Posted on April 21, 2010 at 8:30am
In an address in English to the foreign diplomatic corps in Israel on its Independence Day, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman began by citing a remark made forty years earlier by the late Prime Minister Menachem Begin declared: "Citizens of Israel, let us set Jerusalem above our highest joy! …It is our right to reaffirm on the day of our rededication of our national independence, that the city, north and south, east and west, is entirely under Israel's sovereignty, our eternal capital city! It cannot be divided! And will never again be divided! Neither directly, nor indirectly!"
Begin, Lieberman said, "expressed the eternal connection between Jews everywhere and Jerusalem, which existed then and exists today. Begin made that statement as Israel and Egypt were implementing the historic peace agreement between them. It did not stand in the way of peace. Today, I stand before you in Jerusalem, as Israel's Foreign Minister, and reaffirm late Prime Minister Begin's statement: Jerusalem is our undivided, eternal capital!"
"As Israel proved time and again, especially during PM Begin's right wing government, we yearn for peace and can achieve peace with a genuine partner. That was the case when we signed peace agreements with President Sadat and later with the late King Hussein of Jordan. These historic peace agreements were made possible because we had genuine partners, as well as a supportive international environment. Today, as in the past, a genuine partner and a conducive international environment are critical to progress in any peace process."
"The State of Israel has proven time and again that it is prepared to pay a high price for peace with its neighbors and has already evacuated territory three times its size. In the last year alone, the current government, which is center-right, has made many significant gestures and confidence-building measures towards the Palestinians. In order to make progress beyond the current deadlock, we must now create a new reality in the region based on security for Israelis, economic prosperity for Palestinians, and stability for both. Only then will it be possible to negotiate a final agreement between the parties."
"Any attempt to force a solution on the parties without establishing a foundation of mutual trust will only deepen the conflict. Peace cannot be enforced, it must be built," he said.
"Israel is an island of democracy and freedom in the Middle East. We are an ancient people that returned to its historic homeland. In little more than six decades, a fleeting moment in history, Israel has transformed itself from a tiny nation surrounded by hostility into a high-tech powerhouse. We transformed the desert into a source of life and our knowledge and knowhow into a national reserve of creativity and excellence."
"There is much that we can contribute to the world and the region in the years to come and I am certain you will be there with us as partners."
The ambassadors and consuls stayed for falafel and hummus.
15 April 2010
Dear President Obama:
I write today as a proud American and a proud Jew.
Jews around the world are concerned today. We are concerned about the nuclear ambitions of an Iranian regime that brags about its genocidal intentions against Israel. We are concerned that the Jewish state is being isolated and delegitimized.
Mr. President, we are concerned about the dramatic deterioration of diplomatic relations between the United States and Israel.
The Israeli housing bureaucracy made a poorly timed announcement and your Administration branded it an “insult.” This diplomatic faux pas was over the fourth stage of a seven stage planning permission process – a plan to build homes years from now in a Jewish area of Jerusalem that under any peace agreement would remain an integral part of Israel.
Our concern grows to alarm as we consider some disturbing questions. Why does the thrust of this Administration’s Middle East rhetoric seem to blame Israel for the lack of movement on peace talks? After all, it is the Palestinians, not Israel, who refuse to negotiate.
Israel has made unprecedented concessions. It has enacted the most far reaching West Bank settlement moratorium in Israeli history.
Israel has publicly declared support for a two-state solution. Conversely, many Palestinians continue their refusal to even acknowledge Israel’s right to exist.
The conflict’s root cause has always been the Palestinian refusal to accept Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people. Every American President who has tried to broker a peace agreement has collided with that Palestinian intransigence, sooner or later. Recall President Clinton’s anguish when his peace proposals were bluntly rejected by the Palestinians in 2000. Settlements were not the key issue then.
They are not the key issue now.
Another important question is this: what is the Administration’s position on Israel’s borders in any final status agreement? Ambiguity on this matter has provoked a wave of rumors and anxiety. Can it be true that America is no longer committed to a final status agreement that provides defensible borders for Israel? Is a new course being charted that would leave Israel with the indefensible borders that invited invasion prior to 1967?
There are significant moves from the Palestinian side to use those indefensible borders as the basis for a future unilateral declaration of independence. How would the United States respond to such a reckless course of action?
And what are America’s strategic ambitions in the broader Middle East? The Administration’s desire to improve relations with the Muslim world is well known. But is friction with Israel part of this new strategy? Is it assumed worsening relations with Israel can improve relations with Muslims? History is clear on the matter: appeasement does not work. It can achieve the opposite of what is intended.
And what about the most dangerous player in the region? Shouldn’t the United States remain focused on the single biggest threat that confronts the world today? That threat is a nuclear armed Iran. Israel is not only America’s closest ally in the Middle East, it is the one most committed to this Administration’s declared aim of ensuring Iran does not get nuclear weapons.
Mr. President, we embrace your sincerity in your quest to seek a lasting peace. But we urge you to take into consideration the concerns expressed above. Our great country and the tiny State of Israel have long shared the core values of freedom and democracy. It is a bond much treasured by the Jewish people. In that spirit I submit, most respectfully, that it is time to end our public feud with Israel and to confront the real challenges that we face together.
Yours sincerely,
Ronald S. Lauder
President
World Jewish Congress