People who as yet have been unable to acquire gas masks may take some comfort in the fact that President Shimon Peres does not believe that Syria will wage war against Israel.
At a reception that he hosted on Tuesday for heads of diplomatic missions in Israel and for Honorary Consuls representing countries that do not have embassies in Israel, Peres said that he did not believe that Syria will attack Israel because Syria does not have the deterrence, strength or defense that Israel has at her disposal. Israel has developed sophisticated missiles and has one of the best security forces of modern times, said Peres.
After having previously endorsed the stand taken by US President Barack Obama, Peres said that he would suggest to every leader to emulate Obama and check every possible angle before entering into a war to bring an end to the terrible situation in Syria, than to regret his decision afterwards.
Syrian President Basher Assad does not have the right to be a leader after killing 100,000 of his own people said Peres, who added that it was impossible to remain indifferent to the killing of children by their own leader, or ignore the suffering of some two million Syrian refugees.
What Assad has done, said Peres, "is the worst demonstration of evil".
Charging Assad with the cause of the discomfort and displacement of Syrian refugees, Peres noted that Assad is not a democratically elected president.
Just prior to the formalities, Peres asked several ambassadors to join him near the entrance to the reception hall to partake of the traditional apple and honey, and said afterwards that although there had been some problems with the apple in the garden of Eden, the apple is nonetheless a symbol of growth and the honey a symbol of sweetness, and the tradition of eating apple and honey is not just a reminder of the past but also a symbol of the future.
Henri Etoundi Essomba, the Ambassador of Cameroon who is dean of the diplomatic corps, also referred to the apple and honey, saying after his taste of apple and honey that Israel has long been recognized as a land of milk and honey, but now it also has natural gas.
Essomba reviewed the past year, including the Knesset elections in March and said that a much younger generation of new leaders had emerged and had changed the balance of power.
He also commended Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for renewing the peace process, a factor that he attributed to the visit of Obama to Israel and the Palestinian Authority and to the efforts of US secretary of State John Kerry to persuade the two leaders to return to the negotiating table.
Peres made a point of thanking the assembled diplomats for the sympathy, understanding, goodwill and support which they and their countries have given to Israel in their wish to bring peace to the Middle East in general and to Israel and the Palestinians in particular.
Peres said that it had not been simple for either Netanyahu or Abbas.
Netanyahu had to overcome certain problems and take risks as he embarked on the unknown – and there were always some doubts, said Peres.
Abbas is trying to achieve peace and has maintained his opposition to terrorism, Peres continued, emphasizing that although Abbas comes from Safed, he has expressed no desire to return there.
The very fact that both sides agreed to resume negotiations is a victory for peace, Peres declared.
Much of the president's address centered on a changing world and the need to adapt to it, without sacrificing value, which Peres said "are more important than interests."
Today, he observed, everything is global. Economy is global, security is global and even the weather is global, meaning that people must begin to think in global terms.
In assessing the dangers confronting the Middle East and beyond, Peres considered the existential threats of poverty and hunger to be the worst, and said that he had hopes for the region because more than 60 per cent of the 350 million Arabs living in the Middle East are under the age of 26, and 99 million of these people are already registered as online users. He expects that number to double soon and thus expose more Arabs to the modern world of science and technology..
Peres did not see terrorism, which is rampant in the Arab world, as an alternative to war, because nations that go to war, ultimately make peace. In a war soldiers are united, but terrorist groups are not, because they have no policy and no message, said Peres. " Nothing destroys a nation more than terrorism". As a result of terrorism he said, countries in the Middle East are losing their territorial integrity. "Terrorism is the greatest danger to countries that permit terror. Sooner or later, they become the victims."
Peres was convinced that Arab countries could improve their economies by giving women access to education and by following Israel's example in encouraging their human resources to develop their potential for technology and science.
"What we did, all our neighbors can do", he said. "Our interest is to see a flourishing neighborhood in the Middle East."
In toasting the New Year together with the diplomats, Peres making the toast in both Hebrew and English, wished for a year of peace, justice, and prosperity without discrimination for all people.
Outside the President's residence the traffic situation was sheer bedlam. As a rule, when the President has large receptions, guests park their cars in Radaq Street which leads directly to the entrance of the President's residence. But on Tuesday morning, extensive construction work was being done on two buildings in Radaq Street, and parking was impossible, with the result that cars with white CD number plates were parked two and three deep in Rehov Hanassi, causing major obstacles to the regular flow of traffic.