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Presidents Discussing Tomorrow

Posted on May 25, 2008 • By Miriam Schwab
Category: Art and Culture 2 Comments

Here are some interesting ideas that were raised during the President’s Conference. First, I’d like to start with the opening session, titled “Presidents Discussing Tomorrow.” I’m only reviewing the Presidents that I thought were most interesting, so here goes, organized by speaker:

Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the UK, currently on a quest for peace

Tony Blair opened up with a discussion on peace and democracy. He basically said that democracy, equality and justice are the solutions to all the world’s problems, and that we should be “open in hope, not closed in fear.” There was one problem with what he said: he said that no two democracies have ever attacked each other. My wise husband pointed out that Germany was a democracy, whether we like it or not, and they certainly attacked a few democracies, Britain included. Oh well, it was a nice thought.

Bamir Topi, President of Albania

He said that during the Holocaust, Albania didn’t hand over any Jews to the Nazis, and they even allowed Jews entry into their country. That is impressive.

Blaise Compaore, President of Burkina Faso

Mr. Compaore said that our struggle is their struggle, and that the Jewish people deserve a state. That is a pretty strong statement, considering the current climate where Israel’s right to exist is up for debate.

Dr. Valdis Zatlers, President of Latvia

Dr. Zatlers is a big fan of Thomas Friedman’s “The World is Flat,” and he quoted it quite a bit. He said the world can learn three things from the Israelis:

1. Stay in touch with your past. (This is in opposition to Shimon Peres’ repeated message that we should not dwell on the past.)
2. Stay in touch with the future.
3. Stay close together. He is so right about that one. Israelis want to stay in touch with each other in every possible way. That is why we are among the highest users in the world of cellphones and facebook. Jewish mothers are in heaven with all this technology.

Dr. Zatlers reviewed some of the great Jews that emerged from Latvia, but what was particularly interesting is that he mentioned Rabbi Kook, who he describes as the father of religious Zionism! This mention was particularly significant in light of the fact that a recent terrible terror attack took place at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem, which was founded, and is named after, Rabbi Kook.

Tommy E. Remengesau, President of Palau

I never even knew Palau existed before I heard this speech. It is apparently one of the world’s youngest and smallest nations, with a population of 21,000! As a small island, Palau is concerned by the rising water levels that are submerging other islands and forcing the populations to evacuate. He said that the environment should be viewed as a security issue. He also said that, as a Christian, visiting Israel is like a pilgrimage for him.

Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of Uganda

Mr. Museveni said that globalization is not new, and proof of that is that there are black people in America. Good point. He said that the question is whether globalization will be parasitic, like in the past, or symbiotic.

He said that Africa does not have a lot of bigotry, and he explains that Uganda encourages their citizens to live and let live, and let everyone practice their own religious beliefs. He gives an example of a particular religious group that wanted to take some sort of violent action against others because they were eating pork (I wonder which religious group that could be, and no, it’s not the Jews), and how they told them not to since they weren’t putting the pork in their own stomach. He says that the Rwandan genocide was actually a European import.

It’s a nice idea, but I’d have to question his assertion that there is no bigotry in Africa in light of the events taking place in South Africa that have actually been titled “Xenophobia.”

Mr. Museveni goes on to say that Africa is the origin of man and civilization, and that it is commendable that Africa was part of this event and was able to give input, since that usually doesn’t happen.

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last head of state of the USSR

Blair mentioned how he can Gorbachev met for the first time at the conference! Gorbachev said he traveled across Israel from the south to the North, and he was amazed at how the desert has blossomed. He said it’s a sign. He criticized Europe for applauding while Russia lay in ruins, and for supporting Yeltsin, and now that Russia has finally found its feet, they don’t support the current rulers. I wonder why.

Jacques Atalli, former advisor to advisor to French President François Mitterand

Mr. Atalli was the last speaker and spoke so forcefully about the importance of Israel, and Israel’s contribution to the world.

Mr. Attali quoted King Solomon about the importance of prosperity for peace. He said that our region holds all the opportunities, as well as all of the threats. This region could be the model for the rest of the world.

He said that the Israeli model is interesting:

• It stresses the importance of knowledge – we’re obsessed with learning.
• Democratic.
• Social Justice/Tzedaka is a strong principle, where we must care for ourselves and for our brothers.
• The wish to survive and live – that we are not afraid of our enemy, but learn to cope.
• Israel needs others too, since it is not yet complete.
• The world needs Israel – for technology, philosophy, culture. The world without Israel would be a world without significance. Without Israel this region would go back to barbarism.
• Jerusalem is the future of the world, and is a symbol of utopia.

He finished off by saying “Next Year in Jerusalem.”