Excerpts from Remarks by Prime Minister Ehud Barak
at Israeli Policy Forum Dinner
New York, November 20, 1999
... Four weeks ago I was the first Israeli prime minister to
visit Turkey in 40 years since Ben Gurion came there under a full
veil of secrecy. Two days ago in Istanbul the president of Turkey
sent us his great emotion for our help during the earthquake. Our
team -- it was the first to arrived -- rescued a Turkish woman
130 hours after the earthquake. She was one of the very few
survivors. One of our doctors helped deliver a baby among the
rubble...
During my 24-hour stay in Istanbul I met with 15 heads of state,
including Presidents Clinton and Chirac, the German chancellor
and the prime ministers of Canada, Switzerland and others. I was
moved by their willingness to offer substantial support to the
peace process.
With revived momentum, enhanced international standing and
renewed intimacy with the United States, we are at an extremely
critical point in time, and the Israeli government is ready to
make painful decisions -- our partners who might be able to use
this opportunity to end the century-long conflict and our
American friends who have been the backbone of all agreements and
will hopefully continue to be engaged, especially now as we are
on the brink of resolution.
We understand that peace cannot occur overnight. Peace is made by
leaders with vision. But leaders are not enough. Changing of
basic attitudes among people takes time and patience, mutual
understanding, education of the youths and the breaking down of
barriers. The first step is the joint code of conduct during the
negotiations by which both sides refrain from inflammatory
rhetoric. Peace-making must be a two-way street. Each side must
take into consideration the concerns and sensitivities of the
other. At the end of the day we will still be living side by side
with the Palestinians between the Jordan River and the
Mediterranean Sea.
I am proposing separation, but not detachment. I am proposing
good fences for good neighbors, and separate economies for
separate peoples. We will have a free trade agreement with the
Palestinians and broad economic cooperation, the sharing of
know-how and raw materials, and some Palestinians working in
Israel. The Palestinians too I believe will not want to be fully
integrated into our economy, use our currency or accept
limitations from access to world markets. They will want to have
and control their own economy, value their own currency, and
determine their own markets.
I firmly believe that this can be done, just as I believe that
Israeli soldiers will be out of Lebanon by July 2000 under an
agreement, and the 17-year tragedy there will finally be reaching
an end.
I firmly believe that an understanding with President Assad might
be possible. If Assad dealt with my predecessors -- Shamir,
Rabin, Peres, and even indirectly with Mr. Netanyahu -- surely a
way could be found to resume the negotiations with my government
as well.
And let me tell you that a real and lasting peace is not only in
the best interests of the Israelis. It will strengthen the
moderate regimes and contribute to Middle East stability. It will
help to defeat terrorism, which in my judgment is the next major
challenge to our own civilization. And it will demonstrate that a
small Western-oriented democracy in a not so friendly
neighborhood can make a just peace against straight odds, that
democracy can and should win.
The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the nuclear
programs of extremist regimes, and the spread of state-sponsored
terrorism are threats directly to Israel, at the United States,
indeed all democracies around the world. It is therefore the
responsibility of the international community to develop
effective security cooperation to confront these threats
together. There is no final example in the close strategic ties
and intelligence cooperation that flows between the United States
and Israel. We can look to the recent successful testing of the
Arrow missile just weeks ago. The Arrow was developed by our two
countries to counter the ground-to-ground missiles that are in
the hands of rogue and extreme regimes. We can look at the
unflagging diplomatic efforts made by the United States to help
us find our way to peace. And we can look to the strong
bipartisan political support in Congress that enables the general
economic and military aid needed in order to implement the
peace.
Our friends in Washington know that support for Israel is in the
American national interests. Ours is a partnership united by a
shared appreciation for the fundamental values of freedom and
democracy, and the common understanding of the existing threats
and challenges to our whole way of life.
Earlier this month Congress approved the critical Wye aid package
which is an essential component of the current process triggered
at Wye and reaffirm at Sharm. Just a few weeks ago, First Lady
Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Israel and the region and touched
so many hearts in our country and encouraged our peace
efforts.
Speaking of the Clintons, let me tell you frankly I wish that we
Israelis will always have such true friends in the White House.
President Clinton, the leaders of Congress, the American people
continue to demonstrate their deep commitment to a just and fair
peace in the Middle East. We are so very grateful for their
ongoing assistance, we could not have come this far on the road
to peace without the sustained support. As we get farther along
in this complex process and come to the end of the end game, it
will involve greater risks on our part, and even greater reliance
on the good will and continued support of our American friends. I
truly believe we are nearing the time when our homeland will
cease to be in a permanent state of emergency, but rather in an
exciting state of emergence -- emerging from the shadows of war
into the light of possibilities. A strong Israel facing imminent
war no more will be able to fulfill the Jewish prophetic
tradition of justice and fairness for all people.
An Israel increasingly free of existential anxiety will be
increasingly liberated to pursue a wide-ranging agenda of human
and economic rights, environmental protection, and the difficult
questions of religion and state...
Early in 1973 I went to Beirut as an undercover commando. Now in
the bright light of day, with no camouflage or disguise, I am
fighting for peace. This is the will of my government. This is
the will of the Israeli people. If we have serious partners we
will make peace. If they are not serious it cannot be made. But
it will not be for lack of commitment or perseverance on our
part. If our partners will want it, there will be peace in the
Middle East...