[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 34, Number 51 (Monday, December 21, 1998)]
[Pages 2479-2483]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks to the People of Israel in Jerusalem

December 13, 1998

    Thank you very much. Let me begin by thanking the Prime Minister for 
his leadership for peace and his leadership of Israel; Mrs. Netanyahu, 
members of the Israeli Government; to the distinguished American 
delegation here. I want to say a special word of appreciation to the 
young man who spoke first, Ben Mayost. Didn't he do a good job? 
[Applause]
    This is my third trip to Jerusalem as President, my third time in 
this magnificent hall, and the young woman who was with me here last 
time on the stage, Liad Modrik, is also here. Thank you; I'm really glad 
to see you.

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    I'd like to also thank this magnificent choir, the Ankor Choir. 
Didn't they do a good job? They left, but they were great. I understand 
we have students here from Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Beer Sheva, Akko, 
and other cities. Welcome to you all.
    We come here today to speak about the future of Israel and the 
Middle East--your future. Six weeks ago Prime Minister Netanyahu came to 
the United States to seek a new understanding with the Palestinian 
Authority on the best way to achieve peace with security. Today I come 
to Israel to fulfill a pledge I made to the Prime Minister and to 
Chairman Arafat at Wye River, to speak to Israelis and Palestinians 
about the benefits of peace, and to reaffirm America's determination to 
stand with you as you take risks for peace.
    The United States will always stand with Israel, always remember 
that only a strong Israel can make peace. That is why we were, after 
all, your partners in security before we were partners for peace. Our 
commitment to your security is ironclad. It will not ever change.
    The United States stood with Israel at the birth of your nation, at 
your darkest hour in 1973, through the long battle against terror, 
against Saddam Hussein's Scuds in 1991. And today, American marines and 
Patriot missiles are here in Israel exercising with the IDF. We have 
also stood with you as you reached out to your neighbors, always 
recognizing that only Israelis can make final decisions about your own 
future.
    And as the Prime Minister said in his remarks about education for 
peace, we agree that peace must begin with a genuine transformation in 
attitudes. Despite all the difficulties, I believe that transformation 
has begun. Palestinians are recognizing that rejection of Israel will 
not bring them freedom, just as Israelis recognize that control over 
Palestinians will not bring you security.
    As a result, in just the last few years you have achieved peace with 
Jordan, and the Arab world has accepted the idea of peace with Israel. 
The boycotts of the past are giving way to a future in which goods move 
across frontiers while soldiers are able to stay at home. The pursuit of 
peace has withstood the gravest doubts. It has survived terrorist bombs 
and assassins' bullets.
    Just a short while ago, this afternoon, Hillary and I visited the 
gravesite of Prime Minister Rabin with Mrs. Rabin, her daughter, and 
granddaughter. He was killed by one who hoped to kill the peace he 
worked so hard to advance. But the Wye memorandum is proof that peace is 
still alive, and it will live as long as the parties believe in it and 
work for it.
    Of course, there have been setbacks, more misunderstandings, more 
disagreements, more provocations, more acts of violence. You feel 
Palestinians should prove in word and deed that their intentions have 
actually changed, as you redeploy from land on which tears and blood 
have been shed, and you are right to feel that.
    Palestinians feel you should acknowledge they too have suffered and 
they, too, have legitimate expectations that should be met and, like 
Israel, internal political pressures that must be overcome. And they are 
right, too.
    Because of all that has happened and the mountain of memories that 
has not yet been washed away, the road ahead will be hard. Already, 
every step forward has been tempered with pain. Each time the forces of 
reconciliation on each side have reached out, the forces of destruction 
have lashed out. The leaders at Wye knew that. The people of Israel know 
that.
    Israel is full of good people today who do not hate but who have 
experienced too much sorrow and too much loss to embrace with joy each 
new agreement the peace process brings. As always, we must approach the 
task ahead without illusions but not without hope, for hope is not an 
illusion.
    Every advance in human history, every victory for the human spirit, 
every victory in your own individual lives begins with hope, the 
capacity to imagine a better future, and the conviction that it can be 
achieved. The people of Israel, after all, have beaten the most 
impossible odds, overcome the most terrible evils on the way to the 
Promised Land. The idea of the Promised Land kept hope alive. In the 
remaining work to be done, the idea of peace and security in the 
Promised Land must keep hope alive.

