[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 30 (Monday, August 1, 1994)]
[Pages 1550-1551]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at the State Dinner for King Hussein of Jordan and Prime 
Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel

July 25, 1994

    Your Majesties, Prime Minister and Mrs. Rabin, all our distinguished 
guests: Welcome to the White House. Today we have seen history in the 
making. And tonight we celebrate this marvelous occasion with King 
Hussein and Prime Minister Rabin and to all of you who for so long have 
supported their efforts for peace.
    It's a special pleasure for Hillary and for me to welcome Queen Noor 
and Mrs. Rabin who, in their devotion to the health and the well-being 
of the children of their nations, prove that the quest for peace is not 
the only cause that knows no borders.
    Today's signing of the Washington Declaration is the handiwork of 
many. But it is safe to say we would not be here tonight were it not for 
the persistent and far-sighted efforts of Crown Prince Hassan, Foreign 
Minister Peres, and our Secretary of State, Warren Christopher. I want 
to express my special gratitude to Secretary Christopher, who has 
brought such great energy and devotion to this task, and to applaud all 
three gentlemen for their efforts.
    The Washington Declaration is a blueprint, both inspiring and 
practical, a foundation for lasting peace between two peoples who have 
been divided for too long. It is also clearly a personal tribute to two 
brave leaders, both called upon at a young age to shoulder enormous 
responsibilities, one to be a king, the other a defender of his people, 
brought together now at long last in the common cause of peace.
    King Hussein, tonight we recall again the legacy of your grandfather 
and mentor, King Abdullah, a man who dreamed that one day, on both sides 
of the River Jordan, Arab and Jew could live together in peace and who 
lost his life for that dream of peace. At the age of 17, when most of us 
were still in school, you were left to shoulder the great weight of 
leading your people.
    In the 42 years that have passed, you have led your kingdom through 
the stormy waters of the Middle East. You have improved the lives of 
your people and endowed your nation with a spirit of tolerance, 
civility, and compromise. You've built bridges between the Arab world 
and the United States through your actions as an advocate for stability 
and through your marriage to the Queen, herself a daughter of Americans 
who came from the Arab world. For that, we, sir, are in your debt.
    And today you have moved to erase the divisions between the people 
of the two sides of the River Jordan. Tonight it can truly be said that 
you have fulfilled the legacy of King Abdullah.
    Mr. Prime Minister, tonight we honor you, a son of the land of 
Israel. Your parents, Nehemia and Rosa, were among the first pioneers 
who came to Palestine. And like so many others of their generation, they 
devoted their lives to building a national home for the Jewish people.
    Schooled in the science of agriculture, you once planned to devote 
your life to making the fields and deserts of Israel come alive. But at 
the age of 19, you answered the call to join the Palmach, destined to 
spend your life fighting to establish and defend the nation of Israel.
    Now, after a life consumed by a war, you have become the architect 
of a great peace, building a homeland your parents could only imagine, a 
peaceful, prosperous land at harmony with its neighbors, a land where a 
new generation will be free to cast aside its weapons and fulfill your 
dream to make the valleys and deserts bloom. Tonight we honor you and 
the fulfillment of your legacy, sir.
    These two men have crossed much hostile territory so that their 
children and their children's children need fight no more. They have 
earned this peace, and we are all in their debt.
    And so, ladies and gentlemen, I ask you to rise and join me in a 
toast to these men of courage, to their fine families, to the peoples of 
Jordan and Israel, and to the promise of peace.

Note: The President spoke at 8:36 p.m. in the State Dining Room at the 
White House.

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