[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 61 (Monday, May 6, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E708-E710]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   PRESIDENT CLINTON'S SPEECH TO AIPAC ON ISRAELI-AMERICAN RELATIONS

                                 ______


                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 6, 1996

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, last week the American Israel Public Affairs 
Committee held its annual policy conference here in Washington to 
consider the status of United States relations with Israel. The 
highlight of that conference was the session at which Israeli President 
Shimon Peres and President Bill Clinton addressed conference 
participants.
  The President's address was an outstanding discussion of the American 
interest and commitment to bringing peace to the Middle East and of the 
necessity for a strong and secure Israel in order for that peace 
process to move forward. Mr. Speaker, I have seldom heard such a strong 
and convincing argument for the active and positive participation of 
the United States in the Middle East.
  I ask that the remarks of President Clinton be placed in the Record, 
and I urge my colleagues to give them careful and thoughtful 
consideration.

    Remarks by the President to 1996 American-Israel Public Affairs 
                      Committee Policy Conference

       The President: Thank you very much. (Applause.) Mr. Prime 
     Minister, I just thought I was tired because it was late 
     Sunday night. I never felt better in my life. Thank you very 
     much. (Applause.)
       Mr. Prime Minister, Ambassador Rubinovich, Secretary 
     Glickman, Ambassador Indyk. President Dow, thank you for that 
     wonderful introduction. Mr. Grossman, Mr. Sher (phonetic), 
     Mr. Bronfman (phonetic), Mr. Levy, Mr. Jack Bendheim, who 
     also gave a wonderful introduction; the cochairs of this 
     event, Art Sandler and Betsy Sheer (phonetic); to all the 
     young students who are here. (Applause.)
       The Prime Minister referred on two occasions to the 
     opportunity that I had on my last trip to Israel to meet with 
     the young people there. It was an incredible experience for 
     me. And I realized that in some ways we have to keep 
     depending on young people to deliver us because they remind 
     us that we can break new ground and make tomorrow different 
     from yesterday.
       Just before the Prime Minister and I came in here tonight, 
     we received petitions for peace signed largely by college 
     students that were presented by Jonathan Epstein of Trinity 
     College and Abigail Michelson of Brandeis, and I'd like to 
     thank them. I think they're over here. I thank them very much 
     for what they did for that. (Applause.)
       I would also like to say a special word of thanks to the 
     members of Congress who are here who have supported our 
     administration's policies in the Middle East. If I miss 
     someone who I do not see, write my a nasty note tomorrow. 
     (Laughter.) But I would like to say a special word of thanks 
     to Senator Lautenberg, Congressman Frost, Congressman Engel, 
     Congresswoman Lowey, Congressman Waxman, and Congressman 
     Levin. (Applause.) And I hope I didn't miss anybody; we can't 
     afford to lose any more friends in Congress. (Laughter and 
     applause.)
       When the Prime Minister said that Israel was now spending 
     as much money on education as defense, I thought of seeing if 
     I could get him to stay another week and just testify before 
     a few committees. (Laughter and applause.) And when you, sir, 
     said that I had made history for a second time, I can see 
     myself being guilt-peddled into the future--I can make 
     history now every year from now on until the end of my life. 
     (Laughter and applause.)
       Since I associate you with the struggle for peace, I can't 
     help, if you will indulge me one real purely personal 
     observation--the last time I appeared before this conference 
