PM Netanyahu Addresses the Knesset

Prime Minister Netanyahu: The situation in Egypt 2-Feb-2011
This is yesterday's remarks by Netanyahu to the Knesset regarding the situation in Egypt. Israel and Israelis are understandably nervous and worried about the turmoil there. Netanyahu said in part:

It is clear that an Egypt that rests on these institutions, an Egypt that is anchored in democratic values, would never be a threat to peace. On the contrary, if we have learned anything from modern history, it is that the stronger the foundations of democracy, the stronger the foundations of peace. Peace among democracies is strong, and democracy strengthens the peace.

The Iranian regime is not interested in seeing an Egypt that protects the rights of individuals, women, and minorities. They are not interested in an enlightened Egypt that embraces the 21st century. They want an Egypt that returns to the Middle Ages. They want Egypt to become another Gaza, run by radical forces that oppose everything that the democratic world stands for. 

We have two separate worlds here, two opposites, two world views: that of the free, democratic world and that of the radical world. Which one of them will prevail in Egypt?

We wish to support democracy but worry that it might bring our enemies to power, namely the Muslim Brotherhood.

Yossi Klein HaLevi remarked in yesterday's Times:

For Israel, then, peace with Egypt has been not only strategically but also psychologically essential. Israelis understand that the end of their conflict with the Arab world depends in large part on the durability of the peace with Egypt — for all its limitations, it is the only successful model of a land-for-peace agreement. 

For now we watch and wait--and pray.