those who, by exploiting and absolutizing the value of their own religious tradition, prove intolerant and violent towards those of others.
During my pilgrimage to the Holy Land I will visit some of the most significant places in Jerusalem, a city of universal importance. Jerusalem, of course, means city of peace. This is what God wills it to be, and such is the desire of all people of good will. Yet sadly Jerusalem remains deeply troubled as a result of longstanding conflicts. We all know how urgent is the need for peace, not only for Israel but also for the entire region. May efforts and energies be increasingly directed to the pursuit of a just and lasting solution to the conflicts which have caused so much suffering. In union with all men and women of good will, I implore those in positions of responsibility to leave no stone unturned in the search for equitable solutions to complex problems, so that Israelis and Palestinians may live in peace. The path of dialogue, reconciliation and peace must constantly be taken up anew, courageously and tirelessly. There is simply no other way. And so I renew the appeal made in this place by Pope Benedict XVI: the right of the State of Israel to exist and to flourish in peace and security within internationally recognized borders must be universally recognized. At the same time, there must also be a recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to a sovereign homeland and their right to live with dignity and with freedom of movement. The Two State Solution must become reality and not remain merely a dream.
A particularly moving part of my stay will be my visit to the Yad Vashem Memorial to the six million Jews who were victims of the Shoah, a tragedy which is the enduring symbol of the depths to which human evil can sink when, spurred by false ideologies, it fails to recognize the fundamental dignity of each person, which merits unconditional respect regardless of ethnic origin or religious belief. I beg God that there will never be another such crime, which counted among its victims Jews above all, but also numerous Christians and others. Ever mindful of the past, let us promote an education in which exclusion and confrontation give way to inclusion and encounter, where there will be no place for anti-Semitism in any of its forms or for expressions of hostility, discrimination or intolerance towards any individual or people.
With a heavy heart I think of those who have lost their lives in the atrocious attack yesterday in Brussels. While reiterating my condemnation for this criminal act of anti-Semitic hatred, I entrust the victims of this crime to the God of mercy and invoke upon the wounded his gift of healing.
Although my brief visit makes it impossible to meet everyone, I would like even now to greet all Israel’s citizens and to express my closeness to them, particularly those living in Nazareth and in Galilee, where many Christian communities are found.
To the Bishops and the Christian faithful I offer a warm and fraternal greeting. I encourage them to persevere in their quiet witness of faith and hope in the service of reconciliation and forgiveness, following the teaching and example of the Lord Jesus, who gave his life to bring about peace between God and man, and between brothers. May you always be a leaven of reconciliation, bringing hope to others, bearing witness to charity! Know that you are constantly in my prayers.
I wish to invite you, Mister President, together with President Mahmoud Abbas, to join me in heartfelt prayer to God for the gift of peace. I offer my home in the Vatican as a place for this encounter of prayer. All of us want peace. Many people build it day by day through small gestures and acts; many of them are suffering, yet patiently persevere in their efforts to be peacemakers. All of us – especially those placed at the service of their respective peoples – have the duty to become instruments and artisans of peace, especially by our prayers. Building peace is difficult, but living without peace is a constant torment. The men and women of these lands, and of the entire world, all of them, ask us to bring before God their fervent hopes for peace.
Mister President, Mister Prime Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you once again for your kind welcome.
May peace and prosperity descend in abundance upon Israel. And may God bless his people with peace! Shalom!
The Pope was welcomed there by the President of the Republic of Israel, His Excellency, Mister Shimon Peres, and by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Also present were political, civil and religious authorities, the Ordinaries from the Holy Land and a group of young people.
After the presentation of military honours and the playing of the National Anthems, the following addresses were given:
Address by President Shimon Peres
Welcoming Pope Francis to Israel
On behalf of the Jewish people and in the name of all the people of Israel, I welcome you with the age old words from the Book of Psalms: Welcome in the name of the Lord. Welcome at the gates of Jerusalem.
Your Holiness,
You have arrived in the State of Israel where today members of different religions and nationalities live together – Jews, Christians, Muslims, Druse and Circassians.
Israel is a Jewish and democratic state where coexistence in peace is implemented, and a state that aspires for peace with all its neighbours. Even if peace calls for sacrifices, the sacrifices of peace are preferable to the threat of war. Our hand is stretched out in peace and will continue to be stretched out in peace, and we shall seek the right path to achieve it.
Israel is a state in which there is no religious coercion or anti-religious outlooks, and where the right to freedom of religion is respected. We are responsible for its implementation, and we shall not allow anyone to violate this commitment.
We take pride in this pluralistic nature of our society, which respects all its citizens, regardless of religion and nationality.
