The Israel-Arab Reader (98 page)

Mr. Chairman, you said at the White House that no Israel mother should have to worry if her son or daughter is late coming home. Your words touched many people. You said much the same thing today. We must invest those words with the weight of reality in the minds of every person in Israel and every Palestinian. I feel this all the more strongly because the act of a few can falsify the image of the many. How many times have we seen it? How many times has it happened to us? We both know it is profoundly wrong to equate Palestinians in particular and Islam in general with terrorism, or to see a fundamental conflict between Islam and the West. For the vast majority of the more than one billion Muslims in the world, tolerance is an article of faith and terrorism a travesty of faith.

I know that in my own country, where Islam is one of the fastest growing religions, we share the same devotion to family and hard work and community. When it comes to relations between the United States and Palestinians, we have come far to overcome our misperceptions of each other. Americans have come to appreciate the strength of your identity and the dept of your aspirations. And we have learned to listen to your grievances as well. I hope you have begun to see America as your friend.

I have tried to speak plainly to you about the need to reach out to the people of Israel, to understand the pain of their children, to understand the history of their fear and mistrust, their yearning, gnawing desire for security, because that is the only way friends can speak and the only way we can move forward. I took the same liberty yesterday in Israel. I talked there about the need to see one's own mistakes, not just those of others; to recognize the steps others have taken for peace, not just one's own; to break out of the politics of absolutes; to treat one's neighbors with respect and dignity. I talked about the profound courage of both peoples and their leaders which must continue in order for a secure, just and lasting peace to occur; the courage of Israelis to continue turning over territory for peace and security; the courage of Palestinians to take action against all those who resort to and support violence and terrorism; the courage of Israelis to guarantee safe passage between the West Bank and Gaza and allow for greater trade and development; the courage of Palestinians to confiscate illegal weapons of war and terror; the courage of Israelis to curtail closures and curfews that remain a daily hardship; the courage of Palestinians to resolve all differences at the negotiating table; the courage of both peoples to abandon the rhetoric of hate that still poisons public discourse and limits the vision of your children; and the courage to move ahead to final status negotiations together, without either side taking unilateral steps or making unilateral statements that could prejudice the outcome whether governing refugee settlements, borders, Jerusalem, or any other issue encompassed by the Oslo Accord. Now, it will take good faith, mutual respect and compromise to forge a final agreement. I think there will be more breakdowns, frankly; but I think there will be more breakthroughs, as well. There will be more challenges to peace from its enemies. And so I ask you today never to lose sight of how far you have come. With Chairman Arafat's leadership already you have accomplished what many said was impossible. The seemingly intractable problems of the past can clearly find practical solutions in the future. But it requires a consistent commitment and a genuine willingness to change heart.

As we approach this new century, think of this: think of all the conflicts in the 20th century that many people thought were permanent that have been healed or are healing. Two great world wars between the French and the Germans; they're best friends. The Americans and the Russians, the whole Cold War, now we have a constructive partnership. The Irish Catholics and Protestants; the Chinese and the Japanese; the black and white South Africans; the Serbs, the Croats and the Muslims in Bosnia all have turned from conflict to cooperation. Yes, there is still some distrust; yes, there's still some difficulty but they are walking down the right road together. And when they see each other's children, increasingly they only see children, together. When they see the children crying they realize the pain is real, whatever the child's story. In each case there was a vision of greater peace and prosperity and security.

In biblical times, Jews and Arabs lived side by side. They contributed to the flowering of Alexandria. During the Golden Age of Spain, Jews, Muslims and Christians came together in an era of remarkable tolerance and learning a third of the population laid down its tools on Friday, a third on Saturday, a third on Sunday. They were scholars and scientists, poets, musicians, merchants and statesmen, setting an example of peaceful coexistence that we can make a model for the future. There is no guarantee of success or failure today, but the challenge of this generation of Palestinians is to wage an historic and heroic struggle for peace.

Again I say this is an historic day. I thank you for coming. I thank you for raising your hands. I thank you for standing up. I thank you for your voices. I thank you for clapping every time I said what you were really doing was reaching deep into the heart of the people of Israel. Chairman Arafat said he and Mrs. Arafat are taking Hillary and Chelsea and me, we're going to Bethlehem tomorrow. For a Christian family to light the Christmas tree in Bethlehem is a great honor. It is an interesting thing to contemplate that in this small place, the home of Islam, Judaism and Christianity the embodiment of my faith was born a Jew and is still recognized by Muslims as a prophet. He said a lot of very interesting things. But in the end he was known as the Prince of Peace. And we celebrate at Christmas-time the birth of the Prince of Peace. One reason He is known as the Prince of Peace is he knew something about what it takes to make peace. And one of the wisest things He ever said was, “We will be judged by the same standard by which we judge; but mercy triumphs over judgment.”

In this Christmas season, in this Hanukkah season, on the edge of Ramadan, this is a time for mercy and vision and looking at all of our children together. You have reaffirmed the fact that you now intend to share this piece of land without war, with your neighbors, forever. They have heard you. They have heard you. Now, you and they must now determine what kind of peace you will have. Will it be grudging and mean-spirited and confining, or will it be generous and open? Will you begin to judge each other in the way you would like to be judged? Will you begin to see each other's children in the way you see your own? Will they feel your pain and will you understand theirs? Surely, to goodness, after five years of this peace process, and decades of suffering, and after you have come here today and done what you have done, we can say, enough of this gnashing of teeth, let us join hands and proudly go forward together.