     before last year was in 1989, when the person who was 
     supposed to appear on behalf of the Democratic Party against 
     Lee Atwater went to his daughter's college graduation. I 
     thought he had his priorities in order, and so when he asked 
     me to replace him, I was glad to stand in for Ron Brown. 
     (Applause.) And since he lost his life on another remarkable 
     mission of peace, I thought I would share that with you 
     tonight, and I hope you will remember that and remember him 
     and his family in your prayers.
       I am pleased as the Prime Minister is that we can come here 
     tonight with the northern border of Israel and the southern 
     border of Lebanon quiet--no katyusha rockets firing down on 
     the people of Northern Israel. I thank the Prime Minister for 
     the tremendous work he did. And in his absence--and I hope to 
     goodness he's sleeping right now--I want to thank the 
     Secretary of State for his magnificent Herculean effort. 
     (Applause.) I also thank his partner and great unsung hero, 
     Dennis Ross, for what he has done. (Applause.)
       As the Prime Minister said, we had an agreement back in 
     1993, but it wasn't in writing and it was shattered. For the 
     first time now, there is an agreement in writing that will be 
     more effective in preventing further outbreaks. The violence 
     has stopped. There is now a monitoring mechanism to which 
     Israel and Lebanon can refer complaints. And now it is our 
     fond hope that civilians on both sides of the border can 
     resume their lives with greater confidence and security. And 
     we will not tolerate further efforts to disrupt the calm.
       When I came into office, I was determined that our country 
     would go into the 21st century still the world's greatest 
     force for peace and freedom, for democracy and security and 
     prosperity. We have to promote these values just as 
     vigorously as we did in the Cold War. Indeed, in some ways, 
     our responsibilities as Americans are now greater.
       I know that you agree with that. You have devoted 
     yourselves to strengthening the bonds between the United 
     States and Israel, a cornerstone of our foreign policy and of 
     our efforts to advance peace and freedom and democracy in the 
     Middle East. I thank you for that and I ask you, too, to 
     continue to speak out in a larger sense for America's role in 
     the world. It has made a difference what we have done in the 
     Middle East, and in Bosnia, and in Northern Ireland, and in 
     Haiti, and in fighting against the proliferation of weapons 
     of mass destruction, and in leading the world to take a 
     tougher stand against terrorism. We cannot afford to walk 
     away from these responsibilities to the future of our 
     children, our children's children, and the children of all 
     the world. (Applause.)
       What a difference a year can make. It was at this 
     conference last year that Israel's then-Prime Minister 
     Yitzhak Rabin said, from day one Israel found itself in a 
     unique alliance with the United States, resting on twin 
     pillars of shared values and strategic partnership. Well, 
     it's still true. And now the United States and Israel are 
     still partners based on shared values and common strategies.
       I am grateful for the service, the life and the sacrifice 
     of Prime Minister Rabin. (Applause.) But I am also very 
     grateful that the man he called his full partner, our friend 
     Shimon Peres, is carrying forward the important work of peace 
     with security. (Applause.)
       From his earliest days when he helped to establish Israel's 
     military, up to the very present when he has defined a vision 
     of a new Middle East in his remarkable book--which, Prime 
     Minister, I have told the whole world I enjoyed reading, and 
     I'm promoting it for you and I hope I get a certain 
     percentage kickback if it really does very well. (Laughter.) 
     We just made another agreement. They're just spouting out all 
     over. (Laughter and applause.)

