[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 11 (Monday, March 18, 1996)]
[Pages 497-502]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks in a Question-and-Answer Session With Students in Tel Aviv, 
Israel

March 14, 1996

    The President. Thank you, Liad, for your introduction and for your 
fine remarks. She did a good job representing the young people of 
Israel, didn't she? You did a great job. Thank you. Mr. Mayor, thank you 
for your welcome and your vigorous and important statement. My friend, 
Prime Minister Peres, thank you for your many wonderful words. I hope 
that in our common pursuit of peace I can be worthy of them.
    I want to thank all of you for making me feel so welcome here today, 
and I would like to say a special word of thanks to the people who 
provided the wonderful music, the Sheba Choir, the Moran Choir, the Tel 
Aviv-Yaffa Youth Orchestra, Danny Robas; thank you all very much.
    You have made me feel very welcome here today, in this time of pain 
and sorrow, also a time of challenge for all of Israel, and especially 
for the young people of this great nation. Only a few blocks from this 
hall, only days ago, 13 Israelis were murdered as they went about their 
daily business; the latest victims of the latest campaign of terror. 
Four bombs in 9 days in Jerusalem, Ashkelon, Tel Aviv--dozens murdered, 
scores wounded. Your neighbors, your friends, your classmates.
    Here every death is a death in the family. But let me say to the 
mothers and fathers, the brothers and sisters, the grandparents and 
children, the friends of those who have died, we know your pain is 
unimaginable and to some extent unshareable, but America grieves with 
you and prays that you will be comforted among the mourners of Zion and 
Jerusalem. Indeed, America lost its own children in these attacks. Three 
weeks ago in Jerusalem, Sara Duker and Matthew Eisenfeld; before them, 
Joan Devenny and Alyssa Flatow and Nachshon Wachsman, a young American 
who was also a soldier and whose grave, along with those of soldiers of 
the IDF killed in recent bombings I recently visited, just a few hours 
ago in Har Herzl. I'm glad there are many American students here today 
because we must stand together, and you must stand together.
    America knows also the wounds of terror because of experience on our 
own soil, in the tragedies of Oklahoma City and the World Trade Center 
in New York. One of terrorists' greatest consequences is the awful 
persistence of fear, fear that the bus is not safe, that a shopping 
center might be a target, that there is no haven from danger, that 
friends or family will be taken in an instant, that the fear itself will 
never end. But fear must be conquered, security must be restored, and 
peace must be pursued.
    I wanted to have this opportunity to speak with you, the young 
people of this country, because it is vital that you believe that fear 
can and will be defeated, for you are the future and your response to 
these cowardly acts will shape your nation's future.

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    I spend a lot of time at home going around America telling the young 
people of my country that they and this whole generation of young people 
all across the world are growing up in the age of greatest possibility 
even known; a time when more people will be able to fill out their 
dreams in life than ever before; a time when the information and 
technology revolution is literally bringing things to the doorstep and 
the fingertips of young people that only a couple of years ago were 
unimaginable. Indeed, this is the greatest period of change in economics 
in society in at least 100 years, since the Industrial Revolution. And 
our country's great computer magnate, Bill Gates, says that the digital 
chip is bringing about the greatest revolution in world communications 
in 500 years, since Gutenberg printed the first Bible in Europe.
    If that is true, it seems especially painful that a country like 
Israel, full of people with such great intellect and energy, with such a 
great devotion to learning and hard work and to exploring all of life's 
possibilities, should still be in the grip of such ancient hatred. It 
must seem to you an enormous burden and at least a great paradox. But I 
am afraid it is part of human nature.
    It seems that there is always some war going on in the history of 
humankind between hope and fear, and that within each of us there is 
some balance scale of hope and fear that is rooted in human nature. And 
each of us has to decide whether we will live for our dream, whether we 
will define our lives in terms of what we are and what we wish to 
become, or whether we will live by our fears and our hatred, defining 
ourselves by what we are not and what we are against.
    Those who still pursue the terror here, in the face of unbelievable 
opportunities for learning, for prosperity, for growth, for living in 
harmony, for enriching their lives by living with people who are other 
than they are, they are in the grip of that ancient fear that life can 
only be lived if you're looking down on someone else, if you're hating 
someone else, if you're grateful just for the fact that you're not like 
someone else. It is the great challenge of your generation to overcome 
those fears in perhaps the hardest place in the world to do it. For you 
can live out your dreams only if you can convince others to lay down 
their fear and define themselves in terms of what they can become, not 
who they can hate.
    We are determined to stand with you in that effort. We knew that 
overcoming adversity is the genius of the Jewish people and the history 
of the state of Israel. No nation on Earth knows better that the path of 
triumph often passes through tragedy. No people know better through 
millennia of exile and persecution, inquisition, and pogrom, the 
ultimate evil of the Holocaust, that you must deny victory to 
oppressors; that you must flourish--indeed flourish, not just endure--
against all the odds.
    And Israel is proof of your extraordinary resilience. Here in modern 
times, an ancient people have performed a miracle, forged a great and 
prosperous democracy, caused the desert to bloom, and given rise to 
great cities. Tel Aviv, a hill of spring and rebirth, a vibrant culture 
and thriving business, has grown up where not so very long ago there was 
only a hill of sand.
    Against overwhelming danger and war, through the ordeal of 
isolation, for more than four decades of bloody struggle, Israel has not 
only persisted, Israel has flourished. Your achievements in the face of 
this adversity have inspired free men and women the world over. We all 
draw strength from your example, and you teach us anew the power of the 
human spirit to build realities out of dreams.
    At this time of year we are reminded especially of the resilience of 
the Jewish people, for in only a few weeks it will be Passover, time for 
retelling the story of the Exodus, the story of the struggle for 
freedom, the story that has inspired the world for so many centuries. 
And at Seder Jews everywhere will say the words that have been repeated 
every year for ages, ``In every generation someone rises up to destroy 
us.'' Well, the Jewish people have overcome every one of these would-be 
destroyers and denied them their goal, and reaffirmed that what is good 
in human nature can prevail.
    Perhaps there will always be someone, some group, some nation that 
seeks to destroy Israel. Even if peace is made here in the Middle East, 
there will always be those who seek to take advantage of others, who 
seek to deny others their rightful place in