You bring with you great tidings and hope for all. You carry a message of brotherhood among peoples, and friendship for all. Nothing enriches more than love of humanity. Indeed, our Sages taught us that only love will build Jerusalem. You bring inspiration. A call to choose values over assets, generosity over envy, goodwill over power.
Your Holiness,
You have brought to the Holy See a noble and natural humility. Deep identification with the poor, the oppressed and destitute. A profound sense that the task of man is to mend the world – Tikkun Olam – and engage in scientific activities for which the sanctity of life are their supreme value.
These values were voiced by the Prophets Isaiah and Amos in Jerusalem, prophets who represented a beacon to Jesus, the Nazarene, and to Saint Francis of Assisi, whose name and spirit you embraced, as Pope and Head of the Catholic Church.
Your Holiness,
We are grateful to you for assuming your sensitive and resolute stand against all expressions of anti-Semitism. Against all manifestations of racism.
Only yesterday, criminals shot innocent people in the Jewish Museum in Brussels only because they thought they were Jewish. This is a manifestation that poison's will and cannot be accepted.
You assumed the position of builder of bridges between all religions, among diverse cultures: the creation of new relations, free of the residues of the past, between Judaism and Christianity. We are attentive to your words and respect their content. The people of Israel are thrilled by your arrival and are in anticipation of your remarks.
And we see in you a modest and far-sighted shepherd. The Jewish people are an ancient people, that rejected idolatry and denied goddesses, and swore to believe in one God, our Father in Heaven. And although our people knew destruction and exile, suffering and violence, a horrific Shoah and wars of survival, they did not deviate from their path.
Even when their condition degenerated, their spirit never failed. They safeguarded the legacy of their forefathers and the revival of the Jewish people emanated from the birth of their descendants. With the help of their faith and scientific advances, they turned a meagre and parched land into green fields and blooming gardens.
Whatever knowledge we acquired, we were happy to put it at the disposal of other peoples who so desired, and we are willing to share our expertise with our neighbours, close and afar, so as to jointly fight hunger and poverty, hopelessness and violence. It is necessary for us all to pool our resources to save the poor from their destitution and provide the young with opportunities to reach the peaks of success.
And we shall all pray for peace in the world and justice in our society. In the words of Isaiah: Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter – when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? (Isaiah, 58:7)
And to this I shall add: And you will know no more wars. And may the Ten Commandments, written 3500 years ago, continue to serve as a guiding light also for our future.
Please accept my gratitude, and that of my people, for your warm and loving attitude to the Jewish people, which I have always observed, and which the Church you head called my older brothers. Your Holiness, our brother you are.
Welcome to the Eternal City, the city of justice and peace. May they yield their fruit soon. Salve in Terra Sancta.
Address of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Welcoming Pope Francis to Israel
Your Holiness, Pope Francis,
Welcome to our land, the Land of Israel, the Holy Land. You bring with you the spirit of reconciliation, faith and peace of millions of Christians worldwide, and also of many who are not Christian yet who are caught up in the spirit of love for humanity which you embody. Your visit is an important chapter in the history of the relations between Christians and Jews, a bond which has lasted for 2,000 years.
These relations are anchored in the Bible, which is the moral, historic and religious keystone on which Judaism rests, and from which Christianity grew. The Bible articulates man's relationship with his fellow man, the relationship of man with God and it articulates our people's prayer for the redemption of its homeland and man's prayer for the day nation shall not lift sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
It is against the backdrop of the suffering of the past that I welcome the good relations between the Holy See and the Jewish people and the Jewish State that have been built during our generation. We admire and appreciate your decision to lay a wreath on the grave of Benjamin Zeev Herzl, the founder of the Zionist movement. We know that when you light the eternal flame at Yad Vashem in memory of the one-third of our people who were murdered in the Holocaust, it will be another expression of your belief that antisemitism is a crime against God and against humanity, as was the heinous anti-Semitic crime perpetrated yesterday on European soil.
Your Holiness, despite all the incitement and disturbances and pogroms against our people, we regained our independence in our ancestral homeland, to be a free people in our land, the land of Zion and Jerusalem. Your visit here is an opportunity to show you the real Israel – a democratic, advanced, prosperous country.
Your Holiness, in the heart of the Middle East, the turbulent and violent Middle East, where Christians are often persecuted, Israel is an island of tolerance. We safeguard the rights of all faiths. We guarantee freedom of worship for all and we are committed to maintaining the status quo at the Holy sites of Christians, Muslims and Jews.
Your Holiness, Pope Francis, you are leaving here for Jerusalem, our eternal capital, the heart of our faith. In Jerusalem and around our country, the prophets' vision of our people's renaissance is being fulfilled. This renaissance is one of the greatest symbols of humanity. It is not just the story of the Jewish people, but also the triumph of the human spirit which does not surrender to the horrors of history and succeeds, despite all obstacles, to rise up to the heights of progress, creativity and hope for peace.
