30 Address by Foreign Minister Arens to the Conference on Jewish Solidarity with Israel- 21 March 1989

In my first three months as Israel's Foreign Minister, I have had the opportunity, the privilege, to meet many of the world's leaders, statesmen. I admire many of them; the meetings were important, but, without any hint of disrespect to them, I believe that my meeting with you today is the most important meeting I have had so far.

In a few days we are going to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty. You might expect that it would have been an occasion for the leaders of the two countries, for our Prime Minister, Yitzhak Shamir, for the Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, to meet together on Israeli soil, on Egyptian soil, on the border between Israel and Egypt, in order to send a message to the entire world, and to the Middle East in particular, that we have laid the foundation for peace between Israel and the Arab world in this very important, historic treaty, and that we are going to build on this foundation, together - the Israelis, the Egyptians - that comprehensive peace that Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat talked about and dreamed about ten years ago. But, as, I'm sure you must be aware, there will be no such meeting, there will be no such common celebration. And it is not because of lack of desire on our part, and it is not because of lack of good will on our part. On the Egyptian side, the circumstances are not considered appropriate. And I think that in many ways it tells you of the difficulties that we in Israel face, in peace-making in the area.

There was a celebration of other sorts, just the other day, on the 15th of March in Taba. That last square inch of "holy Arab soil," that our Defense Minister just referred to, was turned over to the Egyptians. It was on our side of the border, based on the line established in 1906, when the Ottoman Turks were on our side and the British on the Egyptian side. It was on the Egyptian side when the Mandatory border was laid down in the area in 1918, and the international board of arbitrators determined that it should now continue to be on the Egyptian side of the border. And we abided by the decision of the arbitrators. It was difficult for us to understand why, after the Egyptians had received the entire Sinai, with the oil wells and the airfields and the naval bases; after we had to remove our farmers from the fields near Yamit; after people had to be pulled out of their homes; after that price for peace also had to be paid - why it was so important that this one square kilometer, that had been nothing but desert in the days when it was under Egyptian rule, and in effect had become part of the Eilat tourist resort, why it was so essential. Why such a big issue was made of that tiny little territory, but the fact is that it was considered "holy Arab soil" and the fact is that last week it was turned over to the Egyptians. And the fact is that there was a great celebration there, and we heard cries of "Taba today, and all of Palestine tomorrow!" And we know what they mean when they say all of Palestine.

It took thirty years for the Egyptians to come to the peace table - thirty years and five wars, and thousands of Israelis and Egyptians killed on the sands of the Sinai. This was the third time, after the Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty, that the Israeli army left the Sinai: the first time in 1949, after the Egyptian invasion was repelled; the second time in 1956, after the Sinai campaign; and here again for the third time, and I hope the last time, in the wake of the Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty. When the treaty was signed, we were convinced that it would be a matter of months, a year or two, before the rest of the Arab countries would line-up and sign peace treaties with us. It did not happen. And all those concerned about the peace process, and we first and foremost, nobody needs to preach peace to us, we must examine the reasons why it is proceeding at so slow a pace and why after the largest Arab country has signed a peace treaty with us, Egypt, why the other Arab countries did not come forward: Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and so on down the line. Well, you know, there are many Arab rulers who do not want peace with Israel. They need it like a hole in the head, and there are others who are seared to come forward, because those who don't want it, don't want the others to come forward.

We are engaged in an effort, in a renewed effort, to see if we can bring representatives of Arab countries to the peace table. Yes, and we are engaged in an effort to see if we can bring the Palestinians to the peace table as well: King Hussein, who was the ruler of Judea and Samaria, until he joined Egypt and Syria in the invasion of Israel in '67; the residents of Judea and Samaria, the Palestinians - Jordanian citizens, to this day. He was for obvious reasons considered to be the natural, logical, only partner with whom we would have to deal on all matters concerning our eastern border, including the Palestinian question. He has been scared away. It started in September of 1970, when Arafat tried to take over Jordan. It has continued to this very day. He has been intimidated. He has disengaged himself from the West Bank and Gaza. He does not want to represent those people any more, at least that is what he is saying for the time being, and we accept that as a fact. And so we are looking for interlocutors on the ground for people who want a constituency, for people who represent the Palestinian population in the area. Talks with the Palestinians yes, talks with the PLO, no.

You see what is happening. All the Arab countries are keeping their distance. They are not coming to the peace table. Pressure is being put on Israel to start talking to the PLO, as if everything depended on that - not on Syria, not on Jordan, not on Lebanon, not on Saudi Arabia, not on any Arab country at war with Israel, not only Iraq with its massive chemical warfare potential. The PLO, that has become the crux of the matter; that is the point of the offensive; that is being directed against Israel. And some say: "Everything depends on that, peace in the area will not progress until Israel talks with the PLO." And others say: "Well, it's really no more than public relations. Israel should talk with the PLO, put it to the test, let it fail the test, and then it will be clear that you really do not have to talk to the PLO." Neither of these views is valid. It is not a trivial decision whether you talk to the PLO or not. It is not a test case that you can put aside after you have tried it. It is a one-way street to destabilize the entire region. It is, in the final analysis, a one-way street to war.