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human destiny, who even seek to deny the realities of human nature and 
the humanity we all share. It is not in our power to rid the world of 
evil. But today it is within our power to fight on for peace that will 
give your generation the age of possibility you so richly deserve.
    More nations than ever before have risen up with Israel to defeat 
the destroyers, those who would kill and maim, those who explode human 
bombs on buses and on busy streets, those who seek to destroy the peace 
by violence. And here more people are willing to come and share your 
faith, for along with the Israelis who died in these last round of 
bombings there were also Palestinians and Americans and others.
    The lesson of the meeting we held yesterday in Sharm al-Sheikh was 
that Israel is not alone. It was an unprecedented event in the history 
of this region. At the urging of Israel's neighbors--Egypt, Jordan, the 
Palestinians, and the United States--29 leaders, 13 of them from Arab 
states, came to demonstrate their support for peace and their opposition 
to the terrorism that is bent on wrecking peace. It was the largest such 
meeting ever. We there rededicated ourselves to the battle against 
extremism. We began to work closely together to root out those 
responsible for the bloodshed.
    A meeting like this would literally have been unthinkable just a few 
years ago. For the first time Arab nations recognized and said publicly 
that pain in Israel is a danger to them as well. They understand that 
the destruction of hopes and dreams and innocent life in Israel is a 
threat to the future they want for themselves and their children. And 
that is a cause for hope in itself.
    Today large majorities of Palestinians, Jordanians, Egyptians are 
saying that they wish to raise their children in peace. They want to go 
about their work to build a better life. They too have had enough of war 
and enough of tears, as Prime Minister Rabin said. They have understood 
that for all peoples in the region security does not lie just at the end 
of the road to peace; there must be security every step of the way or 
there will be no peace. Peace and security are indivisible.
    Twenty-nine years ago, when the Straits of Turan were closed, Sharm 
al-Sheikh stood as the symbol of Israel's isolation from the world. But 
in 1996 Sharm al-Sheikh has become a symbol of Israel's acceptance in 
this region and in the world.
    The division today in the Middle East is not between Arab and Jew. 
It is between those who are reaching for a better tomorrow and those who 
have retreated into the pointless, bloody hostility of yesterday. We 
must be clear: Those who are reaching for the future will prevail.
    The bombings of recent days have been the act of desperate men who 
see that peace is coming closer, that support for peace is growing in 
the West Bank and Gaza and throughout nations of the region. They know 
that stirring these old embers of hatred is their only chance to burn 
down all that has been built. We must not let them succeed in continuing 
their violence or in breaking our will for peace.
    Just a few months ago I was here in Israel on another journey of 
great sorrow, to mourn the death of my friend Prime Minister Rabin. Just 
as the bullet that struck him down renewed our determination to press 
ahead then, if he were here standing with his partner Shimon Peres he 
would say we must have these tragedies move us forward with even greater 
conviction.
    I know Israel will not lose resolve for peace. Just before coming 
here, I visited in Jerusalem the Bet-Haruch where a number of students 
had lost their lives in the recent bombings. I talked to their fellow 
classmates, and I was amazed at the resilience and the determination of 
these young people to press ahead for a better future. And then on the 
road to Tel Aviv, I called two young men, Tal Loel and Uri Tal, who were 
badly injured in the Tel Aviv bombing. And they wrote me from their 
hospital beds a marvelous letter in which they said, and I quote, 
``Peace is the only true solution for this area.'' I salute those young 
men for not losing hope even while they are dealing with their own 
injuries in the hospital. Their extraordinary spirit is the spirit of 
Israel.
    Yesterday, in Sharm al-Sheikh, nations from this region and around 
the world strengthened their resolve to defeat those who would destroy 
peace. Today Prime Minister Peres and I, along with our top security