[[Page E709]]

       I said that in jest--(laughter)--to lay the pretext for a 
     serious comment. At least the critical mass of American Jews 
     should read that book and become familiar with its contents, 
     because if you do it will give you the energy for the tasks 
     ahead, because the Prime Minister has been able to imagine 
     what the future might be like beyond the history that can be 
     made with the other peace signings. And that vision is what 
     must drive us all into tomorrow.
       We have made a lot of progress with the Declaration of 
     Principles of the Palestinians, the peace of the Aqaba with 
     Jordan, the interim accord that was signed in Washington. I 
     have watched in these very difficult months since Prime 
     Minister Rabin's assassination Prime Minister Peres rise to 
     this moment. He has been a true and reliable friend of our 
     country, and a true and reliable leader of his own. And I am 
     proud to say, as Yitzhak Rabin said, he is our full partner 
     for peace and security. (Applause.)
       This has been a trying time for those who believe that a 
     secure peace is the only true hope for Israel and the Middle 
     East. The katyusha rockets, the bloodshed in Lebanon, the 
     suicide bombings in Israel--we grieve for the innocent 
     victims, and for the Israelis who simply wanted to live quiet 
     lives in their own country, for the innocent Palestinians who 
     were killed in the suicide bombings in Israel, for the 
     children of our own nation--Sarah Dueker and Matthew 
     Eisenfeld--visiting a land they loved; for the Lebanese 
     children in Quana who were caught between--make no mistake 
     about it--the deliberate tactics of Hezbollah in their 
     positioning and firing--(applause)--and the tragic misfiring 
     in Israel's legitimate exercise of its right to self-defense. 
     (Applause.)
       I know that in Israel and Lebanon, throughout the Middle 
     East and throughout the world, it would be so easy after yet 
     another round of violence and death, to give up; to think 
     that the very best we could expect is a future of separate, 
     armed camps. It is that sort of bunker mentality that we 
     fight, indeed, all across the world in different ways today. 
     It would be easy to give into it in the Middle East, but it 
     would be wrong.
       I was asked the other day whether the violence of the last 
     few days was not proof that the peace process was dead. I 
     said, no, quite the contrary; it was proof that the yearning 
     for peace was alive. The people who started the violence were 
     trying to kill the longing for peace. It is still alive, and 
     we must not let it die. We must stand up to what they tried 
     to do. (Applause.)
       We can still achieve a peace if we conquer fear and restore 
     security and deal honestly with those with whom we have 
     differences. We know it will not be easy. Peace requires in 
     some ways more strength than war. And we must have the 
     patience to endure a few more setbacks along the way. We know 
     that it takes great courage to press forward into an unknown 
     future. It's harder than retreating into a familiar past. It 
     takes great bravery to reach out to a former enemy. It's 
     easier to stay in the false security of isolation.
       But I believe that Israel will maintain its resolve for 
     peace. As I said, I saw it in the eyes and I heard it in the 
     voices of the children of Israel when I was there just last 
     month. I saw it in the eyes of those two young Americans who 
     gave Prime Minister Peres and me those petitions. I heard it 
     from two boys in Israel, Yuri Tal and Tal Loel, who were 
     badly wounded in the bombing in Tel Aviv--one even deafened. 
     Despite their pain, they wrote to me from their hospital 
     beds, and I quote, from their hospital beds they wrote: Peace 
     is the only true solution for this area.
       They showed strength, having lost much even in their 
     young years. They showed the ability to overcome adversity 
     that is the true genius of the character and history of 
     the Jewish people.
       If the Jewish people have endured centuries of exile, 
     persecution, the ultimate evil of the Holocaust, flourishing 
     against all the odds, surely--surely--together they can throw 
     back their shoulders and raise their heads and say, after all 
     this, Hezbullah and Hamas will not succeed where others have 
     failed. (Applause.)
       Even as the katyushas were falling, we saw proof of peace 
     taking hold. We saw it in the meeting between Prime Minister 
     Peres and Chairman Arafat 10 days ago, when they vowed to 
     move ahead on the goals set by the Accords. We saw it in the 
     Prime Minister's path-breaking trips to Qater and Oman this 
     month. And I salute again the Prime Minister for the strength 
     and commitment he has shown in pursuing the peace in this 
     difficult period.
       And, of course, last Wednesday, on the 48th anniversary of 
     Israeli independence, the Palestinian National Council 
     finally did change the PLO Charter and deleted the hateful 
     clause calling for the destruction of Israel. (Applause.) 
     Now, think about that. That symbol of hatred had endured 
     since 1964, before some people in this room were even born. 
     It's a moment we have long waited and worked for. The 
     Palestinian leadership followed through on its commitments 
     and made a better move to a better day. All friends of peace 
     should be heartened by this, and especially by the large 
     margin of the vote in support of Chairman Arafat's policy.
       Even during the suicide bombings there was dramatic proof 
     that peace is taking root. Remember, Prime Minister Peres 
     said, at the Summit of the Peacemakers in Sharm el-Sheikh we 
     had 29 leaders from around the globe, and 13 from the Arab 
     world voting and committing themselves for the first time not 
     only to condemn, but to work against terrorism in Israel. It 
     was an historic moment. And we are following up on it. 
     (Applause.)
       I say again, I want to hammer this home, not only to you 
     who know, but to people beyond this room--this progress for 
     peace is the reason the enemies of peace are lashing out. We 
     must restore peace. We must restore security. But we must not 
     be diverted from our ultimate goal, else we will hand them 
     the victory that they have sought all along. (Applause.)
       We know the circle of peace cannot be closed only by an end 
     to the fighting in Lebanon. It can be closed only when the 
