    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book II)]
    [November 21, 1997]
    [Pages 1627-1630]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Receiving the Man of Peace Award
    November 21, 1997

        Dalia, Michelle, Members of Congress, members of the administration,
    General and Mrs. Shelton, Secretary Christopher, Secretary Vance,
    General Powell, thank you all for coming. To the Ambassadors of Israel
    and Jordan and Egypt, we thank you for being here today. Shimon and
    Leah, thank you for your friendship, for your remarks, and for your
    continued profound and eloquent striving for peace.
        I am delighted that this prize will fund scholarships for young
    Americans to study in Israel, further strengthening the bonds between
    our nations and deepening the friendship between our people. And I am
    profoundly honored to be the first recipient of the Man of Peace Award.
    But actually, as we all know, I can accept this only on behalf of all
    people in our administration and previous administrations and, indeed,
    citizens in this country who have devoted themselves to helping to bring
    peace in the Middle East. There can be no greater recognition that this
    award was founded by the family of Yitzhak Rabin and by Shimon Peres,
    two men who helped to give the world one of its greatest gifts, the hope
    of a new era of peace in the land of light and revelation.
        You know, I was sitting here thinking when Shimon and Leah were
    talking of all the times that Hillary and I and Al and Tipper were with
    one or all of them, and it's so hard to say now, but actually, from time
    to time, we had a lot of fun doing this.
        There were times when I thought that my role in the Middle East
    peace process was to bring to bear the wealth and power of the United
    States to work in a positive way and

    [[Page 1628]]

    to work things through with Arab States, and all of that. A lot of times
    I thought I was Prime Minister Rabin's fashion adviser--[laughter]--
    which shows you just how much trouble he was in. [Laughter]
        Upstairs--in my office upstairs, which is actually almost exactly
    right above this room, I have on a little table, in a silver tray that I
    believe Shimon gave me, the yarmulke that I wore at the Prime Minister's
    funeral, a little pin I had to wear to go to the graveside, and a small
    stone I took from the grave. But above it I have the picture of us
    together the last time I ever saw him, where I'm straightening the bow
    tie I had to get for him because he didn't bring a bow tie to take to
    this black-tie dinner that we attended.
        I say that to remind you that the real purpose of peace is to allow
    people to laugh, to return to ordinary life, to appreciate the little
    things in life, and to appreciate it with people with whom they have
    previously been at odds and that it is not something we can be
    discouraged about, it has to be done little by little.
        I remember the day we were in here and we were fixing to go out, in
    September, and sign the peace agreement. And the Prime Minister was of
    two minds. First, you know, people were grinding on him, ``How can you
    do this? You can't trust the Palestinians,'' and all this, and he had
    this great one-liner, ``Well, you can't make peace with your friends.''
    But then when I said, when we went out there it was going to be quite an
    extravaganza, and Mr. Arafat was an emotional person, and there was
    going to have to be a handshake--well, now, the handshake was another
    thing altogether. [Laughter]
        He said, ``I have been fighting him for decades.'' I said, ``You
    just told me you can't make peace with your friends. There is going to
    be a billion people watching. What are you going to do?'' He said, ``All
    right, but no kissing.'' [Laughter] And so I'm glad the press didn't
    know that, because there's always this question, is the glass half empty
    or half full? So the whole world was electrified by this picture of
    these two men shaking hands. If the whole story had been known, someone
    would have written the story, why didn't they kiss? [Laughter]
        We have to remember what the purpose of this is. Shimon Peres and
    Yitzhak Rabin rose to the height of Israeli politics by being concerned
    with the security of the State of Israel. And after a lifetime devoted
    to its security, based on their experience and their understanding not
    only of the particular situation but of human nature, they reached a
    unique partnership premised on a commitment to peace as ultimately the
    only guarantor of security. They found the sort of courage that we saw
    when Sadat and Begin signed the Camp David accords.
        And I will never forget that great day here in September of '93,
    when Yitzhak Rabin said, ``Enough of blood and tears.'' Leah mentioned
    the things which happened afterward, and we have seen a great deal of
    progress, the interim accords, the peace with Jordan in the Araba,
    growing diplomatic ties with neighbors.
        Shimon said in his Nobel Address that Israel had proved, and I
    quote, ``that aggressors do not necessarily emerge as the victors.'' But
    also, he had learned that the victors do not necessarily win peace. To
    win peace these two leaders, on behalf of the Israeli people, stepped
    beyond the bounds of convention, put aside old habits of suspicion and
    mistrust. And after an assassin's bullet took Yitzhak's life, Shimon
    stayed true to the path they had chosen, even when the enemies of peace
    waged terror against the people of Israel.
        We know from experience both before and since that progress is
    possible and progress is difficult, that barriers fall only if people
    show a consistent and constant will to go forward, guided by and bound
    to several principles. I think it's worth repeating them here today.
    Israelis and Palestinians must embrace the spirit at the heart of the
    Oslo accords, not jockeying for advantage but working together for the
    benefit of both sides. Both sides must dedicate themselves to building
    confidence, step by step, through a series of agreements on issues
    affecting both Palestinians and Israelis. Both sides must refrain from
    actions that undermine the joint pledge they have made to strengthen
    security. Both sides must approach each other as partners, joined by the
    prospect of peace and security. Both sides must live up to the letter
    and the spirit of their obligations.
        In recent months, you have to acknowledge at least that the pace of
    change has slowed and that the bonds of trust have eroded on both sides.
    The answer is not to bemoan the present condition but to renew our
    resolve to move forward.
        During recent negotiations here in Washington and in the region,
    Israelis and Palestinians