[[Page 500]]

advisers, set a course to deepen our own cooperation and intensify our 
war on terror. We agreed to increase intelligence sharing, to develop 
new methods to combat terror, to enhance coordination between our 
nations and others who have agreed to join us to fight against terror. I 
committed $100 million to this effort, and last night I sent a message 
to the Congress asking them to take urgent action to fulfill our first 
installment in this endeavor.
    America stands with you in the pursuit of peace and in the war on 
terror. And we will do more. In the days of the Bible, the foreign 
prophet Balaam looked upon the children of Israel and called them ``a 
people that shall dwell alone and shall not be reckoned upon the 
nation.'' Today, looking at all this nation has achieved, the acceptance 
it has won in the Middle East and around the world, we know his words 
were and are and will be wrong.
    Israel is not alone. America stands with you, and with every passing 
day so do more people here and abroad. But we will not rest until, in 
the words of the psalm, ``There is peace within Israel's walls and 
security in her towers.'' And we know that Israel will never give her 
enemies the victory they seek, never abandon the hope of peace, never 
lose hatikvah leshalom.
    Thank you, and God bless you.
    Q. Mr. President, do you have any advice for young people that want 
to become leaders? What should young people do in order to grow up and 
become leaders?
    The President. I believe it is important to do at least three 
things. One, follow the advice of the Prime Minister. That is, it really 
matters that you develop your mind, that you develop the capacity to 
learn for a lifetime. The world in which I live and govern is changing 
very rapidly. The world in which your generation will live and govern 
will change even more rapidly. So it is important that you make the most 
of your school years. It doesn't matter so much what you learn, but that 
you learn how to learn and that your mind will work for a lifetime to 
take in new changes and to grasp the ability to understand what is going 
on, first.
    Second, I think it is important to develop a genuine interest in 
people, and especially people who are different from you, not just in 
terms of religion or ethnic group, but I mean people who are genuinely 
different. People who maybe don't have as much money or have different 
ways of living or making a living. Because it is impossible to govern 
effectively in a free society unless you can understand the experiences, 
the attitude, the challenges other people face.
    And then the third thing I would say is it is important to figure 
out what you believe, and when you do, throw yourselves into election 
campaigns. [Laughter] Support people who believe as you do. Even if you 
can't vote, stand up for them, talk to them, provoke arguments and 
discussions and learn to stand up for what you believe in. But if you 
have a good mind, if you care about what happens to other people and you 
can understand them, and you're willing to fight for what you believe 
in, then you have an excellent chance of success.
    Q. How do you see the future of the--in your following the Middle 
East, its ups and downs?
    The President. Well, I think first of all, I believe that it is 
highly likely that sooner or later in the relatively near-term--that is, 
sometime in the next few years, if not this year, sometime fairly soon--
that Israel will make peace with her neighbors on terms that will 
guarantee your security and theirs. And then I believe that the region 
will begin to grow together economically and culturally, and people will 
begin to work together. That does not necessarily mean that there will 
be no more violence, because this problem of terrorism and of fanaticism 
and of extremism is a problem that the world faces. Remember it wasn't 
so long ago that a religious fanatic walked into a Japanese subway and 
broke open a small vial of sarin gas and killed many people. It was only 
a year ago, or 2 years ago, I guess now, that the tragedy in Oklahoma 
City occurred in America.
    So the great problem for the world of the future--and when I was 
your age, the great problem was the free countries of the world against 
the communist countries of the world, both sides had nuclear weapons, 
and we all hoped they would never be used because society could be wiped 
out. Now the great challenge will be in a world that is in- 

