[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 85 (Wednesday, June 29, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 29, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                      TEDDY KOLLEK GIVES US WISDOM

 Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, over the years, I have had the 
chance to get acquainted with the former mayor of Jerusalem, Teddy 
Kollek.
  I've always been impressed by his enthusiasm, his wisdom, his ability 
and, most of all, his willingness to make his role as mayor an umbrella 
where he pulls Arabs, Jews, Christians, and people of every background 
together. I remember having dinner with him one night when he had to 
leave early because he had to go to a Greek Orthodox event.
  Recently, I saw a column in the Jerusalem Post, which he wrote, about 
Jerusalem. But it really touches on more than Jerusalem.
  It talks about basically recognizing that all citizens have to be 
first-class citizens but, also, recognizing that Jerusalem can never be 
divided again.
  Because what he says makes so much sense and because of the stature 
that Teddy Kollek has with so many of us, I ask to insert this into the 
Record at this point, and I urge my colleagues to read it.

                [From the Jerusalem Post, June 11, 1994]

           No One Can Say We Treated Jerusalem's Arabs Badly

                           (By Teddy Kollek)

       Jerusalem is making the headlines every day. Arafat 
     mentions it in his speeches and promises a jihad. Some of our 
     right-wing politicians, including Jerusalem's mayor, make 
     strong statements about the unity of the city. And professors 
     try to come up with compromise solutions.
       The status of Jerusalem clearly has to be settled if 
     lasting peace is to be achieved.
       During these crucial days, I frequently hear city officials 
     stress how little my administration did for the Arabs, and 
     how they plan to do much more. Although I doubt their 
     sincerity, I can only wish them luck. But I would like to put 
     the facts straight as I see them.
       During my 28 years as mayor I was often attacked for doing 
     too much for the Arabs. This angered me because I felt we 
     were doing too little; but a mayor's power is limited by the 
     government, by the city council and by the financial means at 
     his disposal.
       From the moment Jerusalem was united in 1967, I believed 
     that we had to find a way to live with the Arabs that would 
     accommodate both them and us, because there was no chance--as 
     some people apparently hoped--of driving the Arabs out.
       Any attempt to do so can only lead to destruction and 
     redivision, because the Arabs will never leave a city they 
     consider holy.
       The only way of keeping Jerusalem a united city under our 
     sovereignty is to treat minorities as we would like Jews to 
     be treated. You can't fight antisemitism while treating 
     others as second-class citizens.
       And so, with this understanding of the city, we set out to 
     close the gap between the Arabs and ourselves.
       It is nearly impossible to grasp the scope of that task; so 
     much was done, and human memory is short.
       In 1967 the Arabs in Jerusalem did not have even the most 
     basic services. Their part of the city was terribly 
     neglected, and raising standards to a normal level was much 
     harder and more costly than starting from scratch, as we did 
     in the new Jewish neighborhoods.
       To begin with, the walls of the Old City, first built by 
     Herod and then rebuilt by Suleiman the Magnificent, had been 
     neglected for centuries. Some of the gates had been entirely 
     destroyed. A tremendous effort was required to reconstruct 
     them into the glorious, imposing spectacle they are today.
       We rebuilt the roads in the Old City and strengthened the 
     buildings, many of which were 200 or 300 years old and in a 
     state of collapse.
       Only 10% of the homes in the Old City had running water. We 
     installed running water not only within the walls, but also 
     in other Arab parts of the city.
       We placed water and sewage pipes, power cables and 
     telephone wires underground, which made the lives of the Arab 
     inhabitants easier and improved the look of the city.
       We replaced the thousands of TV antennae with a central 
     antenna. We built a first-class library as well as a 
     magnificent medical center in Sheikh Jarrah which has been 
     praised as the best clinic in the country.
       All this was done without any Arab financial help; the 
     funds came from the municipality and moneys raised through 
     the Jerusalem Foundation, whose contributors are Jewish 
     (mostly) and Christian.
       And often there was not only lack of support but also 
     strong opposition, both in the government and the city 
     council.
       We did a lot more than this. We gave the Arabs rights they 
     did not have under Jordanian rule. The last Arab newspaper to 
     be produced in the city had been closed down by the 
     Hashemites a few months before the Six Day War. We let them 
     publish their newspapers without political censorship. And 
     though their publications have frequently expressed the 
     opinion that Israel has no right to exist, no paper has yet 
     been closed down.
       Every Arab resident has been given the choice, unheard of 
     in similar situations elsewhere in the world (Alsace-
     Lorraine, for example), of either becoming an Israeli citizen 
     or remaining Jordanian.
       And with their Arab passports and Israeli identity cards, 
     they have the advantage of being able to travel to Arab 
     countries (which we can't do), and then returning to Israel, 
     where they enjoy--among other things--insurance benefits and 
     old-age pensions like all Israelis.
       Moreover, this is not affected by the fact that we know 
     their children or close relatives are active in anti-Israel 
     organizations such as Hamas.
       Nor did we change anything in their school curricula. The 
     only exception I recall was an exercise in an arithmetic 
     book: ``When you have 10 Jews and kill 6, how many remain?'' 
     We altered that sentence.
       But we kept the same teachers they had before the 1967 war, 
     and the same headmasters. We enlarged their schools. We never 
     interfered with their prayers or with their jurisdiction over 
     their holy places, most importantly the Dome of the Rock.
       We behaved this way despite the fact that 58 synagogues in 
     the Jewish Quarter had been destroyed or desecrated during 
     the period of Jordanian rule.
       Taking into account the things mentioned above and many 
     others I will not list here, we have probably spent no less 
     money on the Arab part of the city than we have on the Jewish 
     section.
       That still doesn't change the fact that some Arab 
     neighborhoods remain underdeveloped and lack many services. 
     We have tried, and should try harder.
       But they should also do their part. Every Arab, whether an 
     Israeli or a Jordanian citizen, has the right to vote for the 
     city council. I am only sorry that so far they have not dared 
     to run for a seat on the council. That way they would have 
     more influence over their own affairs and would have proper 
     representation. I am hopeful that this will happen soon.
       I am also advocating that the basic rights which the Arabs 
     have been enjoying de facto since 1967 be officially embodied 
     in law by the Knesset. I think this will do a great deal for 
     their sense of security and for a better atmosphere among all 
     citizens of the city.
       With all the turmoil and the historical developments now 
     taking place, we must not lose sight of the fact that our 
     objective is to hold on to and strengthen a united Jerusalem. 
     In order to accomplish this I believe we must continue with 
     the policy we have followed over the past 27 years.
       The idea of two capitals in one ``united'' city is 
     ridiculous.

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