they cannot filibuster her on their own. they would be democrats. they have to basically when the public relations war over defining her. >> i think it will be interesting to see what how things play out their affects health care. the time lines are set up to converge on the senate floor when democrats are presumably going to be taking a lot of time to debate health care. if they are dealing with a real roadblock on supreme court nominee and trying to debate health care, it's questionable whether not both of those things might and that being pushed beyond the time lines democrats upset already and that would cause problems. >> i completely agree and that when that -- many times you find even if there is bipartisanship on one issue, if there is not on another, it can poison the well. if you are having a fight over judge sonia sotomayor, it can poison health care and vice versa. >> thank you very much for being

with us. >> thank you. thank you. >> the government funding of college costs directed to colleges and their student is a late 1950's and early 1960's thing that has grown rapidly since then. >> hillsdale college has never accepted government funding and today, not even government- backed student loans are permitted. >> title 4 of the higher education act is four hundred pages long. yet, we have a lawyer in town that tries to keep the government from giving us money and i want to ask him to send me a title for. he said i would not be able to read it. >> the president of bills fell college, tonight at 8 on "q &a" on c-span. >> this week on "prime

minister's questions" prime minister gordon brown discusses reform in the british parliament in the wake of misuse of expense accounts of by some of its members. he also talks about housing, including mortgage loans and funding for new construction and the government's policies on job retention. that's "prime minister's questions" tonight at 9:00 eastern. >> now, the israeli prime minister, benjamin and not -- benjamin netanyahu called on palestinian leaders to restart peace negotiations without preconditions. he made this call during a major policy speech and said palestinians must recognize israel as a jewish state. this is 30 minutes. [applause] >> honored guests, citizens of

the state of israel, peace has always been the desire of our nation. our prophets gave the world the vision of peace, we greet one another with wishes of peace and our prayers conclude with the word peace. we are gathered here this evening in an institution named for two pioneers of peace, menachem begin and anwar sadat. we share in their vision. 2 1/2 months ago, i took the oath of office as prime minister of israel. i pledged to establish a national unity government and i did. i believed and i still believe that unity was essential for us now more than ever as we face three immense challenges.

the iranian threat, the economic crisis, and the advancement of peace. the iranian threat looms large before us as we learned yesterday in full force. the greatest danger confronting israel, the middle east, and the entire world is the nexus between radical islam and nuclear weapons. i discussed this issue with president obama during my recent visit to washington and i will raise it again in my meetings next week with european leaders. for years, i have been working tirelessly to forge an international alliance to prevent iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. confronting a global economic

crisis, the government acted swiftly to stabilize israel's economy. we passed a two year budget in the government and the knesset will soon approve it. the third challenge, so exceedingly important, that which we face today, is the advancement of peace. i also spoke about this idea with president obama and i fully support the idea of a regional peace he is leading. i share the president's desire to bring about a new era of reconciliation in our region, to this end, i met first with president the bark and egypt and king abela and jordan to elicit the support of these leaders in expanding the circle of peace. i turn to all arab leaders tonight and say let us meet, let us speak of peace, let us make

peace. i am ready to meet with you at any time. i am willing to go to damascus, to riyadh, to beirut, to jerusalem also. [applause] i call on the arab countries to cooperate with the palestinians and with us to advance an economic peace. i would like to make it clear, an economic peace is not a substitute for political peace, but it is an important element to achieve it. together, we can undertake projects to overcome the scarcities of our region like water desalination or to maximize the advantages of this region like developing solar energy, or exploiting our geographic location to lay gas

and petroleum lines and transportation links between asia, africa, and europe. together, we can realize the entrepreneurship icy in the persian gulf. -- on a per ship i see in the persian gulf. i call on the talented entrepreneurs of the persian world to assist the palestinians in us and together we can envelop best -- to get a weekend develop industrial areas and create tourist sites that will attract millions of visitors eager to walk in the footsteps of history. in nazareth, and bethlehem, around the walls of jericho, and the walls of jerusalem, on the banks of the sea of the galilee, and the baptism site of the jordan. there is an enormous potential for archeological tourism, only

if learn to cooperate and to develop it. i turn to you, our palestinian neighbors, led by the palestinian authority, and i say let's begin negotiations immediately without preconditions. israel is obligated by its international commitments and expects all parties to keep their commitments as well. i say to the palestinians this evening, we want to live with you in peace as good neighbors. we want our children and your children to never again experience war. that parents, wives, husbands, brothers and sisters will never again know the agony of losing a loved one in battle. that our children will be able to live -- people to dream of a better future and realize that dream. that together, we will invest our energies in plowshares and burning hooks and not short -- not swords and spears.

