Ladies and Gentlemen, 

Allow me to thank David Harris for those kind words of introduction, and the Board of Governors of the American Jewish Committee for giving me the honour to speak to you this evening. 

One year after the attacks of 9/11, I was in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly. I had the honour and pleasure to be the dinner guest of the Executive Committee of the American Jewish Committee. We talked late into the night, about history, geography, politics and the problems of the world. On some things we disagreed. But on one thing we were all agreed. There needed to be a better, broader dialogue between the two sides of the Atlantic. I am delighted that, thanks to the generosity of the Baruch family, the American Jewish Committee has acted in very concrete fashion to contribute to that dialogue by establishing the Transatlantic Institute here in Brussels. 

For my many Jewish friends here this evening the Magem David - the Star of David - is a symbol of their religious faith. For my many Israeli friends it is a symbol of their nation. In its two interlocked triangles I see also a symbol of two other triangles. These are two triangles that, in the decades to come, will have a major bearing on the fortunes of us all. The first triangle is that between America, Europe and Israel. The second triangle is that between Judaism, Christianity and Islam. 

Let me begin by talking about that first triangle. In the bonds that link America, Europe and Israel we find the foundations of our civilisation. What are these bonds? What do we share? 

To begin with, we have a common political heritage. We share certain convictions about human rights. We place a high value on the freedom of conscience. We are guided by the importance of evidence in the search for truth. We believe that ideas should be tested through criticism, dialogue and debate. These things are the pillars of our civilisation. Although founded in religion, all these ideas have their secular expression. They are the foundations of our modern democracies. 

We have a shared culture also, thanks in no small part to the massive Jewish contribution to the arts, literature, philosophy, music and science. The richness and diversity we see in all these fields owes much to Jewish creativity. 

And, of course, we have a shared history. It is a history of both the best and the worst that mankind is capable of. In that history we see inspiring episodes: of mutual enrichment and progress, of liberty and liberation, of the sharing and development of ideas that have shaped the world we live in today. But we see also shameful episodes: of expulsion and Diaspora; of pogroms and emigration; of discrimination and persecution. And in the Holocaust we see a crime of unparalleled proportions that has forever scarred the heart and the conscience of Europe. 

What Churchill described as "the tragedy of Europe" provided the impetus not only to the creation of the State of Israel in 1947, but also to the transformation of Europe. The Europe that has grown and developed into the European Union has embraced reconciliation and turned away from nationalism. It has rejected the idea of Carl Schmitt that the fundamental organising principle of politics should be the antithesis between friend and foe. 

Today, we are less than 100 days away from achieving an historic unification of Europe. With American help, a continent in ruins, a continent divided by war and ideology, has been transformed into what Kofi Annan described last month as "a shining light of tolerance, human rights, and international cooperation." 

Simone Veil, Auschwitz survivor and first President of the European Parliament, has said that the witnesses to the Holocaust have no right to forget. I believe that no European has the right to forget. All Europeans have the obligation to remember. It is in that spirit that this new Europe has been built. A Europe of tolerance, of peace, of human rights. A Europe with the obligation to remember, but also with the capacity to act. Europe is aware of its responsibilities - those of the past and those of the future. 

Europe's special responsibility - both moral and historical - creates a unique relationship with Israel. We are committed to Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, where all Israeli citizens have a right to live in peace, security and dignity. And we respect the Israeli Government's right and duty to protect its citizens. But we are also convinced that the best way to secure these rights, the only lasting way to secure them, is through the creation of an independent, democratic Palestinian state. 

Today, it is not just Israel's peace and security that is at stake. It is ours too. Israel is our friend and our neighbour. The Middle East is on Europe's doorstep. War and terror, if allowed to continue, will not be contained to the streets of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. With every new atrocity we must become more determined, not less, to find lasting peace and security. 

To a people traumatised by more than three years of sickening terrorist attacks, the European message of peace may sound naive. It is meant as the practical advice of a candid friend. Experience - not theory - tells us that the bitterest of enemies can be reconciled. It was a peace based on justice and political compromise, together with the active and generous support of America that allowed Europe to replace conflict with co-existence. 

