[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 37 (Monday, March 18, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2249-S2251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REVISITING A DANGEROUS PLACE

 Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, I had the pleasure of attending 
the American Jewish Congress' Profiles in Courage Awards Dinner last 
Saturday night in New York City at which former Israeli President Chaim 
Herzog delivered a most memorable address.
  I first met Chaim Herzog some 21 years ago when then-President Ford 
appointed me the Permanent Representative of the United States to the 
United Nations. He was the Israeli Ambassador to that body where a 
Soviet-led coalition wielded enormous power and used it in an assault 
against the democracies of the world. In that regard, I cite an 
editorial in the New Republic which recently said of the United 
Nations, ``During the Cold War, the U.N. became a chamber of hypocrisy 
and proxy aggression.''
  Proxy aggression in particular directed against the State of Israel, 
which became a metaphor for democracy under virtual siege at the United 
Nations.
  Those who failed to destroy Israel on the field of battle joined 
those who wished to discredit all Western, democratic governments in an 
unprecedented, sustained attack on the very right of a U.N. member 
state to exist within the family of nations.
  The efforts in the 1970's to delegitimize Israel came in many forms, 
none more insidious than the campaign to declare Zionism a form of 
racism.
  With the collapse of the Soviet Union, both the Zionism resolution 
and the rejectionist Arab Front lost their major source of support.
  On June 19, 1991, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a 
coffee-hour for then-President-elect Yeltsin of the Russian Soviet 
Federative Socialist Republic. In the receiving line, one of the 
members of the Russian delegation asked if I remembered him. ``I was 
stationed at the United Nations when you were the U.S. Representative. 
You did not think anyone was listening, did you? But we heard you.'' He 
was, in fact, Andrei Kozyrev.
  The very last vote that the Soviet Union cast in the General Assembly 
was the vote on December 16, 1991, to repeal Resolution 3379. And the 
same Andrei Kozyrev who served the Soviet Union at the United Nations 
in 1975, was, in his capacity as Foreign Minister of Russia, one of the 
two witnesses to the historic Oslo Accords, signed on the South Lawn of 
the White House on September 13, 1993.
  The same Andrei Kozyrev who monitored Leonard Garment's remarks 
before the Third Committee joined Warren Christopher in witnessing 
Yasser Arafat's signature to a paper that three decades of Soviet 
foreign policy sought to prevent.
  The Soviet Union has gone to its richly deserved place in the dustbin 
of history which it once promised would be the burial place of 
democratic society.
  The Soviet Union may be gone. But events during the past few weeks 
must remind us all that Israel remains very much a metaphor for 
democracy in the twilight struggle between the forces of 
totalitarianism and the values of freedom.
  The bombs that rocked London and the terrorist violence that 
shattered the peace of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv were attacks on all 
democracies. While the immediate victims of the recent bombings in 
Israel may have been Israeli citizens of the Jewish, Moslem, and 
Christian faiths and visitors and pilgrims from other nations, those 
responsible for these actions are simply at war with all civilized 
societies.
  There can be no place in the family of nations for the murderous 
cowards who send others on suicide missions to slaughter civilians in 
the name of any cause. President Clinton has taken important measures 
to help protect the people of Israel from a continuation of these 
atrocities.
  President Herzog spoke Saturday night of the appropriate response to 
these terrorist atrocities. His message concerning the future of the 
peace process is an important one and I ask that his remarks be printed 
in the Record.
  The remarks follow:

 Address by President Chaim Herzog to the American Jewish Congress on 
   the Occasion of the Presentation of the Profiles in Courage Awards

       Mr. Chairman: I am most grateful to you for your kind 
     words, and, indeed, to the American Jewish Congress for 
     having made this memorable award to me in such distinguished 
     company as former comrades-in-arms, Senator Daniel Patrick 
     Moynihan and Leonard Garment.
