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Israel’s story ‘resonates with, inspires S’poreans’

JERUSALEM — Singapore is an admirer of Israel, which shares many similarities but also has many contrasts with the city state, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong speaking at Hebrew University where he received an honorary doctorate. He said that Singapore ‘admired’ Israel, which shares similar traits with the Republic. PHOTO: MCI

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong speaking at Hebrew University where he received an honorary doctorate. He said that Singapore ‘admired’ Israel, which shares similar traits with the Republic. PHOTO: MCI

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JERUSALEM — Singapore is an admirer of Israel, which shares many similarities but also has many contrasts with the city state, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday.

Speaking at Hebrew University where he received an honorary doctorate, PM Lee said he was especially honoured that the award came from a renowned university with outstanding strength in research and innovation and a constellation of outstanding alumni including eight Nobel Prize winners and numerous Israeli Presidents and Prime Ministers.

“You reflect the remarkable human talent and the indomitable spirit to overcome overwhelming odds, that is the signature of Israel. Whether it is irrigating the desert to make the sand green and agriculture possible, making revolutionary advances in medical technology, creating outstanding art, music and architecture,” he said. “Singapore looks to you and admires you, and we count our similarities.”

The Prime Minister noted that both Singapore and Israel are young nations, with Israel less than 70 years old, and Singapore having just turned 50.

“We both have had to integrate diverse groups to create a common sense of nationhood,” he said. “Both countries were born in adverse circumstances and have only our wits to survive on. Both are determined to thrive despite our circumstances, and build a better tomorrow for our children.”

But there are also striking contrasts between the two countries, such as their history and identities.

Israel has the Torah and Talmud, and traces back 5,000 years of Jewish history, while Singapore’s sense of identity is only as a modern state with a multi-racial and multi-religious make-up, said PM Lee.

Unlike Israel, which had to fight several wars to defend its right to exist, he said Singapore did not have to, except once in the 1960s, when the Republic had to defend itself during Konfrontasi, a low-intensity conflict launched by Indonesia against Malaysia — then including Singapore.

Despite the differences, he said “Israel’s story is one that resonates with Singaporeans and is a powerful inspiration to us”.

He also revealed that he has read two books on Israel that give contrasting accounts of the nation. One is a fictional book, Exodus by Leon Uris, that he read as a young man. “The story left a deep impression on me,” he said.

His father, the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew, read the book after him and commented that the author “did not miss a single opportunity to score a point about the justness of the cause and the passion of those who founded the state of Israel”.

PM Lee has just discovered that his father’s view was shared by former Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion who said: “As a literary work, it isn’t much. But as a piece of propaganda, it’s the greatest thing ever written about Israel.”

It is this passion, said the Prime Minister, that imbues the Israeli spirit with the determination to solve problems no matter how intractable and persistent.

“That tenacity and determination of a people who, having suffered the horrors of the Holocaust, resolved never again to be dependent on others,” he said. “The determination to solve whatever problems come your way ... The confidence that you will make tomorrow better, and step by step build a better future.”

PM Lee is currently reading another book, a non-fiction work by Ari Shavit titled “My Promised Land: The Triumph and The Tragedy”.

It is told through the experiences and reflections of individual Israelis, he said, but also through Arab eyes — of those who lived in Palestine before the settlers arrived.

“Shavit’s book makes it vividly clear how complex and tragic the Israeli-Palestinian problem is, and why a solution is so elusive,” he said.

The Prime Minister is on a week-long trip to the Middle East, where he is making his first official visit to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories. He received the honorary degree from Hebrew University’s Rector Asher Cohen and President Menahem Ben-Sasson in a simple but dignified ceremony that featured musical performances by Israeli singer Nizam Eshel.

Guests included Singaporean students studying in Israel.

The citation for the conferment noted Mr Lee’s leadership “as a champion of economic and civil reform, notably though his commitment to create a competitive economy and inclusive society” and his role in fostering longstanding friendly ties between Singapore and Israel.

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