. . . . Now it is our duty to complete the mission, and establish a comprehensive peace in the Middle East which has known so much war. It is our duty to ourselves and our children to take decisive measures to strengthen Israel by ending the Arab-Israeli conflict. This government is determined to make every effort, pursue every path and do everything necessary for Israel's security, the achievement of peace and the prevention of war. We have an historic obligation to take advantage of the “window of opportunity” which has opened before us in order to bring long-term security and peace to Israel. We know that comprehensive and stable peace can be established only if it rests, simultaneously, on four pillars: Egypt, Jordan, and Syria and Lebanon, in some sense as a single bloc, and of course the Palestinians. As long as peace is not grounded on all these four pillars, it will remain incomplete and unstable.

The Arab countries must know that only a strong and self-confident Israel can bring peace. Here, today, I call upon all the leaders of the region to extend their hands to meet our outstretched hand, and toward a “peace of the brave,” in a region which has known so much war, blood and suffering. To our neighbors the Palestinians, I wish to say: the bitter conflict between us has brought great suffering to both our peoples. Now, there is no reason to settle accounts over historical mistakes. Perhaps things could have been otherwise, but we cannot change the past; we can only make the future better. I am not only cognizant of the sufferings of my people, but I also recognize the sufferings of the Palestinian people.

My ambition and desire is to bring an end to violence and suffering, and to work with the elected Palestinian leadership, under Chairman Yasser Arafat, in partnership and respect, in order to jointly arrive at a fair and agreed settlement for coexistence in freedom, prosperity and good neighborliness in this beloved land where the two peoples will always live. To Syrian President Hafez Assad, I say that the new Israeli government is determined, as soon as possible, to advance the negotiations for the achievement of full, bilateral treaty of peace and security, on the basis of Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. We have been tough and bitter adversaries on the battlefield. The time has come to establish a secure and courageous peace which will ensure the futures of our peoples, our children and our grandchildren. It is my intention to bring an end to the IDF presence in Lebanon within one year, to deploy the IDF, through agreement, along the border, and to bring our boys home while also taking the necessary measures to guarantee the welfare and security of residents along the northern border, as well as the future of the Lebanese security and civilian assistance personnel who have worked alongside us, over all these years, for the sake of the residents of the region. I wish to take advantage of this opportunity to praise the residents of Kiryat Shmona and communities along the confrontation line for their firm stand in the face of the Katyushas. From here, on behalf of us all, I offer my support to them. Their determination and the strength of the IDF are what will enable us to create the new situation. . . .

The Government's objective will be to act, at the same time, to bring peace closer on all fronts, but without compromising on Israel's security needs and most vital interests first and foremost among them, a united Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel, under our sovereignty. We will not be deterred by the difficulties. I know very well that difficult negotiations, replete with crises and ups and downs, await us before we reach our desired goal. I can only promise that, if the other side displays the same degree of determination and good will to reach an agreement as on our side, no force in the world will prevent us from achieving peace here. In this context, I attach the greatest importance to the support of our partners to peace treaties: Egypt and Jordan. I believe that President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah can play a vital role in creating the dynamics and an atmosphere of trust so needed for progress toward peace. They can also advance education for peace among the children of Egypt and Jordan, the Palestinians and, in the future, also of Syria and Lebanon education for peace, which is a condition for any longterm, stable peace. I am convinced that King Hassan of Morocco can also contribute to this, as can other countries who already, in the past, opened channels of communication with Israel, cooperating with the peace process in various spheres. My aspiration will be to firmly resume these contacts in order to create a favorable regional atmosphere that can assist the negotiations. The guarantee of the peace agreements and their implementation lies in the strength of the Israel Defense Forces. As such, we will attend to bolstering the IDF, the quality of its commanders and soldiers, its equipment with the best educational and technological systems training and fitness, its ability to always be prepared to deter and provide a response to distant and near dangers, and to all kinds of threats, whether conventional or otherwise. . . .

1.2 The Government of Israel will act to bring an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict through peaceful means, and by standing firm on Israel's national security, integrity and development. The Government will strive to establish peace based on mutual respect, ensuring the security and other vital interests of the State and offering personal security for all its citizens. . . .

2.1 The Government views peace as a basic value of life in Israel, whose sources draw on the vision of the Prophets, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence and in the continued yearning of the Israeli people for peace and security. The Government believes that it is possible to bring an end to the cycle of blood-shed in our region. Making peace is grounded in the strength of the IDF and on the overall strength of Israel, on the deterrent capabilities of the State, and on the desire for stability in the Middle East that will allow resources to be directed toward economic and social development.

2.2 Peace is a component in the national security conception and the foreign relations of Israel. The arrangements and peace treaties to which Israel will be a partner will be grounded in the preservation of the security and national interests of Israel, resting on the broad support of the people in Israel.

2.3 The Government will cultivate the strength of the IDF as the defensive and deterrent force of Israel.

2.4 The Government will conduct an all-out war against terrorist organizations and the initiators and perpetrators of terrorism, and guarantee the personal security of all residents of Israel.

2.5 As part of its policy to bring about and establish peace in the Middle East, the Government will act toward the development of mechanisms for political, economic, scientific and cultural cooperation between peoples of the region.

2.6 The Government will act to accelerate the negotiations with the Palestinians, based on the existing process, with a view toward ending the conflict with a permanent settlement that guarantees the security and vital interests of Israel. The permanent settlement with the Palestinians will be submitted for approval in a referendum.