There are Palestinians in Israel, the Defense Minister just mentioned it, 700 thousand of them. Most of them citizens of the State of Israel. The PLO wants to speak for them, I say: "I speak for them." Israel's Foreign Minister speaks for them, Israel's Prime Minister speaks for them, not Arafat. They want to bring the intifada into Israel itself, to Jaffa and Haifa, and Ramla, the cities of Israel. We are not going to let them do it.

I may have a little disagreement with our Defense Minister, but I think it is no more than semantic. Jordan is a Palestinian state in everything but name. This is not empty rhetoric, this is geographic and political fact, and the PLO knows it. That is why they tried to take over Jordan in Black September. Jordan is three-quarters of the original Palestine Mandate. Its entire population are Arabs, or descendants of Arabs, who lived in Mandated Palestine. And those who insist on differentiating between East and West Palestinians, those coming from east of the Jordan River or west of the Jordan River, know, as King Hussein does, that 60% of the population of Jordan are of West Palestinian origin. There are more Palestinians in Jordan than there are in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. The PLO would like to speak for them, and the decision to talk to the PLO is the beginning of the end of King Hussein's rule of Jordan. We are not interested in that, that would only destabilize the area. They want to speak for the Palestinians in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, by shooting down everybody that does not toe the line, by telling the Mayor of Bethlehem to shut up, or else. And not a week goes by without a Palestinian in Nablus or Ramallah or Bethlehem or Gaza being assassinated, because he may not be totally committed to the PLO. They may speak for Palestinians, and what they call the Palestinian "diaspora". The PLO talks about "the right of return". My friends, that's a euphemism for the destruction of the State of Israel.

So some people say: "Well listen, they have got the bombs, they have got the guns, they've seared Hussein out of his wits, they are intimidating the population of Judea, Samaria and Gaza. They are in the process of subverting the Palestinian population of Israel itself. Accept that fact, give in to those threats, sit down and talk to them." We do not believe in giving in to threats. We do not believe in giving in to violence. We will talk to Hussein about Jordan, and we will identify the interlocutors amongst the Palestinian population in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, and we will talk to them about their problems, and their final status.

There is a sense of great urgency in the world. I say to the world leaders that I meet: "We feel that urgency even more than you. We appreciate your concern, we appreciate your desire to help." I think they can help, if everybody uses their comparative advantage. I have told Mr. Shevardnaze, the Soviet Foreign Minister, when I saw him in Cairo: "You have excellent relations with Syria, better than anybody else, than any of the great powers. Why don't you convince the Syrians to come and enter direct negotiations with Israel. That can be your contribution." He said: "That's a nice idea." Well, we are waiting to hear. I told Mrs. Thatcher, a great friend of Israel by the way, that certainly she could be helpful. She has a special relationship with us, she has a special relationship with Jordan. And when we think of what we can do, to make it possible, to make it worthwhile, for King Hussein to come to the peace table - and no significant progress could be made without Jordan joining the negotiations - I think that Mrs. Thatcher can be helpful, and I think she will be helpful. And President Mitterrand in France can help, with some of the special relationships that he has in the Arab world. But of course, the country that can make the signal contribution, that could make the difference, as it has ten years ago in Camp David, is the United States. And in my recent talks with the President of the United States and the Secretary of State, we concluded that we would make an intensive effort to move the peace process forward, while Israel and the United States work in concert, because that is the only way it can be done: if we work together.

Unfortunately, we find that many of the countries in the world, that want to assist, that want to move the peace process forward, are actively engaged in contacts with the PLO, and trying to urge these kind of contacts on Israel. That will not move the peace process forward. The intentions may be the best, the outcome is going to be counterproductive. Giving recognition and a sense of legitimacy to this terrorist organization can only encourage further acts of violence. And we see the results on our doorstep, and we see the results in the areas itself. We have had a higher frequency of attempted terrorist incursions on the borders of Israel, this past month or two, than we have had in years. The PLO continues to urge the population of Judea and Samaria and Gaza to go out and throw Molotov cocktails, rocks through the windshields of cars, knife people in the streets, that's terrorism. And worst of all, they terrorize the population, they shoot and assassinate the local population, anybody who does not agree with them, or anybody who is not suspected of agreeing with them.

But the most important role of all, aside from us here in Israel, to be played in these coming months and years is the role that has to be played by the world Jewish community. We are a small country, we are faced by the greatest odds in history. We have been successful in facing them, because we have stood courageously and firmly together with you. And those who have planned aggression, and those who have carried out aggression have known that they have to deal not only with us here in Israel, but with the Jewish people throughout the world. That is part of our determined posture today, our great relationship, the unity that characterizes the Jewish people, the alliance that has been established between Israel and the United States, in no small measure because of the role that the Jewish community in the United States has played in forging this alliance.

The danger that we face today, as a nation, as a country does not come from Molotov cocktails, and not from rocks, they are dangerous to individuals. They cause terrible personal tragedies. They cannot harm the State of Israel. But if this violence brings about in reality, or even in perception, a rift between Israel and the Jewish people, an erosion in that great relationship that has sustained us over the years, an erosion in the American-Israeli relationship, then my friends, mortal danger is lurking in the background. And, therefore, the challenge that faces you and us today, is to sustain that relationship, to strengthen it, and most important of all, to demonstrate it, and this is what we are doing here today. And you will find that when you return to your homes in the United States and Canada and Australia and the United Kingdom, France and South America, and all the countries that you have left in order to come and join us here, you will find that when you return home, Israel has become stronger because of your being here and closer to peace.