     Arab-Israeli conflict is truly over; when normalization takes 
     hold in the entire Arab world; when Israel's security is 
     completely assured; when Israel is fully accepted in every 
     way in the region. The circle of peace will be closed only--
     and I say only--when the people of Israel are confident that 
     what they are getting is worth the risks they must take. 
     Peace and security are indivisible. And Israel must feel 
     comfortable and confident about both in order to achieve 
     either over the long run. (Applause.)
       Let me say to you what I hope you already know, the 
     breakthroughs of the past were possible because we built 
     together a bond of trust. And I pledge to you today that this 
     relationship will remain strong and vital--so strong and so 
     vital that no one will ever drive a wedge between us. 
     (Applause.)
       Our commitment to Israel's security is unshakable. It will 
     stay that way because Israel must have the means to defend 
     itself by itself. In a time of shrinking resources, we have 
     maintained our economic assistance. We have sought to enhance 
     Israel's security, to lessen the risks it has taken and still 
     takes every day for peace.
       Israel's qualitative military edge is greater than ever 
     because we have kept our word. Earlier today, Prime Minister 
     Peres and Secretary Perry signed an agreement to expand our 
     theater missile defense program so that we can detect and 
     destroy incoming missiles. That way Israel will have not only 
     the advantage it needs today, but will be able to defeat the 
     threats of tomorrow. (Applause.)
       As part of this effort, we are proceeding with the third 
     phase of the deployment of the Arrow missile program. 
     (Applause.) The United States is committing $200 million to 
     this effort so that the children who lived through the Scud 
     attacks of the Gulf War will never again face that fear. We 
     also pledge to expand work on the Nautilus high-energy laser 
     system, which is designed to destroy katyushas in flight. 
     (Applause.) Our Air Forces are working together so that the 
     first of the F15-Is are delivered as planned next year. 
     (Applause.) And we have offered Israel the ARAAM, our most 
     advanced air-to-air missile system so that Israel's air power 
     remains unmatched in the region. (Applause.)
       Our strategic cooperation is greater than ever. We are 
     continuing to help build Israel's high-tech capacity through 
     the sale of supercomputers. We are even expanding cooperation 
     in space and preparing to train Israeli astronauts. 
     (Applause.) There may be a few volunteers out there, Mr. 
     Prime Minister. (Laughter.)
       We are also working, as the Prime Minister said, more 
     closely than ever to defeat terrorism. This week we will 
     complete the agreement to combat extremist violence that we 
     began work on during my visit to Israel last month. Almost as 
     soon as we received word of the bombings we began sending new 
     equipment to detect explosives. Now we are committing more 
     than $100 million to this program for equipment and training, 
     for development of new technologies and improved 
     communications and coordination. And I am very pleased that 
     in the budget I signed just two days ago, the first $50 
     million was included in our common antiterrorist efforts. 
     (Applause.)
       We all know that Israel should have every tool at its 
     disposal in the fight against terror. And we all know that 
     the organized forces of hatred and terror threaten people not 
     only in the Middle East, but here at home and around the 
     world. We saw that in Oklahoma City, at the World Trade 
     Center, in the attacks we have thwarted, in the subways of 
     Tokyo, in the skies over Scotland. We see it all around the 
     world. Fighting terrorism will remain one of our top law 
     enforcement priorities for many years to come. And in order 
     to be successful, we have to have the tools we need here, and 
     we have to work together.
       I want to thank the Congress and members in both parties 
     for passing the antiterrorism bill I signed into law just 
     last week. (Applause.) I want to thank many of you in this 
     audience in both parties who worked hard and lobbied hard for 
     that legislation. (Applause.) It will help us to stop 
     terrorists before they strike and to bring them to justice 
     when they do.
       Now we can more quickly expel foreigners who came here and 
     support terrorist activities. Our prosecutors can wield new 
     tools and expanded penalties against those who terrorize 
     Americans at home or abroad. And we can stop terrorists from 
     raising money in the United States to pay for their crimes 
     anywhere around the world. (Applause.)
       Again, I say AIPAC has long been a powerful voice in favor 
     of this legislation. We may not be able to always stop those 
     who are gripped by hatred, but at least now because of your 
     support, we will make a real difference in the fight against 
     terror. And I pledge to you that in America, in Israel and 
     around the world we will not rest from these

[[Page E710]]

     efforts until, in the words of the psalm, ``We shall not be 
     afraid of the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flies 
     by day.''
       When I was in Jerusalem last month, I placed a small symbol 
     of the extraordinary bond of solidarity between the United 
     States and Israel on the grave of my friend Prime Minister 
     Rabin. It was a little stone from the South Lawn of the White 
     House where the first accord with the Palestinians was 
     signed. I put it there in keeping with the Jewish tradition 
     that says one must always add to the memories of those who 
     have died and never detract from them.
       Well, it falls to us to add more to the memories of all 
     those who have given their lives for Israel's security and 
     for the hope of peace. And we must do this not only with 
     stones, but in kind. We must build a peace as hard and real 
     as any stone. And in so doing, we will add to the memory of 
     every martyr and validate the sacrifice of every martyr, and 
     give meaning and breath and life to the dreams of so many who 
     have gone before.
       That is my vision to you and my pledge. And I say to you, 
     and especially to you, I will do everything I can to help us 
     achieve it together.
       Thank you, and God bless you. (Applause.)

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