The bulk of the Prime Minister's address was devoted to the threat to Israel emanating from Iraq and Iran. The Iraqi crisis was at its height and the Prime Minister reminded the Palestinians, some of whom were demonstrating their support for Sadam Hussein, what befell them in 1948 and how much they were now dependent on Israel and its economy. Text:
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to address you today.
I don't know if you realize the significance of this date. Today we are observing the first month, the first 30 consecutive days since we took office, in which neither the press nor the Opposition predicted the imminent collapse of this government. I see this is a healthy awakening to reality. This government is here to stay. We are here to fulfill our commitments to the voters who elected us to lead this country to peace, prosperity and security.
As the elected government of Israel, we expect the support of organized Jewry abroad
The American Jewish Committee is a central Jewish organization. It represents reason and moderation. And I believe that precisely because you represent reason and moderation, you should support the policies of this government.
I don't have to tell you that your work is important to Israel and world Jewry. Under the present leadership of President Robert Rifkind, Chairman Bruce Ramer and Executive Director David Harris you have done invaluable work at the UN, in Germany, in Russia and in Israel. And as an Israeli and a Jew, I am particularly grateful to the Director of the Israel Office, Joseph Alper, for his help on the conversion issue.
What we all consider a primary purpose today is the achievement of peace with security. I know that the prevailing mood about the prospects of peace is pessimistic. But I believe this pessimism is unwarranted. We can achieve peace. It is not going to be easy. And the events of the past few days are a good example of the difficulties we face.
Yesterday, the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat launched activities commemorating the 50th anniversary of what he termed "the great disaster" - the establishment of the State of Israel. Arafat also threatened violence and terrorism if the Oslo process does not meet his expectations, and said he would declare a Palestinian state in May of the next year, no matter what. Such declarations are in themselves a violation of the Oslo agreement. If Arafat realizes his threats, the Oslo agreement will be scuttled, not just violated.
To me this is tragic. It reminds me of what Abba Eban said about the Palestinians never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity. What the Palestinians now call the great disaster of 1948 could have been the greatest step forward in their history. In 1948, they chose to reject a peaceful solution. We accepted the UN compromise despite the terrible pain we felt at the prospect of giving up half of Eretz Yisrael. But they rejected this compromise. It was this Palestinian rejection, not the establishment of Israel, which created the great disaster they are now commemorating.
Their suffering as a result of that decision was terrible. Thousands were killed. Hundreds of thousands lost their homes, their livelihood, their dignity. They became refugees. Unlike the 800,000 Jewish refugees from Arab countries who were absorbed by Israel, they were left to fester in refugee camps. Their plight is one of the great tragedies of the post-war era. Now they seem to be bent on making the same mistake.
Instead of sitting down with us to hammer out an agreement, they are demonstrating for Saddam Hussein. Instead of living up to their commitment to repeal the Palestinian Covenant which calls for our destruction, they are threatening us with violence. Instead of fighting terrorism and extraditing wanted terrorists they are glorifying the terrorists who have blown up buses and murdered women and children in market places and pedestrian malls. Instead of reducing the size of their armed forces, the Palestinians are smuggling weapons into their territories, and their police stand by as demonstrators and rioters burn American and Israeli flags.
It will be a terrible shame if the Palestinians choose violence again, as they did in 1948. It will be a terrible shame if they choose to bring another disaster on themselves instead of the peace and prosperity which are within reach.
We are often told that the reason for what the Palestinians do is their frustration. Not too long ago we were told that the reason for Palestinian frustration is that they are under "occupation", that they do not have self rule and their own government offices, that they do not have a flag and their own armed forces, that they don't have their own legislature, courts, international recognition and so on.
Well, now they have all these things. Every last one of them. Few realize that today 98 percent of the Palestinian population lives under Palestinian administration. Few realize that the number of Palestinians working in Israel in 1997 was larger than in any year since the beginning of the intifada. Few realize that in 1997, Palestinian income from work and business in Israel was more than double what it was in 1995. It constituted 63% of the Palestinian budget.
If the pace of the peace process is slow it is because the Palestinians are still unwilling to live up to their commitments and to talk about the real issues, the issues of the final status. These final status talks were supposed to begin in 1996. We should enter them now, immediately, on an accelerated course. We should negotiate and negotiate, talk and talk, until we find a solution. There is no other way.
In negotiating a peace agreement we must have one goal in mind above everything else: Israel's security. We must never take chances on security. We must not, we cannot risk our security.
If nothing else, the Iraqi crisis reminds us of the kind of neighborhood we live in. Iraq threatens not only Israel; it threatens all its neighbors. But Iraq's threat is ameliorated by UN inspection. Had there been no such inspection in recent years, the threat would have been far more ominous.
Iran is not under such inspection. It can freely develop weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them. It can only do so with the active assistance of other nations. The world must act to stop this assistance. Unless it does, Iran will have missiles which can hit Israel within a year. Once the technology is acquired and applied, Iran will be able to develop missiles which can reach half of Europe. Within a few years it will develop missiles which will reach the U.S. The efforts to stop this development must be considered top priority in every government office of the free world.
Iran and Iraq form the second circle of our neighbors. Think what would have happened today had a Palestinian state been in place here now. Think of the kind of threat an alliance between such a state and Iraq or Iran could have posed to Israel.
The challenges we face are formidable. But I am convinced that we shall be able to meet them. We are not just the State of Israel. We are the Jewish people. We can overcome all difficulties as long as we stay one people, a people united on the basic issues. To achieve this unity we must never allow ourselves to differentiate between Jews. There is no such thing as a second class Jew. We are all brothers and sisters. We are all responsible for each other. We are one.
The problem of Jewish identity is not a simple issue. For the first time since the establishment of the State we are trying to find solutions. It will take time. We all must exercise patience and tolerance. I am sure the Neeman recommendations will finally be adopted. This is not the answer to all the questions, but it is a step toward finding a solution. With goodwill we will find this solution. With a unity of purpose we will overcome our differences.
For 100 years of modern Zionism and 50 years of the State of Israel, we have overcome difficulties, met challenges and achieved miraculous results. If we have the wisdom to face future challenges together, I am sure that the next generations will look back at this point in our history, and say: this was just the beginning.