Page 2-THE NEWS-November 1993
Open Letter to the Jewish Community
By Ambassador Itamar Rabinovich,
Israel Ambas!;ador to the U.S.
On September 13 and during the days
immediately preceding and following the
signing of the Israeli-Palestinian agree
ment, many of us shared a solemn feeling.
We sensed that something very important
and positive had happened, that the
process of reconciliation with a bitter
enemy was taking its emotional toll, that
we were facing the prospect of a transition
to a new, better, phase in Israel's life as
a state but that nothing should be taken
for granted; the potential was created but
Rabinovich it has yet to be realized through persistence
and creativity.
Two weeks later some of the initial elation dissipated, but the
substantive achievements remain unchanged. This is a good time
to share with you some thoughts on that which has taken place
and on that which can be expected in the coming weeks and months.
The signing ceremony which took place on September 13 on
the White House lawn and the whole series of events which preceded
and surrounded it can be seen from a number of vantage points.
For one thing, they represent the first breakthrough in the current
peace process begun by the Bush Administration and the Shamir
Government almost two years ago. In a more focused fashion, they
can be seen as the first products of the more recent partnership
between the Rabin Government and Clinton Administration in
pushing this process forward.
Viewed from a greater distance, the new Israeli-Palestinian
agreement is Israel’s second success in converting its great victory
in 1967 into acceptance by its Arab adversaries. The Israeli-Egyptian
peace treaty of 1979 marked the end of the bilateral conflict between
Israel and the leading Arab state. In September 1993, the
representatives of Palestinian nationalism, the core of the Arab
rejection of Israel and Israel’s legitimacy, extended their recognition
to the Jewish State.
For more than a century until now, The Palestinian Arabs refused
to recognize Jewish rights and Zionist-Israeli aspirations or to make
a single agreement with us. The September accords are the first
act of acceptance, agreement and compromise taken by a Palestinian
leadership since the beginning of the Zionist enterprise in Ottoman
Palestine.
This turning point is the result of a Palestinian coming to terms
with the reality of the present international and Middle Eastern
arenas: the collapse of the Soviet Union, Saddam’s defeat in the
Gulf War, America’s unprecedented position as the sole remaining
superpower, the unusual closeness between Washington and
Jerusalem, Israel’s military and technological assets, the demograph
ic importance of the Russian immigration and the prospect of other
Arabs preceding Palestinians in the coming to an agreement with
Israel.
There are those who argue that for precisely the same reasons
Israel should have stayed put and savored its advantage. The
government of Israel thought that this would be a fateful mistake.
It thought that an advantageous position should be used in order
to obtain for Israel an agreement on the Palestinian issue that was
not possible earlier, that has many merits from an Israeli point
of view, an agreement that could mark the turning point in the
Arab-Israeli conflict as a whole.
The agreement signed on September 13 offers Israel several
important advantages. As an mterim agreement for Palestinian self-
government, it enables Israel to keep its most significant assets
and commitments — the IDF’s presence. Greater Jerusalem, the
Israeli settlements, overall responsibility for security and the specific
responsibility for security on the road and for the personal security
of ail Israelis — while reducing if not eliminating the daily friction
with the bulk of the Palestinian population. An important distinction
was introduced between the West Bank and Gaza. The Palestinian
claim to a right of return has been significantly weakened by the
absence of any mention of the 1948 (as distinct from the 1967)
refugees. All options remain open for the permanent status
negotiations. When they begin in the third year, the Palestinians
will probably raise a variety of demands that Israel will probably
reject.