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    worked together seriously in an atmosphere of genuine respect. They
    faced the essential task of building cooperation and preventing
    terrorism. They moved closer to agreement on concrete steps to benefit
    the Palestinian people. They worked to advance the discussion on more
    difficult issues they will face in permanent status negotiations.
        Now both sides have got to realize the need for urgency. The window
    of progress will become smaller with time. The frustration of ordinary
    people, both Israelis and Palestinians, will grow in the absence of
    progress. That is why we want the parties to work intensively on the
    matters that Prime Minister Netanyahu and Chairman Arafat have
    undertaken to discuss: security cooperation, redeployment of Israeli
    forces, a time-out on provocative actions, the acceleration of permanent
    status talks. By addressing these issues, we can establish for Israelis
    and Palestinians that peace will bring tangible benefits. By speeding
    the progress on this track, we can move closer to invigorating
    negotiations between Israel and Lebanon and Israel and Syria to
    establish a lasting and comprehensive peace.
        In recent weeks, as Iraq has challenged the United Nations, we have
    been reminded again of how vital it is to continue forging a community
    of shared values throughout the region to strengthen the bonds among all
    people who oppose intimidation and terror, and how we will never ever do
    that until there is peace between Israel and her neighbors, and that the
    absence of that peace makes the other difficulties, tensions, and
    frustrations all the more troubling because it compounds them and
    undermines our ability to seek a unified solution.
        I think I should say just a few words about Iraq before closing.
    Early this morning, the international weapons inspectors arrived back in
    Baghdad, including the Americans assigned to the team. Their
    unconditional return is an important achievement for the international
    community. It shows once again that determined diplomacy backed by the
    potential of force is the only way to deal with Saddam Hussein. We must
    make sure that inspectors are able to resume their mission unimpeded.
    The inspector team has a clear mission and a clear responsibility. They
    must be able to proceed with their work without interference, to find,
    to destroy, to prevent Iraq from rebuilding nuclear, chemical, and
    biological weapons and the missiles to carry them.
        Let there be no mistake: We must be constantly vigilant and
    resolute, and with our friends and partners, we must be especially
    determined to prevent Saddam's ability to reconstitute his weapons of
    mass destruction program. Our children and our grandchildren will not
    forgive us unless we honor the work of these UNSCOM professionals. We
    must not let our children be exposed to the indiscriminate availability
    and potential of use and actual use of the biological and chemical and
    smaller scale nuclear weapons which could terrorize the 21st century.
        The UNSCOM team of dedicated professionals have labored quietly and
    effectively for 6 years. The past 2 weeks have made them famous people
    in the world. Let us not so much cherish their fame as value their
    mission. And let us be determined to see that it can go forward.
        Leah and Shimon, it was about 5 years ago that I promised Yitzhak,
    as President Carter had promised Menachem Begin, that the United States
    would be there every step of the way with Israel as it walks the path of
    peace. Today I renew that pledge for myself, our administration, and
    indeed for the American people. I am deeply honored by this award. But
    the only prize in the end that really matters is the prize of peace we
    must give to the children of the Middle East.
        For as long as I live, I will be grateful for the profound honor I
    had to work with you, Shimon, and with Yitzhak, to get to know your
    families, your coworkers, your friends, to see one of those magic
    moments that the Nobel Prize-winning Irish poet Seamus Heaney spoke of
    when he said that sometimes people just leave aside their cynicism and
    their bitterness, and hope and history rhyme. That is what you've made
    happen. The only way we can truly honor the memory of our friend and the
    continuing work of our friend, Shimon Peres, is not to let it go but to
    bear down and see it through.
        Thank you very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 12:27 p.m. in the East Room at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Dalia Filosof, daughter of
    assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, and Leah Rabin, his
    widow; Michelle Waldin, granddaughter of former Israeli Prime Minister
    Shimon Peres; Gen. Henry H. Shelton, USA, Chairman,

    [[Page 1630]]

    Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his wife, Carolyn; former Secretary of State
    Warren M. Christopher; former Secretary of State Cyrus R. Vance; Gen.
    Colin Powell, USA (Ret.), former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff;
    Ambassadors to the United States Eliahu Ben-Elissar of Israel, Marwan
    Jamil Muashir of Jordan, and Ahmed Maher al-Sayed of Egypt; Chairman
    Yasser Arafat of the Palestinian Authority; and Prime Minister Binyamin
    Netanyahu of Israel. The Rabin Foundation and the Peres Foundation
    jointly established the Man of Peace Award.