       As I stand here in this building I recall the years in 
     which I represented Israel--years in which we were treated by 
     so many as a pariah state, years in which the theater of the 
     absurd which was the United Nations at that time devoted so 
     much time, energy and resources to condemning the small State 
     of Israel while ignoring the evils that befell the world on 
     all sides. At that time, we were outnumbered by the automatic 
     majority comprised of an alliance of hatred based on the 
     Soviet bloc, the Arab bloc and the so-called Non-Aligned 
     group. If ever there was a misnomer, it was this, because 
     nobody was more aligned in those days than the so-called Non-
     Aligned. They were aligned in hatred of Western democracy, 
     they were aligned in support of Communist hegemony, they were 
     aligned in the common lofty purpose of maligning Israel with 
     a view to leading to its delegitimization.
       The battle began in October 1975 in the Third Committee, 
     the so-called Human Rights Committee, with a violent attack 
     against Israel and Zionism. The three great bulwarks of 
     democracy and freedom--Cuba, Somalia and Benin--had submitted 
     to the UN Third Committee, the Human Rights Committee, an 
     amendment proposing an addition to the existing resolution 
     attacking racism and apartheid. What they wanted to add was 
     an attack on Zionism, equating it with racism. This move was 
     particularly grave because it was the first attack in the 
     United Nations on an ``ism.'' Nobody had ever attempted to 
     attack Communism, Socialism or capitalism before. But now our 
     national liberation movement was becoming the center of 
     attack. In that debate, Leonard Garment, the U.S. 
     representative on the committee, attacked the resolution with 
     the dramatic words, ``This is an obscene act.''
       On Friday evening, October 17th, the debate concluded in 
     the Third Committee, and it met to vote on it. In my remarks, 
     I thanked the delegations who had stood by our side, and said 
     that we would never forget those who voted to attack our 
     religion and our faith. I shouted out the last words, ``We 
     shall never forget.''
       The resolution passed with a majority, and our enemies 
     seemed to be on the verge of a victory war dance. I saw Pat 
     Moynihan, the blood rushing to his head, livid, standing up. 
     He straightened his tie, pulled down and buttoned his jacket, 
     and crossed the floor to me. I rose to greet him and held out 
     my hand. He took it, pulled me to him and embraced me in 
     front of the entire hall. I shall never forget that gut 
     reaction of his, which spoke more than anything else. It was 
     not planned, it was not part of policy--that was just Pat 
     Moyniham behaving instinctively. I was very moved. He 
     whispered to me what we could do to our enemies.
       I was perplexed and could not understand the absence of any 
     meaningful Jewish reaction to the vote at the time, and when 
     I addressed the Conference of Presidents of Major American 
     Jewish Organizations, I pulled no punches. As soon as my 
     remarks at the meeting were published, the reaction amongst 
     American Jewry was something that had to be seen to be 
     believed. Paul Johnson, the brilliant editor of ``The New

[[Page S2250]]

     Statesman,'' wrote an outstanding article which concluded 
     with his views that ``The melancholy truth, I fear, is that 
     the candles of civilization are burning low.''
       In the General Assembly, I delivered the speech defending 
     Israel, and indeed the Jewish people, and at the conclusion 
     of my remarks I took the resolution in my hands and tore it 
     up in front of the Assembly. The effect of the debate and the 
     resolution on Jews all over the world was electrifying. The 
     fight had done more for Zionism than thousands of speeches by 
     Zionist leaders. It had clearly touched a nerve.
       Nothing can demonstrate more vividly the change which has 
     occurred than the attitude to Israel in the United Nations 
     today. The resolution was rescinded by an overwhelming 
     majority in 1992. Our delegation is no longer the whipping 
     boy of the United Nations, and enjoys open and cordial 
     relations with many Arab delegations. The Soviet Union has 
     disappeared, and with it the hostility that it bred in the 
     Assembly. Perhaps few events can demonstrate the unbelievable 
     success of Israel in its efforts to achieve peace and break 
     down the barriers of hatred than the attitude towards Israel 
     in the General Assembly today.
       I have come from Israel, which has been through some very 
     difficult experiences in the past months. Like many other 
     countries in the area, we are at war with Islamic 
     Fundamentalism. It is a bitter struggle, fuelled by deep 
     hatred and an approach by the Islamic Fundamentalists which 
     entertains no compromise.