Your Holiness, Pope Francis, welcome to Israel. You are welcome to the State of Israel.
Speech of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
at the Welcoming Ceremony
Ben Gourion International Airport
Mr President,
Mr Prime Minister,
Your Eminences, Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen, Brothers and Sisters,
I thank you most heartily for your welcome to the State of Israel, which I have the joy of visiting on this pilgrimage. I am grateful to President Shimon Peres and to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for their kind words and I willingly recall my meetings with them in the Vatican. As you know, I have come on pilgrimage to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the historic visit of Pope Paul VI. Since then, much has changed in the relationship between the Holy See and the State of Israel: diplomatic relations, established some twenty years ago, have favored the development of good relations, as witnessed by the two Agreements already signed and ratified, and a third which is in the process of being finalized. In this spirit I greet all the people of Israel with prayerful good wishes that their aspirations of peace and prosperity will achieve fulfillment.
In the footsteps of my predecessors, I have come as a pilgrim to the Holy Land, rich in history and home to the principal events in the origin and growth of the three great monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. As such, it is of immense spiritual significance for a great part of humanity. So I express my hope and prayer that this blessed land may be one which has no place for those who, by exploiting and absolutizing the value of their own religious tradition, prove intolerant and violent towards those of others.
During my pilgrimage to the Holy Land I will visit some of the most significant places in Jerusalem, a city of universal importance. Jerusalem, of course, means city of peace. This is what God wills it to be, and such is the desire of all people of good will. Yet sadly Jerusalem remains deeply troubled as a result of longstanding conflicts. We all know how urgent is the need for peace, not only for Israel but also for the entire region. May efforts and energies be increasingly directed to the pursuit of a just and lasting solution to the conflicts which have caused so much suffering. In union with all men and women of good will, I implore those in positions of responsibility to leave no stone unturned in the search for equitable solutions to complex problems, so that Israelis and Palestinians may live in peace. The path of dialogue, reconciliation and peace must constantly be taken up anew, courageously and tirelessly. There is simply no other way. And so I renew the appeal made in this place by Pope Benedict XVI: the right of the State of Israel to exist and to flourish in peace and security within internationally recognized borders must be universally recognized. At the same time, there must also be a recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to a sovereign homeland and their right to live with dignity and with freedom of movement. The Two State Solution must become reality and not remain merely a dream.
A particularly moving part of my stay will be my visit to the Yad Vashem Memorial to the six million Jews who were victims of the Shoah, a tragedy which is the enduring symbol of the depths to which human evil can sink when, spurred by false ideologies, it fails to recognize the fundamental dignity of each person, which merits unconditional respect regardless of ethnic origin or religious belief. I beg God that there will never be another such crime, which counted among its victims Jews above all, but also numerous Christians and others. Ever mindful of the past, let us promote an education in which exclusion and confrontation give way to inclusion and encounter, where there will be no place for anti-Semitism in any of its forms or for expressions of hostility, discrimination or intolerance towards any individual or people.
With a heavy heart I think of those who have lost their lives in the atrocious attack yesterday in Brussels. While reiterating my condemnation for this criminal act of anti-Semitic hatred, I entrust the victims of this crime to the God of mercy and invoke upon the wounded his gift of healing.
Although my brief visit makes it impossible to meet everyone, I would like even now to greet all Israel’s citizens and to express my closeness to them, particularly those living in Nazareth and in Galilee, where many Christian communities are found.
To the Bishops and the Christian faithful I offer a warm and fraternal greeting. I encourage them to persevere in their quiet witness of faith and hope in the service of reconciliation and forgiveness, following the teaching and example of the Lord Jesus, who gave his life to bring about peace between God and man, and between brothers. May you always be a leaven of reconciliation, bringing hope to others, bearing witness to charity! Know that you are constantly in my prayers.
I wish to invite you, Mister President, together with President Mahmoud Abbas, to join me in heartfelt prayer to God for the gift of peace. I offer my home in the Vatican as a place for this encounter of prayer. All of us want peace. Many people build it day by day through small gestures and acts; many of them are suffering, yet patiently persevere in their efforts to be peacemakers. All of us – especially those placed at the service of their respective peoples – have the duty to become instruments and artisans of peace, especially by our prayers. Building peace is difficult, but living without peace is a constant torment. The men and women of these lands, and of the entire world, all of them, ask us to bring before God their fervent hopes for peace.
Mister President, Mister Prime Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you once again for your kind welcome.
May peace and prosperity descend in abundance upon Israel. And may God bless his people with peace! Shalom!
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