[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 96 (Wednesday, June 26, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1182-E1183]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              PUTTING THE MIDDLE EAST PEACE IN PERSPECTIVE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROBERT C. SCOTT

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 26, 1996

  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, I wish to recommend the following article to 
my colleagues, authored by Rabbi Israel Zoberman from Virginia Beach on 
``Putting the Middle East Peace in Perspective'' which appeared in the 
April 5, 1996 edition of the Virginian Pilot.

                [From the Virginian--Pilot, 4, 5, 1996]

                Putting Middle East Peace in Perspective

                          (By Israel Zoberman)

       The Middle East peace process finds itself at fateful 
     crossroads following the recent terrorist suicide-bombings in 
     Israel's urban centers.
       The 100-years-long deadly entanglement between Arab and Jew 
     began to be unlocked by the courageously crafted 1979 
     rapprochement between President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and 
     Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel.
       The first breach in the wall separating avowed antagonists 
     was led on the Arab side by no other than Egypt. Though Sadat 
     became a sacrifice on the altar of correcting history's 
     course, his act of faith, along with Begin's willing yet 
     costly compromise, was necessary for the next break-through 
     to follow. That was not to happen without the painful 1982 
     Lebanon war, which highlighted the Palestinian factor and the 
     urgency of responding creatively to its complex dimensions.
       The bloody and embarrassing Intifada erupting in 1987 
     confirmed Israel's need to come to grips with that portion of 
     the Camp David Peace Accords remaining open, laying to rest 
     those spoils of the 1967 Six-Day War, which paradoxically 
     have both allowed and forced it to negotiate peace. The PLO 
     and Chairman Yasser Arafat received the final wake-up call in 
     the wake of the 1991 Persian Gulf war. He bet on the wrong 
     horse, while facing the prospect of being replaced by the 
     even-more-militant Muslim fundamentalism of the 
     uncompromising Hamas ilk.
       The 1993 shaky handshake between Prime Minister Yitzhak 
     Rabin and Chairman Arafat on the South Lawn of the White 
     House, with President Clinton acting as proud officiant, 
     changed forever the dynamics of Middle Eastern politics, 
     facilitating Jordan's 1994 peace treaty with Israel.
       Rabin, ironically the victorious architect of the glorious 
     1967 war of survival, fell victim to its bitter fruit and an 
     Israeli-Jewish extremist vengefully trying to halt proceeding 
     toward a land-for-peace solution, causing an immense trauma. 
     The exsoldier's heroic peacemaking has already dramatically 
     enlarged Israel's circle of diplomatic and economic 
     connections, substantially rewarding the cooperative Arabs, 
     including the hard-pressed Palestinians.
       In January, I was among 55 rabbis on a peace mission to 
     visit the leadership of Israel, Egypt, Jordan and the 
     Palestinian Authority. We were in Gaza on the eve of the 
     first Palestinian elections, protected by armed guards as we 
     entered at the Erez checkpoint, where a relative of mine, a 
     young Israeli officer, was killed about a year ago.
       We were warmly greeted by General Usuf, head of security; 
     he impressed us with his realistic appraisal, stating that it 
     is easier to fight than to engage in peace and that it is 
     absolutely necessary to educate the young generation for a 
     new reality, acknowledging that both societies are 
     interdependent. Wise words, indeed.
       We owe a great deal to President Clinton for his steadfast 
     backing throughout this excruciating series of highs and 
     lows, its uplifting moments and, particularly, during the 
     devastating ordeal of assassination and terrorist explosions. 
     He has won the heart of Israel with his reassuring presence 
     and wide initiative, spearheading the anti-terrorism summit 
     conference and taking concrete steps to provide aid in 
     efforts to counter terrorism. Such steps should include 
     cutting off financial support from sources in the United 
     States and Europe to the sponsors of wholesale slaughter, 
     Iran receiving no uncertain notice for its criminal 
     involvement.
       I remain confident about the potential to avoid the 
     pitfalls of the past, though I am concerned about the May 28 
     Israeli elections and the possible loss of nerve after being 
     so gravely tested. Having grown up in the Israel of the '50s 
     and '60s and having served in its army, I appreciate the 
     miracle of a transformed environment that we could not even 
     dream of then. The essential agreement with Syria and 
     Lebanon, without which there is no peace, is in the offing, 
     mindful of the thorny Golan issue.
       Even hard-nosed President Hafez el-Assad cannot long deny 
     it; his role is vital in checking the plague of violence 
     which he does not hesitate to unleash for his own purposes. 
     Arafat knows that his future and that of his long-deprived 
     people depends on standing up to foes from within who are 
     undermining their own brethren.

[[Page E1183]]

       Amending the Palestinian National Covenant in regard to 
     Israel's destruction is long overdue. We surely cannot permit 
     the purveyors of chaos and hate to have the last say. They 
     will not alter the progressive agenda and valiant vision to 
     yet turn swords into plowshares, hallowing the gift of life 
     through the gift of peace.

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