       The new type of terror which is being used by our enemies 
     is not easy to cope with, because here you have individuals 
     who have been promised that they go straight to heaven and 
     benefit from the priorities given to holy martyrs on their 
     arrival, if they blow themselves up. This is a very 
     difficult problem to deal with, and it is not always easy 
     to detect the individual bent on creating havoc and chaos 
     by detonating himself. It has been difficult to apply 
     emergency legislation, but every one of these would-be 
     suicide bombers now knows that an attack by them will 
     involve very severe official action against their 
     families, who will not have had the good fortune to reach 
     heaven with them.
       I do not have to recall to you the scenes of horror and 
     devastation which filled the television screens of the world 
     and which you doubtless saw, but we can be proud of the fact 
     that the Opposition rallied behind the Government on the 
     occasion of these disasters, and of the leadership given by 
     Prime Minister Peres in these difficult and almost impossible 
     times.
       We have been through very difficult periods in the past 
     when we had ranged against us the entire Palestinian people. 
     We are experiencing a very difficult period now. But there is 
     a difference: some 70% of the Palestinian people, represented 
     by the PLO and led by a leader who was elected by secret 
     ballot, has withdrawn from the circle of terror and has 
     ceased to use terror in the struggle against Israel. It has 
     been active in coordination with Israel against the 
     terrorists of the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad, although we 
     have maintained, and continue to maintain, that its action 
     has not been as determined and as effective on occasions as 
     we would wish. But one thing is clear: 70% of the Palestinian 
     people have withdrawn from the circle of terror which 
     endangered us over the years and they no longer partake in 
     such activities.
       We have to remember that the forces in conflict with us are 
     also in conflict with the government of Jordan; are engaged 
     in a life-and-death struggle in Algeria; and in Egypt, where 
     President Mubarak has been successfully curbing their 
     activities. The terrorists who have unleashed this recent 
     violence have the same goal as their predecessors during the 
     past fifty years: the destruction of Israel. They understand 
     that their ambition will never succeed if the peace process 
     succeeds and the Palestinians compromise. Those of us who 
     react to trauma by despairing that the peace process will 
     succeed are handing the terrorists a victory.
       The arrangements under the Oslo Agreements have been moving 
     along fairly satisfactorily. The Palestinian elections gave a 
     convincing majority to those favoring the peace process, but 
     we face the danger of terrorism instigated by a comparatively 
     small minority. This is complicated by the new and very 
     serious phenomenon of suicide bombing. We have demanded from 
     the Palestinians to honor their commitments under the Oslo 
     Agreements, and above all, to join us in fighting this new 
     terrorism organized by the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. There 
     is daily cooperation, there are joint patrols everywhere, but 
     because of the complexities of Arab society we have not 
     been convinced that the Palestinian Authority has been 
     doing its utmost to combat the wave of terrorism. I 
     emphasize that it has done a great deal, and a large 
     number of what could have been tragic events were 
     prevented: but it is just not enough. The closure of the 
     territories and the creation of a dividing wall between 
     Israel and the Palestinians is having a very serious 
     economic effect on the Palestinian population. They will 
     thus have to reach painful decisions for they are entirely 
     dependent on Israel for their economic existence.
       The phenomenal success of Israel's economy has placed 
     Israel in a dominant position, from an economic point of 
     view, in the area. Israel's annual gross national product is 
     going on 90 billion dollars and is more than the gross 
     national product of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and the Palestinians 
     together. The closure of Israel to labor from the Arab sector 
     will deprive the Palestinian Authority of an income of some 
     $700 million, but these facts do not influence the 
     Fundamentalist activities of the Hamas and the Islamic Jihad 
     who would create chaos throughout the area. The battle is 
     going on in each and every one of the countries against the 
     Fundamentalists, but so long as Iran is the home of terrorism 
     and the finance center of the terrorist activities in the 
     area, we have to adapt ourselves to a long struggle in many 
     countries around us.
