Deputy Prime Minister of Israel urges cooperation among moderates

Deputy Prime Minister of Israel Haim Ramon spoke at the 20th annual Soref Symposium. He spoke on the challenges facing Israel currently and some of its recent conflicts. He said that in the past the major challenge facing Israel has been the Israel Palestine conflict. Ramon however, said that currently the most important conflict is between moderate ideals and radical Islam in the Middle East.

He spoke on Syria and said that in order to understand Syria one must judge their actions and not their words. He said at times Syria has been supportive of peace with Israel but they still continue to support radical Islam. Ramon went on to say that the Doha Agreement was a victory for Syria because it strengthened Hezbollah in Lebanon.

He said that the main problem the international community is facing is lack of cooperation. Ramon said that in order to defeat radical Islam all moderate nations must cooperate against the radicals, because they are the biggest threat to freedom and democracy in the Middle East.

Ramon also outlined four issues that were key in the Israel Palestinian peace process. They include: the Palestine Israel border, Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, and security arrangements. These four issues are part of the two state solution that the Deputy Prime Minister supported in his speech. The solution calls for two states, with Jerusalem in both.