Extending recognition to the PLO was not an easy act for the
Israeli Government. But a year of frustrating negotiations with the
Palestinian delegation in Washington revealed that there was no
other relevant address. Furthermore, recognition by the PLO offers
the key to reconciliation and recognition with the larger Arab and
Muslim worlds. For years we have been told by several Arab and
Muslim states that they have no quarrel with us but that they were
constrained by solidarity with the Palestinians. The PLO’s
recognition of Israel has already made a difference as demonstrated
by the handshakes between Israeli leaders and the Arab
Ambassadors to Washington and the subsequent visit, aboard an
Israeli air force plane, to Morocco. The Prime Minister’s visit to
Egypt, less than a week later, was not the first of its kind, but
it had an entirely different resonance in the new environment of
the Israeli-Arab relations.
Much work and many challenges lie ahead. First and foremost
is the need to implement the agreement. Many important details
need to be worked out and good faith must be built as Israeli-
Palestinian negotiations continue. Israel has built several safety
mechanisms into the agreement. The IDF’s presence and our ability
to veto and interdict any undesirable developments are two of them.
Still more significant may be the fact that the Palestinians must
obtain our agreement to all aspects of the final status arrangements
Sec OPEN next page
From
The Director’s Desk
Daniel Z. Lepow
Although I am only two years
older than the State of Israel, I
remember throughout my life
the times when Israel was in
trouble and our need to rally for
support. When the 1967 war
broke out I left college to travel
to Israel to help in the war effort.
Israel needed volunteers to fill
in for the people who went to
serve in the Army. In 1973 I
wrote my check and got on the
phones to help raise the funds
needed to help overcome the
devastating losses caused by the
Yom Kippur War. As the Re-
fusniks plight in the Soviet
Union came to our attention, I
bought a bracelet twinning me
with a fellow Jew who longed
to celebrate his freedom as a Jew
in Israel. In December 1987 I
joined 250,000 other Jews to
insist that the Soviet Union “Let
Our People Go.”
I am proud to have been a part
of a generation that answered
the call that witnessed the rescue
of Ethiopian Jewry during Op
eration Moses. The leadership of
the American Jewish communi
ty deserves the credit for leading
us to do the right thing. From
their pulpits on Friday night and
Saturday mornings our Rabbin
ic leaders taught us about the
responsibilities we have for all
Partners in Peace
our Jews. Our Jewish organiza
tions from Hadassah to ORT to
B’nai B’rith continued to work,
not only to raise money, but to
teach us the meaning of Jews
helping one another. The Fed
erations and the UJA never
stopped getting the message out
about the needs of Jews around
the world. I remember so well
the inspiring sermons and
speeches that made me feel so
good about what I was doing.
My role always seemed so insig
nificant in context of world
needs until I was able to see that
my individual effort, joined with
so many others, did so much. I
have felt and continue to feel
connected and a part of the
world’s Jewish community.
Now our world leaders are
issuing a new call. Partners in
Peace! With a handshake we are
at the dawn of a new era. If there
are no Arab armies attacking or
people physically being kept
back from immigrating to Israel,
how can we have that same
emotional response? Obviously
our response is going to be based
on different issues but hopefully
with equal emotion. I have read
many papers and articles about
our needs here in the United
States and concerns for our
Jewish continuity. These are
concerns that cannot be minim
ized and must be addressed.
However, there are those re
maining in the former Soviet
Union whose Jewish continuity
is also threatened. There are
social services provided to Jews
around the world by the Joint
Distribution Committee that
continue to be their lifeline.
It is time for our current and
future leaders to start teaching
about this new partnership
based on peace. They must use
their pulpits and organizations
to help us explore the ways to
look beyond this community.
Together we must research the
mechanisms to use the cultural
and educational resources from
Israel and other parts of the
world to help us as we move
ahead. This must truly be a
partnership, not only at Shalom
Park but with Jews around the
world.
Let us give the resources to
enable the Jews to resettle in
Israel and allow the ingathering
to continue. It is a partnership
we made with Israel in 1948 and
one that we must continue to
honor. In addition, let us reach
out to Israel as partners for their
resources to help our community
grow.
Partners in Peace is a won
derful thought... Its time has
come. Let’s become a partner!
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