i know the face of war. i have experienced battle. i have lost close friends. i lost a brother. i have seen the pain of bereaved families. up close and many times. i do not want war. no one in israel wants war. [applause] if we join hands and work together for peace, together with our neighbors, there is no limit to the development and prosperity we can achieve for our two peoples in the economy,

agriculture, trade, and tourism. most importantly in the ability to provide every under generation with a better world in which to live, a life of creativity, tranquility, opportunity, and interest and hope. my dear friends, if the advantages of peace are so evident, so obvious, we must ask ourselves why peace remains so remote from us, even as our hand remains outstretched to peace. why has this conflict continued for more than 60 years? in order to bring an end to the conflict, we must give an honest and forthright answer to the question, what is the root of the conflict? in his speech to the first

zionist conference, the founder of the zionist movement, theodore herzl, said about the national hall that this idea is so big we must speak of it only in the simplest turn. -- only in the simplest terms. today, i will speak about the immense challenge for peace in the simplest terms as possible, at i level. even as we look toward the horizon, we must be firmly connected to the reality, to truth. the simple truces is the root of the conflict was and remains at the refusal to recognize the right of the jewish people to a state of its own in its historic homeland. in 1947, when he would propose the partition plan of a jewish state and an arab state, the entire arab world rejected the

resolution, where is the jewish community welcomed it by dancing and rejoicing. the arabs rejected any jewish state and any borders. those who think the continued enmity toward israel is a problem of our continued presence is confusing cause and consequence. the attacks against us began in the 1920's, escalated into an all-out attack in 1948 with the declaration of israel's independence, continued with the fedayeen attacks in the 1950's and climaxed in 1967 on the eve of the six-day war in an attempt to tighten the noose around the neck of the state of israel. my dear friends, all of this occurred during the 50 years before a single israeli soldier ever set foot in judea and samaria. fortunately, egypt and jordan

have left this circle of enmity, the signing of peace treaties with them have brought an end to their claims against israel, and an end to the conflict. bringing peace. to our regret, this is the case with the palestinians. the closer we get to an agreement with them, the further they retreat. they raise their demands, demands inconsistent with a true desire to end the conflict. many good people have told us that withdrawal from territories is the key to peace with the palestinians. well, we withdrew. but the fact is every withdrawal was met with massive waves of terror, suicide bombers, and thousands of missiles. we tried to withdraw with an agreement and without. we tried a partial withdrawal and a full withdrawal. in the year 2000 and again last year, israel proposed out of goodwill, an almost total withdrawal in exchange for an

end to the conflict and twice, our offers were rejected. we evacuated every last inch of the gaza strip. we uprooted tens of settlements and evicted thousands of israelis from their homes. in response, we received hail of missiles on our cities, towns, and children. the claim that territorial withdrawals will bring peace with the palestinians or least advance peace up to now not listed the test of reality. moreover, hamas in the south, like hezbollah in the north, repeatedly repeated their claims. territorial withdrawals have not lessened the hatred. the most regretful thing is that even the moderates among palestinians are not willing to say the simple words -- is real

is the nation state of the jewish people and it will remain that way. [applause] in order to achieve peace, what is needed is courage and candor. from both sides. i today and speaking with courage and candor, but if courage and candor is needed not only from the israeli side, the palestinian leadership must arise and say simply, enough of this conflict. we recognize the right of the

jewish people to a state of its own in this land and we are prepared to live alongside you in true peace. i am yearning for that moment. for when palestinian leaders say these words to our people, these simple words, these true words, when they say this to our people, then, the path to resolving all problems between our peoples will be open, no matter how complex they may be and therefore a fundamental prerequisite for ending the conflict, is a public, binding, and unequivocal palestinian recognition of israel as a nation state of the jewish people. [applause]

to vest this declaration with practical meaning, there must also be a clear understanding that the palestinian refugee problem will be resolved outside israel's borders, for it is clear that any demand to resettle health in refugees within israel undermines israel's continued state of the jewish people. the palestinian refugee problem must be solved and i believe it can be resolved as we ourselves proved in a similar situation. tiny israel, without national resources, with a tiny piece of territory, successfully absorbed tens of thousands of jewish refugees who left their homes, penniless in arab countries.

justice and logic demand the problem must be resolved outside israel's borders. on this point, there is a broad national consensus here in israel. [applause] i believe that with goodwill and international investment, this humanitarian problem can be permanently resolved. so far, i have spoken about the need for palestinians to recognize our rights. in a moment, i will speak about our need to recognize their rights. but first, let me say the connection between the jewish people and the land of israel has lasted for more than 3500 years. judea and samaria are the places where abraham, isaac, and jacob, david, and solomon, isaiah, and jeremiah lived. this is not an alien land.

