[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 132 (Monday, September 28, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11018-S11019]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROGRESS IN THE MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, I rise today to take note of the
first signs of progess in the Middle East peace process in many months.
This morning, Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu of Israel, and Chairman
Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Authority met with President Clinton
at the White House to try to move the implementation of the stalled
Oslo peace ageeements forward.
While no agreement was reached, these talks produced enough progress
for the President to decide to send Secretary of State Albright and
Special Middle East Coordinator Dennis Ross to the Middle East next
week to try to bring the parties to an agreement. Prime Minister
Netanyahu and Chairman Arafat are expecting to return to Washington in
mid-October, with the hope that they will be able put the finishing
touches on a deal at that time.
The progress representated by today's meeting is significant, I
believe, for several reasons. First, it reminds us of the essential
need for there to be strong American leadership if there is to be
progress on the Middle East. No Middle East peace agreement has ever
been concluded without high-level U.S. involvement, and this time is no
differnt. The personal attention of the President of the United States
and the Secretary of State are crucial to advancing this process,
especially at a time when the parties have reached an impasse.
Among supporters of Israel, who long for it to live at peace with its
neighbors, there is broad recognition of the centrality of the American
role in Middle East peacemaking. That certainly is the view expressed
by a group of over 100 senior Jewish community leaders from California,
in a letter they sent to Presdient Clinton last week.
This letter is signed by 105 prominent Jewish leaders (rabbis,
community activists, academics, and philanthropists). It expresses what
I believe to be the widespread feeling of the American Jewish
community. In clear language, they appeal to the President not to lose
sight of the essential American role in helping Israel reach the peace
it is longing for. They write:
We have been strongly supportive of your Administration's
efforts to narrow the gaps between the two parties and help
them to reach an agreement. As in past Arab-Israeli
negotiations, the American role in getting both sides to say
yes is indispensable. Although mediating this complex dispute
can be a thankless task, and some naysayers may urge you to
put the peace process on the back burner, now is not the time
to stop searching for ways to help both peoples resolve their
differences.
Today's meeting shows that the President shares their sense of
urgency and is taking it to heart.
I ask unanimous consent that this letter and the 105 signatories be
printed in the Record at the conclusion of my remarks.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
(See Exhibit 1.)
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Today's meeting is also important, not just because
of what it says about the process and the U.S. role, but also for what
the prospect is that it can yield an agreement in just a few more days
or a few weeks. Far too much time has been lost.
Israel and the Palestinians have been stuck for months on how to
complete the interim agreements launched by the Oslo process, so that
they can move on to the critical final status talks. These interim
talks deal with hard and important questions: How much of the West Bank
Israel will redeploy from, what steps the Palestinian Authority will
take to ensure a sustained crackdown on terrorist groups, how the
security services of the two sides will work together to prevent acts
of terrorism, and the understanding that both sides must refrain from
unilateral actions that undermine the other side's confidence in the
peace process.
Nothing about these talks is easy, but the time has long since come
for both sides to take politically difficult, but fundamentally
necessary, decisions that will allow this process to move forward.
Israel's security and Palestinian dreams of self-determination can only
be realized through a mutually agreed permanent peace agreement.
To the extent that today's meeting and the talks set for upcoming
days represent a chance to complete the interim agreements and begin
final status talks, there is reason for hope. The final status talks--
which are supposed to be completed by May 4, 1999, but will probably
take much longer--are going to be difficult enough. They will deal with
the hardest questions of all: sovereignty, settlements, refugees,
water, and Jerusalem.
Every day these final status talks are delayed, they only become more
difficult. Every day they are delayed, the temptation on each side to
take unilateral measures only increases. Every day they are delayed is
another opportunity for extremists on each side to use violence to try
to destroy the chances for peace altogether.
If the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority are truly
committed to peace, as I believe they are, they cannot let that happen.
They must work hard in the next several days to complete the interim
agreement, and then move quickly to make progress in the final status
talks.
[[Page S11019]]
At this season of renewal in the Jewish calendar, when a new year and
new beginnings are at hand, it is my hope and prayer that a new day may
at last be dawning in the lives of Israelis and Palestinians. For that
to happen, their leaders, with the strong support of the United States,
must act to now to seize the opportunities that are before them.
I thank the Chair and yield the floor.
Exhibit 1
September 24, 1998.
Hon. William Jefferson Clinton,
The White House, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. President: As American Jews dedicated to Israel's
security and to a strong U.S.-Israel relationship, we want to
express our appreciation for your steadfast commitment to the
Jewish state and its quest for a secure peace.
As you face the many formidable challenges confronting your
Administration and our country, we urge you to reestablish
the Middle East peace process as an urgent American priority.
We believe it is important for the U.S. to encourage Israel
and the Palestinian Authority to redouble their efforts to
achieve an agreement on further Israeli redeployment and
enhanced security measures as soon as possible. The longer
this process drags on inconclusively, the greater the danger
of a total collapse of the entire peace process, which
inevitably will lead to more violence and bloodshed.
We have been strongly supportive of your Administration's
efforts to narrow the gaps between the two parties and help
them to reach an agreement. As in past Arab-Israeli
negotiations, the American role in getting both sides to say
yes is indispensable. Although mediating this complex dispute
can be a thankless task, and some naysayers may urge you to
put the peace process on the back burner, now is not the time
to stop searching for ways to help both peoples resolve their
differences.
The success of the peace process is, in our view, crucial
to Israel's long-term security and the strategic interests of
the United States. Polls consistently show that this position
reflects the widespread feeling in the American Jewish
community. We hope that, buoyed by this support, you will
keep striving to remove obstacles from the road to a secure
Arab-Israeli peace.
Sincerely,
signatories to letter to president bill clinton from california jewish
leaders
Rabbi Mona Alfi, Sacramento; Eric Alon, Palos Verdes Estes;
Rabbi Melanie Aron, Los Gatos; Arnold J. Band, UCLA; Rabbi
Lewis M. Barth, Los Angeles; Rabbi Haim Dov Beliak, Los
Angeles; Michael Berenbaum, Los Angeles; Rabbi Brad L. Bloom,
Sacramento; Martin Block, San Diego State University; Donna
Bojarsky, West Hollywood; Harry R. Brickman, UCLA.
Eli Broad, Los Angeles; Rabbi Samuel G. Broude, Oakland;
Rabbi Steven A. Chester, Oakland; Rabbi Helen Cohn, San
Francisco; Bruce C. Corwin, Beverly Hills; Rabbi Mark
Diamond, Oakland; Rabbi Shelton J. Donnell, Santa Ana;
Richard Dreyfuss, West Hollywood; Rabbi Steven J. Einstein,
Fountain Valley; Irwin S. Field, Beverly Hills; Rabbi Harvey
J. Fields, Beverly Hills; Sybil Fields, Beverly Hills; Rabbi
Allen I. Freehling, Los Angeles.
Elaine Galinson, La Jolla; Murray Galinson, La Jolla; Rabbi
Robert T. Gan, Los Angeles; Rabbi Laura Geller, Beverly
Hills; Don L. Gevirtz, Santa Barbara; Guilford Glazer,
Beverly Hills; Stanley P. Gold, Beverly Hills; Carole
Goldberg, UCLA; Danny Goldberg, Malibu; John Goldman,
Atherton; Lucy Goldman, La Jolla; Jona Goldrich, Culver City.
Bram Goldsmith, Beverly Hills; Osias Goren, Pacific
Palisades; Rabbi Roberto D. Graetz, Lafayette; Danny
Grossman, San Francisco; Lois Gunther, Los Angeles; Richard
Gunther, Los Angeles; Rabbi Jason Gwasdoff, Stockton; Rabbi
Johanna Hershenson, Aliso Viejo; Stanley Hirsh, Los Angeles;
Rabbi Steven B. Jacobs, Woodland Hills; Carol Katzman, Los
Angeles; Rabbi Bernie King, Irvine.
Rabbi Allen Krause, Aliso Viejo; Luis Lainer, Los Angeles;
Mark Lanier, Los Angeles; Susan B. Landau, Los Angeles; Gary
Lauder, San Francisco; Laura Lauder, San Francisco; Rabbi
Martin Lawson, San Diego; Irwin Levin, Los Angeles; Carol
Levy, Los Angeles; Mark C. Levy, Santa Monica; Peachy
Levy, Santa Monica; Rabbi Richard N. Levy, Los Angeles.
Rabbi Alan Lew, San Francisco; Rabbi David Lieb, San Pedro;
Peter Loewenberg, UCLA; Rabbi Brian Lurie, Ross; Rabbi Janet
Marder, Los Angeles; Michael Medavoy, Culver City; Arnold
Messer, Beverly Hills; Rabbi Herbert Morris, San Francisco;
David Myers, UCLA; Raquel H. Newman, San Francisco; Joan
Patsy Ostroy, Los Angeles; Norman J. Pattiz, Culver City.
Debra Pell, San Francisco; Joseph Pell, San Francisco; Sol
Price, San Diego; Jon Pritzker, San Francisco; Lisa Pritzker,
San Francisco; Arnold Rachlis, Irvine; David Rapoport, UCLA;
Rob Reiner, Beverly Hills; Kenneth Reinhard, UCLA; Rabbi
Steven Carr Reuben, Pacific Palisades; Rabbi Moshe Rothblum,
North Hollywood.
Edward Sanders, Los Angeles; Rabbi Harold Schulweis,
Encino; Paul Siegel, La Jolla; Rabbi Robert A. Siegel,
Fresno; Alan Sieroty, Los Angeles; Rabbi Steven L. Silver,
Redondo Beach; Richard Sklar, UCLA; Terri Smooke, Beverly
Hills; Marcia Smolens, San Francisco; Fredelle Z. Spiegel,
UCLA; Steven L. Spiegel, UCLA; Rabbi Jonathan Stein, San
Diego.
Arthur Stern, Beverly Hills; Faye Straus, Lafayette; Sandor
Straus, Lafayette; Rabbi Reuven Taff, Sacramento; Allan
Tobin, UCLA' Rabbi Martin Weiner, San Francisco; Sanford
Weiner, Los Angeles; Howard Welinsky, Culver City; Steven J.
Zipperstein, Stanford University.
Mr. DOMENICI addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Mexico is recognized.
____________________