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creasingly interconnected, where you can literally get on a computer now 
and have conversations with young people in the United States, or 
research an academic paper on volcanoes out of libraries in Australia, 
to do all kinds of things like that, in an open society like that, 
people are vulnerable to the organized forces of destruction, to 
organized crime, to drug gangs, to terrorists, to people who would 
develop biological and chemical and other dangerous weapons.
    So for your lifetime, I do believe you'll have to fight these 
organized forces of destruction. But I believe you will do it within a 
framework in which the nations are at peace and are growing together 
economically and you will be more secure. That's what I believe will 
happen.
    Q. Israel gave priority to education. What is the role of education 
in America and what are the most important parts of it?
    The President. I would say that--first, let me deal with the 
conditions of education in the United States. I believe we have a system 
of higher education that is second to none in the world. And our great 
challenge there is to make sure that all of our young people have the 
opportunity to go on to get a university education, that they are not 
prohibited from doing it because of economic problems. So what I have 
tried to do largely there is just to find new ways for young people 
either to get scholarships or loans or work their way through 
universities, so everyone can go, because the income differences between 
young people in the United States who have a college education and those 
who don't are breathtaking today in America.
    In the earlier years, I would say there are basically two great 
problems. One is we have a highly decentralized system of education in 
America where children from the age of let's say 3 or 4 to 17 and 18 
until they finish high school, most of them are in public schools that 
are essentially under the legal control of each of our 50 states and 
under the operational control of school districts in all those states. 
So what we have to do is to find a way--and many of our schools are 
doing a great job and many aren't--and America has always rebelled at 
doing anything that in anyway undermines the decentralization of 
education, which is good. But what we're trying to do is to figure a way 
now to have high standards that we articulate and that we measure for 
all students in our large country, but that we don't tell the schools 
how they have to meet the standards, they decide that; but we have 
standards, and that in the continuing emphasis on those standards and in 
rewarding those that are meeting them, we bring up all the schools in 
their performance. Overall educational performance in America is 
improving, but improving slowly, and it's too uneven.
    And then, the third big problem we have is just an enormous 
percentage of our children are poor children, about 15 to 16 percent of 
them, and they're coming from homes where the parents often don't have 
the resources they need. And we don't have the same tradition in our 
country that you do, that a lot of other countries do, where, if you 
will, the community, or what my wife calls the village, works with each 
family to help each child succeed. And we've got to find a way to do 
better by our children who come from very poor backgrounds and difficult 
homes. Those are the three challenges we face and we're working very 
hard on them.
    Now, let me just say one other thing, one other thing. The great 
opportunity we have is the same opportunity you have. We are trying to 
hook up every classroom and every library in America to the Internet by 
the year 2000, every single one. And we want them all basically in a 
worldwide network so that you can all have your common communications 
and share information and learn and grow together and hook into all the 
libraries of the world together. And if that happens, it will effect a 
revolution for all children without regard to their incomes and it will 
lift the standards everywhere. So that's the great opportunity we're 
working on, and I believe we're going to get there. I think we'll get 
there ahead of schedule. I hope we will.

[At this point, a question was asked in Hebrew, and a translation was 
not provided.]

    The President. Well, I intend to do two things. First of all, I 
intend to set a good example. That is, we are setting a good example. On 
the next day after we had the conference, I said that in addition to the 
things

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that the Prime Minister has already mentioned, we would commit over $100 
million to working with Israel to fight terror here in the region and 
working with others who are committed to fighting the terror.
    Secondly, we intend to work to make sure the Palestinian Authority 
has the capacity and fulfills its capacity to do its part in fighting 
the terror. You cannot do this alone. They have to do their part for the 
peace to work.
    And thirdly, we intend to start immediately meeting with every other 
country that was there to work out a joint plan for what we can do. And 
keep in mind, this is not work just for the countries of the Middle 
East. There are things that the North Americans, the Europeans, and the 
Asians can do to help to defeat the terrorist networks that wreak their 
violence here in your back yard. Their reach goes beyond your back yard.
    So I did not intend for this to be a cordial meeting in which 
nothing happens. This--we will give everybody a full opportunity to put 
their actions where their words were yesterday. I assure you of that.
    Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 5:43 p.m. in the Tel Aviv Center for the 
Performing Arts. In his remarks, he referred to Liad Modrik, student 
council representative; Mayor Ronni Milow of Tel Aviv; and singer Danny 
Robas.