this is the land of our forefathers. [applause] the right of the jewish people to a state in the land of israel does not derive from the catastrophes that have plagued our people. true for 2000 years, the jewish people suffered expulsions, pogroms, blood rivals and massacres which culminated in a holocaust, a suffering that has no parallel in human history. there are those who say if holocaust had not occurred, the state of israel would have never been established. but i say that if the state of israel had been established in time, the holocaust would never have occurred. [applause]

this tragic history of powerlessness explains why the jewish people need a sovereign power of self-defense. but our right to build our state, our sovereign state here, in the land of israel arises from one simple fact. this is the homeland of the jewish people. this is where our identity was forged. [applause] as israel's first prime minister proclaimed in israel and declaration of independence, the jewish people arose in the land of israel and it is here that it

spiritual and religious character was shaped. he retains sovereignty and here in bequeathed to the world it's natural and cultural treasures and the most eternal of books. but, my friends, we must also tell the whole truth here. the truth in its entirety. that in this homeland of ours, lives a large palestinian community. we do not want to rule over them, govern their lives, and we do not want to impose our flag or culture on them. in my vision of peace, in this small land of ours, two free peoples live side by side in amity and mutual respect. each will have its own flag, its own national anthem, and its own government. neither will threaten the security or survival of the other. these two realities, our connection to the land of

israel and the palestinian population living within it have created deep divisions within israeli society. the truth is we have much more that unites us than divides us. i have come this evening to give expression to this idea and to the expression of peace and security in which there is broad and agreement in israeli society. these are the principles the guide our policy. this policy must take into account the international situation that has recently developed. we must recognize this reality and at the same time stand firmly on those principles essential for israel. i have already stressed the first principle -- recognition. the palestinians must clearly and unambiguously recognize israel as the state of the jewish people. the second principle is demilitarization. the territory under palestinian control must be demilitarized.

with ironclad security provisions for israel. without these two conditions, there is a real danger that an armed palestinian state would emerge that would become yet another terrorist base against the jury -- against the jewish state such as the one in gaza. we do not want to sahn rockets or rockets on tel aviv. we want peace. [applause] in order to achieve peace, we must ensure that palestinians will not be able to import missiles into their territory to field an army, to close their airspace to us or make pacts with the likes of hezbollah and iran.

on this point as well, there is a very wide consensus in israel. it is impossible to expect us to agree in advance to the principle of a palestinian state without assurances this state will be to militarize. on a matter so critical to the existence of israel, we must first our security needs addressed. therefore, we ask our friends in the international community today, led by the united states, for what is critical to the security of israel, clear- cut that meant that in a future peace agreement, the territory controlled by the palestinians will be demilitarized, namely without an army, without control of its airspace, with effective security measures to prevent weapons smuggling into the territory. real monitoring, and not what is happening today in gaza.

it is obvious that palestinians will not be able to forge military pacts. without this, sooner or later, these territories will become another hamastan and that isn't -- that is something we cannot accept. israel must stop -- israel must control its security and fate. i told president obama that if we could agree on the substance, the terminology would not pose a problem. here is the substance i now state clearly -- if we receive this guarantee regarding demilitarization and israel's security needs and if the palestinians recognize israel as the state of the jewish people, then we will be ready in a future peace agreement to reach a solution where a demilitarized palestinian state exists alongside the jewish state. [applause]

regarding the remaining important issues that will be discussed as part of the final settlement, my positions are known. israel needs defensible borders and jerusalem must remain the united capital of israel with continued religious freedom for all faiths. [applause] the territorial question will be discussed as part of the final peace agreement. in the meantime, we have no intention of building new settlements or expropriating additional land for settlements. but there is a need to enable residents to live normal lives, to allow mothers and fathers to raise children like families everywhere. the settlers are neither the enemies of the people nor are they the enemies of peace. they are our brothers and sisters. [applause]

pioneers, zionists, principled people. unity among the last -- unity among us is essential. unity among us will help us achieve reconciliation with our neighbors. that reconciliation must begin today by altering existing realities on the ground. i believe a strong palestinian economy will strengthen peace. it will strengthen the moderates, it will weaken the extremists. if the palestinians turn toward peace and fighting terror and strengthening governance and the rule of law, in educating their children for peace and stopping incitement against israel, we will do our part in making every effort to facilitate freedom of movement and access to enable

them to develop their economy. all of this will help us advance a peace treaty. but above all else, the palestinians must decide between the path of peace and the path of hamas. the palestinian authority must overcome hamas in the gaza strip. israel will not sit at the negotiating table with terrorists who seek its destruction. [applause] hamas will not even allow the red cross to visit our kidnapped soldier, who has spent three years in captivity cut off from

his family and his people. we are committed to bringing him home safe and sound. [applause] with a palestinian leadership committed to peace, with the active participation of the arab world and the support of the united states and the international community, there is no reason why we cannot achieve a breakthrough to peace. our people have already proved they can do the impossible. over the past 61 years, while constantly having to defend our existence, we have performed wonders. our microchips are powering the world's computers. our medications are treating diseases once considered incurable. incurable. our drip irrigation is bringing