Of course, the Arab-Israeli conflict does not present the same diagnosis. But some of the prescription is the same. The idea that violence will prevail - whether it is blind and bloody, or organised and uniformed - must be dismissed. Those moderate voices that reject violence must be given encouragement. Reform and openness to compromise must be rewarded. And there must be a sustained, determined international involvement. Europe is ready to play her part - not as a sponsor of one side or the other, or as a counterweight, but as a partner of all parties in the search for lasting peace. 

This brings me to the second triangle of which I spoke - that between Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The three sides of this triangle are present in all of our societies today - in the United States, in Europe and in Israel and the Palestinian territories. The capacity of our societies to flourish, perhaps to survive, depends on finding the means of co-existence. 

It is a triangle with common roots. Abraham is the common ancestor for Jews, Christians and Muslims. But successful co-existence is not guaranteed by shared origins. It will be achieved only through mutual respect and tolerance. That means attacking ignorance and promoting reason. It means attacking injustice and promoting human rights. And it means recognising the equal worth of all people, whatever their nationality, colour or religion. 

Simon Wiesenthal once noted that "tolerance and human rights require each other". A climate of tolerance succeeds best where the human rights of all are guaranteed, and the best guarantee of the respect of human rights is where tolerance prevails. 

Tolerance and mutual respect must begin in our own societies. None of us must show the slightest complacency about racism - of any form. Europeans, more than anyone else, must be alive to the dangers of anti-Semitism. I will repeat what I have stated before. Recent acts and expressions of anti-Semitism in Europe are outrageous. The burning of Synagogues, the physical and verbal abuse of Jews in the street, the desecration of cemeteries. This must stop. It is an attack, not just against Jews, but against the Europe of which we are so proud - the Europe of tolerance, of peace, of human rights. 

But let us not confuse two very different things. Acts and expressions of anti-Semitism within the European Union are not acts and expressions of anti-Semitism by the European Union. The policies of the European Union are neither anti-Semitic nor anti-Israel. 

I think that Jonathan Sacks, the Chief Rabbi of Britain, got it right when he said that: 

"No nation is perfect. No nation is above criticism. A democracy must welcome criticism - and Israel is a democracy. Indeed it was the prophets of ancient Israel who invented the institution of self-criticism three thousand years ago. To this day, Jews are gold medallists in the art of self-criticism." 

Former Israeli Foreign Minister, Abba Eban made the same point when he said, "We are the nation who can't take yes as an answer." 

Yes, there are boundaries to legitimate criticism. I recognise that. We have a duty of vigilance. We must draw a line between legitimate criticism and vilification. 

Suspicion and antagonism are not inevitable between religions. The Jews expelled from my home country, Spain, lived in peace and harmony in the Muslim countries where they settled for many centuries. In the Palestinian territories, towns that today are synonymous with communal strife and violence were for centuries a model of peaceful co-existence between Jews and Muslims. And if centuries of co-existence can be overturned, then so can centuries of prejudice. In our own lifetimes we have witnessed a remarkable reconciliation between the Catholic Church and Jews. 

The dialogue achieved between Jews and Christians must be extended to Islam. This dialogue must begin with a rejection of violence. I welcome the statements of religious leaders of all three great faiths condemning violence in the name of religion as a desecration to religion. A united rejection of incitement, hatred and misrepresentation are essential beginnings. 

But, at a political level, dialogue cannot end with the fact of violence. It must also address the sources of this violence. Replacing the current matrix of hatred and hurt, of humiliation and injustice is a daunting task. It is one that demands that Jew, Christian and Muslim afford each other mutual respect. It is one that will require the combined energies of the United States, Europe and Israel, and of Israel's neighbours. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

I applaud the work done by the American Jewish Committee in strengthening the links between all the elements of these two interlocking triangles. You have worked in the best traditions of that shared political heritage of which I spoke - openness, dialogue, and respect for the views of others. I am sure that these values will guide the important work of the Transatlantic Institute. I wish the Institute every success. 

Thank you.