       Let us remember that Israel has been at war with Arab 
     terrorists throughout its history, and the terrorists who 
     have unleashed this present violence have the same goal as 
     their predecessors during the past hundred years--the 
     destruction of Israel.
       We have always moved forward and pursued our national 
     interest in the face of violence and horror. Most Israelis 
     understand that Palestinian self-rule with security 
     guarantees for Israel is in our interest. This is no time to 
     throw up our hands and declare that the peace process is 
     finished. That would be an admission of defeat unlike any in 
     our history.
       We did not back down in 1929, when hundreds of innocent 
     Jews were slaughtered by Arabs in Hebron. We did not back 
     down in 1947, when the UN resolution to partition Palestine 
     promoted mass murder and the ransacking of Jewish 
     neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria, in Aden, Jerusalem, Haifa and 
     Jaffa. We buried our dead, rolled up our sleeves and created 
     a Jewish state.
       We did not back down in 1948, as Arab armies blocked the 
     roads to Jerusalem and cut off food and weapons from its 
     inhabitants. I was in that city in a building when a bomb 
     destroyed it and nearly killed my wife. After I carried her 
     out of the charred ruins and rushed her to hospital, it never 
     occurred to us to surrender to those who wanted to destroy 
     us. That spirit was nearly universal in our small 
     population--one percent of which was killed in the War of 
     Independence; it animated most Israelis and our supporters 
     around the world in the decades--and wars--ahead.
       We certainly did not back down under Labor, Likud and 
     national unity governments when hundreds of Israeli men, 
     women and children were killed by all manner of terrorist. We 
     fought against terror while emphasizing our commitment to 
     peace. Israel and the Jewish people need much more of that 
     spirit now.
       In recent years, the sense of permanent siege that has 
     defined our national experience has begun to lift. But after 
     so many decades of being a pariah state, at times it is hard 
     for many to see that each and every Arab is no longer an 
     enemy. And that is precisely what Hamas wants. As their 
     popularity wanes in the West Bank and Gaza, their only hope 
     is to generate violent conflict by returning to the days when 
     to Israelis, all Arabs were indistinguishable from one 
     another.
       That is why Hamas has created a new breed of desperate 
     fanatic with sophisticated explosives and the will to die. We 
     must not let them win, and that means not only stopping 
     murder, but also insisting that peace with legitimate 
     Palestinian partners remains our national goal.
       The effect of the recent terrorist attacks in Israel has 
     been dramatic, leading to the joint initiative of President 
     Clinton and Prime Minister Shimon Peres, together with King 
     Hussein and President Mubarak, to convene a summit conference 
     at Sharm el-Sheikh to set up a united international front 
     against the danger of terrorism. We can only be gratified 
     that finally the nations of the world seem to be awakening to 
     the inherent danger of the Terrorist International 
     threatening the free world. We can only hope and trust that 
     the resolutions reached at the summit conference will be 
     strictly adhered to, and what is most important of all, that 
     the organizational aspects of the international struggle 
     against terrorism will be implemented.
       As I stand here in this building, I cannot but recall the 
     dramatic debate which took place here in July 1976 after the 
     unforgettable rescue by the Israel Defense Forces of the Jews 
     hijacked to Entebbe, Uganda, in an Air France plane. In the 
     course of my remarks in the debate in the Security Council in 
     this very building, I said: ``It has fallen to the lot of my 
     small country, embattled as we are, facing the problems which 
     we do, to demonstrate to the world that there is an 
     alternative to surrender to terrorism and blackmail.
       ``It has fallen to our lot to prove to the world that this 
     scourge of international terror can be dealt with. It is now 
     for the nations of the world, regardless of political 
     differences which may divide them, to unite against this 
     common enemy which recognizes no authority, knows no 
     borders, respects no sovereignty, ignores all basic human 
     decencies, and places no limits on human bestiality.
       ``. . . We are proud not only because we have saved the 
     lives of over 100 innocent people--men, women and children--
     but because of the significance of our act for the cause of 
     human freedom.
