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THE PRESIDENT

Jerusalem, March 19, 2020

Dear Friends,

It gives me the greatest pleasure to write to you as you gather to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the San Remo
Conference. There are few more seminal moments in the history of the return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel.
Holding a conference to mark its centenary is an important reminder.

For Israel as we know it today, and the region as a whole, would not look as it does without the agreement reached here,
one hundred years ago, by representatives of Great Britain, France, Italy and Japan. It was here that the victors of the First
World War implemented their plan for the independence of the former Ottoman Empire under a system of trusteeship
or mandates. The mandate for Palestine, as it was called then and was still called when I was born in Jerusalem in 1939,
was awarded to Great Britain. As a child, I remember gazing at the Union Jack flying over official buildings and wishing
for the time that our own flag would fly as it does today. That agreement incorporated the promise made by Britain to the
Zionist movement in 1917, to support “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, it being
clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish
communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.”

These words, including the promise to ensure full rights for all people of this land as well as to protect Jews around the
world, are the blueprint for the Jewish and democratic State of Israel and for our commitment and demand that Jews
everywhere can live full and open Jewish lives free of fear. It is also the outline of the current borders of the Middle East,
the work of determined leaders of the time to support self-determination for the people of the region. I believe that now,
one hundred years later, we have an opportunity to make changes that will create a new Middle East, a region of stability,
prosperity, security and liberty for all peoples, whatever their beliefs, languages and cultures.

I wish you much success in your conference and send you warmest greetings from Jerusalem.

Sincerely,

Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin