[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.

                          ____________________