       ``We call on this body to declare war on international 
     terror, to outlaw it and eradicate it wherever it may be. We 
     call on this body, and above all we call on the Member States 
     and countries of the world, to unite in a common effort to 
     place these criminals outside the pale of human society, and 
     with

[[Page S2251]]

     them to place any country which cooperates in any way in 
     their nefarious activities.''
       Mr. Peres has done what an Israeli Prime Minister should do 
     by making it crystal clear that Israel will take stern and--
     if necessary--unilateral measures to thwart these killers. 
     And he has told Arafat that the Palestinian Authority must 
     prove that it is a real partner by dismantling the terrorist 
     infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza, once and for all.
       If Arafat does demonstrate the capacity to stop the 
     fanatics, Israel should not take the coward's way out by 
     capitulating to the rejectionists: it should do everything 
     possible to make sure that the Palestinian Authority fulfills 
     its obligations under the Oslo Agreements. It must insist 
     that our security comes first, even as we continue to mourn 
     our dead. That is the brave as well as the sensible thing to 
     do.
       There is a debate in Israeli society about the advantages 
     or disadvantages of the peace process. When evaluating the 
     possibilities, one has to remember that we are now becoming 
     more and more an integral part of the Middle East. We have 
     relations with many Arab countries; trade with the Arab world 
     is booming; joint projects are being set up on all sides; 
     tens of thousands of Arab tourists are pouring in from Jordan 
     and now from Egypt too; our hospitals are flooded with Arab 
     patients from all over the Middle East. A new form of life is 
     developing which these terrorist organizations see as a great 
     danger to them.
       When evaluating our reaction to the current events, we must 
     recall that the alternative to moving along the path of the 
     peace process would cause 70% of the Palestinian population 
     which had ceased to use terror as a weapon to return to a 
     tragic and dangerous situation. It would mean a return to the 
     `intifada,' with the terrible consequences of such an ongoing 
     struggle. It would mean, according to some, a return to the 
     alleyways and backyards of Gaza, with all that that 
     implies. The enemy says openly that its purpose is to 
     destroy the peace process, hence nothing could be more 
     counter-productive to our cause than giving in to the 
     terrorists and stopping the process.
       I emphasize, of course, that we have to insist that our 
     Palestinian interlocutors honor all the obligations which 
     they have taken on themselves, otherwise they know full well 
     that we hold all the strong cards.
       My friends, only five years have passed since the Gulf War, 
     during which Iraq attacked senselessly with Scud missiles the 
     civilian population of Israel. At that time, the grand 
     alliance organized by President Bush reacted and soundly beat 
     the Iraqi army. But at that time Israel could not convince 
     the alliance that it had a place in it. It is an indication 
     of the long distance we have covered since then and the 
     revolution which has occurred in the Middle East, that this 
     week the leaders of the Arab world and of the free world sat 
     together with the Prime Minister of Israel, who was treated 
     as a full and equal partner in this international struggle 
     against terrorism. This was followed by President Clinton's 
     third visit to Israel, in which a far-reaching agreement on a 
     joint effort to combat terror has reached between the United 
     States and Israel.
       That is the measure of advance that has occurred in our 
     area, and the degree to which Israel has become an ally of, 
     among others, the leading Arab countries in the Middle East. 
     That is the measure of advance and positive change which we 
     have witnessed in the Middle East.
       I am convinced that the international effort being made to 
     coordinate the struggle against terrorism will ultimately 
     bear fruit. In the meantime, Israel continues its impressive 
     march along the road to regional peace and economic 
     development, a road along which it is advancing in 
     partnership with the leading Arab countries of the area.
       Let us not forget the intricate path along which we have 
     advanced; let us not forget the struggle conducted by many 
     others before me who received the award being given tonight; 
     let us not forget that many of our leaders of old would have 
     given their right hands just to see the revolutionary change 
     which has occurred to Israel in the Middle East. We in Israel 
     have lived through very trying and difficult times, but we 
     have always known that our cause is just. Our dedication to 
     that cause is what will advance us to new goals and a new and 
     promising era in the future.

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