Israeli Foreign Minister Affirms Commitment to Peace

American Jewish Committee
Friday, 4 May 2001

Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, addressing the American Jewish Committee Annual Meeting, expressed hope for a resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians as he voiced anguish over the continuing violence.

"The Palestinians are not our enemies. We don't want to dominate their lives," Mr. Peres said at a breakfast session of AJC's 95th Annual Meeting. "In our 4,000 years of existence we have never dominated another people. We didn't leave the house of slaves in Egypt to build a house of masters in Israel."

Mr. Peres, who together with the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, repeated this theme along with a plea for peace in his address last night before more than 1300 guests at AJC's Annual Dinner. Also speaking at the dinner were President George W. Bush, Mexican President Vicente Fox and German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer.

"While the Palestinians say they want to get rid of our occupation, we want even more so to get rid of our role as occupiers," said Mr. Peres, adding that Palestinian leadership during the past 53 years have "committed two major mistakes" that have cost the Palestinian people dearly.

In 1947, the Palestinians were offered a chance to build an independent state when the UN voted to divide British-rule Palestine. They rejected it "and to this very day nobody can seriously explain why they did it," he said. "It brought tragedy upon the Palestinian people, including the creation of a refugee problem, which haunts to this very day, as a shadow, our capacity to make peace."

"The second time was in Taba and Camp David when the Palestinians were offered practically everything," he said. "They were offered 96 percent of the land plus 3 percent of a swap which brings us to 99 percent."

"Nobody can explain why did they reject again, but they not only rejected, they reacted with violence and terror," said Mr. Peres. "Again we are in an uninvited confrontation we wish we could have avoided."

The foreign minister said he told Yasser Arafat many times that "bullets will unite the Jewish people, bombs will make us tougher, but peace will provide you with the greatest opportunity."

Israel's willingness to make compromises to achieve its quest for peace, to exchange land for a durable peace, was demonstrated with Egypt and Jordan, though the foreign minister acknowledged that these two successes were not perfect.

"We gave back all the land. We are not sure we got back all the peace," said Mr. Peres. "Land is tangible. Peace is airy or moody. When you give back tangible real estate, that's it. But when you hang on the return, you have to follow the passing and hanging winds, some of them very unpleasant."

Mr. Peres pointed out that Israel has undergone the same experience since it withdrew a year ago from southern Lebanon – returning all the land to Lebanon, but without realizing a fully peaceful border.

At a time when Israel is coming under increasing diplomatic isolation, Mr. Peres expressed deep appreciation for the continuing firm support of the United States.

"American support is really one of the greatest miracles that happened to Jewish life and Israel," he said. "Since the formation of Israel, it wasn't just the Administration, just the Congress or the Jewish community, but also the churches, the unions, the press. There was a sort of biblical identification, underneath connection, that really colored and typified our relations."

Mr. Peres voiced appreciation for the historical U.S. role in the peace process, acting as a facilitator. But he expressed concern that the continuing Palestinian violence could undermine Yasser Arafat's position in Washington.

"In the United States the anger about his behavior is so great in Congress and in the Administration that he may lose his position here, and that will be tragic for the Palestinians and for him," he said.

"We don't want them to suffer," Mr. Peres said of the Palestinian people. "We don't want them to live in shame or in want or in starvation."

But he added that the Palestinians, who are suffering economically even more as a result of the violence, launched last September "forgot that they started the shooting."

"The Israelis never initiate an act of terror, but we cannot stand without any reaction in stopping it," said Mr. Peres, who pointed out that there are 30 acts of terror against Israelis committed by Palestinians every day.

Mr. Peres said that Israel is now "trying to negotiate discreetly, because we feel if we shall be able to achieve a cease-fire then we shall be able to return to the agenda of peace, the sooner the better."

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