[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 14 (Thursday, February 1, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E93-E94]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        U.S. MIDDLE EAST POLICY

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 31, 2001

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I want to share with my colleagues an 
article written by Douglas Bloomfield for the Chicago Jewish Star. The 
article provides an accurate summary of President Clinton's efforts to 
facilitate peace and dialogue in the Middle East during his service to 
this country. I agree with Mr. Bloomfield that ``No other (U.S.) 
President has been so closely identified with Israel's search for 
peace.''
  Mr. Bloomfield's article discusses the popularity of President 
Clinton in Israel and among the Jewish Community in the United States 
due, in large part, to the commitment he made to do everything within 
his means to bring peace to the Middle East. I share that appreciation 
for the priority President Clinton made of these important issues. I 
have often looked to Mr. Bloomfield's work for an accurate perspective 
on events and trends in the Middle East as well as a constructive 
evaluation of U.S. Middle East policy. Clearly the Bush Administration 
has a tough act to follow in ensuring that Americans and Israeli's feel 
comfortable in America's commitment to the security of Israel and her 
prosperity in the future. I urge all of my colleagues to take the time 
to read the following article.

                     [From the Chicago Jewish Star]

                     Washington Watch--Shalom, Bill

                       (By Douglas M. Bloomfield)

       ``If Bill Clinton is looking for a job, he can come over 
     there and run for prime minister. He'd win easily,'' said a 
     caller from Israel the other morning. ``He's still the most 
     popular politician in the country.''
       And he remains popular at home as well, particularly in the 
     Jewish community, despite the controversies that plagued his 
     administration. The peace proposal he revealed recently in a 
     farewell speech to peace activists included proposes that 
     made even left even some dovish followers uncomfortable, but 
     no reasonable person could challenge the sincerity of his 
     desire to help Israel find peace.
       Nor can anything overcome the hysterical frenzy of the 
     Clinton haters and those extremists who see any concessions 
     to the Palestinians as selling out Israel.
       No other president has been so closely identified with 
     Israel's search for peace. He

[[Page E94]]

     may have been motivated in part by a desire to leave a 
     historic legacy, but as one of the savviest politicians ever 
     to occupy the Oval Office he long ago figured out there were 
     far better ways to do that than by plunging into the Middle 
     East morass.
       Look instead to his relationship with the late Prime 
     Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who brought the completed Oslo 
     agreement to Clinton with an appeal for help in implementing 
     it. Clinton promised to minimize the risks for Israel and 
     help smooth out the rough decisions. After Rabin's 
     assassination, Clinton's commitment became a mission.
       He can be faulted for pushing too long and too hard, 
     especially after it should have been clear that he wanted 
     peace more than the parties themselves, particularly Yasser 
     Arafat.
       He wrongly relied on Ehud Barak's faulty political 
     instincts and novice politician's enthusiasm. The President 
     ignored the advice of his own advisors, the Palestinians and 
     some Israelis when he bowed to Barak's desire to convene last 
     summer's abortive Camp David summit.
       More recently, he has been trying to salvage a last minute 
     agreement before leaving office--failing or refusing to hear 
     the window of opportunity slam shut.
       Clinton consistently overestimated his ability to affect 
     Arafat's behavior, and he may have badly miscalculated the 
     level of the Palestinian leader's commitment to a genuine 
     peace.
       Clinton has succeeded on so many fronts by dint of charm 
     and personality, and he thought he could do it with Arafat as 
     well. No other foreign leader has been to the White House as 
     often, and Clinton's mistaken failure to demand Arafat pay 
     more for that access only encouraged the Palestinian leader's 
     obstinacy.
       ``He played Clinton Masterfully,'' said a former White 
     House official. ``Clinton felt he was giving peace every 
     chance, but, like Rabin, Peres and Barak, he failed to hold 
     Arafat's feet to the fire.''
       Clinton admonished Arafat in his speech earlier this month 
     to Jewish leaders for fostering ``the culture of violence and 
     the culture of incitement.'' But his persistent reluctance to 
     deal with Palestinian incitement was interpreted as a sign of 
     weakness and may have fueled the current crisis.
       Echoing a hopeful Israeli leaderships, he wrongly expected 
     Israel's surprisingly forthcoming offers would elicit 
     positive responses. But his blindness to Arafat's faults and 
     deceptions may have encouraged the semi-retired terrorist to 
     cling more tightly to his maximalist demands and let the 
     Israelis negotiate with each other and with the Americans.
       American and Israeli insiders say Clinton never pushed 
     Israel without being encouraged by leaders there to give them 
     a nudge and some political cover for tough decisions. But at 
     the same time, Clinton mistakenly listened too much to some 
     of his left-leaning Jewish friends who gave him bad advice on 
     such things as his wife's meeting with Mrs. Arafat and his 
     counter-productive confrontations with Prime Minister 
     Benjamin Netanyahu.
       If Clinton was too intensely involved in the nitty gritty 
     of the peaces process, there is a greater risk that his 
     successor will be too disengaged.
       Whatever his shortcomings, there can be no questioning 
     Clinton's commitment to Israel and its search for peace. He 
     brought an unprecedented warmth and understanding, even as he 
     demonstrated a genuine empathy for the Palestinians that won 
     their trust.
       A key to Clinton's winning the confidence of the Israelis 
     and the vast majority of Jewish voters was his high comfort 
     level with the Jewish community at home. It is unmatched by 
     any president, as is the affection and support he got in 
     return.
       That backing was bolstered by domestic policies that were 
     in synch with most Jewish voters, particularly on issues such 
     as church-state separation, civil liberties, reproductive 
     rights, the environment, education and social welfare.
       Jewish voters rewarded him and his vice president with 
     nearly 80% of their votes in three national elections.
       There were more Jewish officials at all levels of the 
     Clinton administration than in any prior government; at one 
     time there were six in Cabinet level posts, compared to none 
     so far in the incoming Bush administration.
       American Jews never felt on the outside during the Clinton 
     years' that was particularly important since he followed a 
     president who publicly questioned their patriotism.
       He deserves enormous credit for his historic contribution 
     to the struggle to bring a measure of justice to the 
     survivors of the Holocaust after decades of frustration and 
     inaction. His personal commitment and the intense involvement 
     of his administration, particularly through the outstanding 
     work of Deputy Treasury Secretary Stuart Eizenstat, helped 
     end half a century of Swiss denial and stone-walling.
       That personal involvement produced progress in such areas 
     as the restitution of stolen property in other nations, 
     compensation for slave and forced laborers, the settlement of 
     insurance claims, the return of cultural artifacts and aid 
     for the neediest of Hitler's remaining victims.
       Credit is shared with an unlikely partner, former Sen. 
     Alfonse D'Amato (R-NY). Although as chairman of the Senate 
     Banking Committee, D'Amato was leading an investigation of 
     the Clintons' Whitewater investments, both men rose above 
     their political differences to cooperate fully in the Swiss 
     investigations, realizing success beyond anyone's 
     expectations.
       Both the Administration and the Congress worked closely 
     with the World Jewish Restitution Organization, representing 
     both Israel and the diaspora, to bring about historic 
     results.
       I will leave it to others to chronicle Clinton's many 
     shortcomings. I expect history will judge this flawed 
     president more kindly than his contemporaries. He alone 
     robbed his presidency of greatness as he demonstrated that in 
     Washington most of the slings and arrows politicians suffer 
     are self-inflicted.
       But the Jewish community should be very grateful for his 
     stewardship, for his dedication to assisting Israel in its 
     search for peace, for his contribution to the survivors of 
     the Holocaust and for his undeniable friendship.

     

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