PM Netanyahu's Remarks at the Start of the Weekly Cabinet Meeting 25.5.14

PM Netanyahu's Remarks at the Start of the Weekly Cabinet Meeting 25.5.14: "We welcome the arrival of Pope Francis to the Land of Israel the Holy Land. His visit here is an opportunity to show the world the true Israel, the advanced, modern and tolerant Israel, in effect, the only country in the Middle East that ensures complete freedom of worship to those of all faiths, guards the holy places and ensures the rights of all – Jews, Muslims, Christians, everybody.

We appreciate the Pope's strong stand against anti-Semitism, especially in light of the surging Jew hatred that we have witnessed in recent days. Last's night's murder in Brussels is the result of constant incitement against the State of Israel by various elements in the Middle East and in Europe itself. There are elements in Europe that rush to condemn the construction of a flat in Jerusalem but do not rush to condemn – or offer only weak condemnations of – the murder of Jews here or in Europe itself and, even worse, welcome unity with a terrorist element such as Hamas, which calls for the destruction of the State of Israel. We oppose such hypocrisy, we protest against it, we will continue to always state the truth, we will continue to fight terrorism and we will continue to build up our state.

Today, we will submit to the Cabinet a proposal to integrate the ultra-orthodox in the public workplace, in the public economy. We do this, the Economy Minister and I, for the benefit of the ultra-orthodox community and to integrate it into the general labor market. I think that this is the right step in the right direction and there will be other steps."