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    For all you young people today, under all the complexities and 
frustrations of this moment, there lies a simple question: What is your 
vision for your future? There can be only two ways to answer that 
question. You could say that the only possible future for Israel is one 
of permanent siege, in which the ramparts hold and people stay alive, 
but the nation remains preoccupied with its very survival, subject to 
gnawing anxiety, limited in future achievement by the absence of real 
partnerships with your neighbors.
    Perhaps you can live with that kind of future, but you should not 
accept it unless you are willing to say--and I will try to say 
properly--ein breira, there is no alternative. But if you are not 
willing to say that, not willing to give up on hope with no real gain in 
security, you must say, yesh, breira, there is an alternative.
    If you are to build a future together, hard realities cannot be 
ignored. Reconciliation after all this trouble is not natural. The 
differences among you are not trivial. There is a history of heartbreak 
and loss. But the violent past and the difficult present do not have to 
be repeated forever.
    In the historical relationship between Israelis and Palestinians, 
one thing and only one thing is predestined: You are bound to be 
neighbors. The question is not whether you will live side by side, but 
how you will live side by side.
    Will both sides recognize there can be no security for either until 
both have security; that there will be no peace for either until both 
have peace? Will both sides seize this opportunity to build a future in 
which preoccupation with security, struggle, and survival can finally 
give way to a common commitment to keep all our young minds strong and 
unleash all your human potential?
    Surely, the answer must be, yes. Israelis and Palestinians can reach 
that conclusion sooner, reducing the pain and violence they endure, or 
they can wait until later--more and more victims suffer more loss--and 
ultimately, the conclusion must be the same.
    Your leaders came to an agreement at Wye because a majority of 
people on both sides have already said, ``Now is the time to change.''
    I want to talk just a little bit about this agreement at Wye. It 
does not, by itself, resolve the fundamental problems that divide 
Israelis and Palestinians. It is a means to an end, not the end itself. 
But it does restore life to a process that was stalled for 18 months, 
and it will bring benefits that meet the requirements of both sides if 
both sides meet their obligations. Wye is an opportunity for both that 
must not be lost. Let me try to explain why.
    Prime Minister Netanyahu went to Wye, rightly determined to ensure 
that the security of Israeli citizens is protected as the peace process 
moves forward. He fought hard, not to kill the peace but to make it real 
for all those Israelis who only want to live normal lives in their own 
country. And he succeeded in obtaining a set of systematic Palestinian 
security commitments and a structure for carrying them out.
    The Palestinian Authority agreed to a comprehensive and continuous 
battle against terror. It pledged to combat terrorist organizations, to 
crack down on unlicensed weapons, to take action against incitement to 
terror. U.S.-Palestinian committees will be set up to review specific 
actions the Palestinians are taking in each of these areas and to 
recommend further steps. We also will submit to our Congress a $1.2 
billion package to help Israel meet its future security needs, including 
those growing out of the redeployments agreed to at Wye.
    The agreement can benefit Israel in another way. It offers the 
prospect of continuing a process that is changing how most Palestinians 
define their interests and their relationship with you. More and more, 
Palestinians have begun to see that they have done more to realize their 
aspirations in 5 years of making peace than in 45 years of making war. 
They are beginning to see that Israel's mortal enemies are, in fact, 
their enemies, too, and that is in their interests to help to defeat the 
forces of terror.
    This transformation, however, is clearly unfinished. It will not 
happen overnight. There will be bumps in the road, and there have been 
some already. The Palestinian leaders must work harder to keep the 
agreement and avoid the impression that unilateral

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actions can replace agreed-upon negotiations. But it is vital that you, 
too, recognize the validity of this agreement and work to sustain it and 
all other aspects of the peace process.
    Tomorrow I go to Gaza to address the members of the Palestinian 
National Council and other Palestinian organizations. I will witness the 
reaffirmation of their commitment to forswear fully, finally, and 
forever, all the provisions in their Charter that called for the 
destruction of Israel.
    I will also make it clear that with rights come responsibilities, 
reminding people there that violence never was and never can be a 
legitimate tool, that it would be wrong and utterly self-defeating to 
resume a struggle that has taken Palestinians from one tragedy to 
another. I will ask the Palestinian leaders to join me in reaffirming 
what the vast majority of Muslims the world over believe, that tolerance 
is an article of faith and terrorism a travesty of faith. And I will 
emphasize that this conviction should echo from every Palestinian 
schoolhouse and mosque and television tower.
    I will point out, of course, all the ways in which this Wye 
agreement benefits Palestinians: It provides for the transfer of more 
territory, the redeployment of more Israeli troops, safe passage between 
Gaza and the West Bank, the opening of the airport in Gaza, other 
initiatives to lift their economic condition, and new commitments of 
international assistance to improve the lives of the Palestinian people.
    In doing these things, this agreement benefits Israelis as well, for 
it is in Israel's interest to give the Palestinian economy space to 
breathe and the Palestinian people a chance to defeat the hopelessness 
that extremists exploit to unleash their terror. And it is surely in 
Israel's interest to deal with Palestinians in a way that permits them 
to feel a sense of dignity instead of despair.
    The peace process will succeed if it comes with a recognition that 
the fulfillment of one side's aspirations must come with--not at the 
expense of--the fulfillment of the other side's dreams. It will succeed 
when we understand that it is not just about mutual obligations but 
mutual interest, mutual recognition, mutual respect; when all agree 
there is no sense in a tug-of-war over common ground.
    It will succeed when we all recognize, as Prime Minister Netanyahu 
and Chairman Arafat did at Wye, that ultimately this can and must be a 
partnership between Israelis and Palestinians. It will succeed if both 
sides continue the work that Wye makes possible, if they face the hard 
decisions ahead so that the future continues to be shaped at the 
negotiating table, rather than by unilateral acts or declarations.
    We cannot, of course, expect everyone to see that. There are still 
people in this region, indeed in every region, who believe that their 
unique cultures can thrive only behind walls that keep out those who are 
different, even if the price is mutual mistrust and hatred. There are 
some who still talk openly about the ``threat'' of peace because 
peacemaking requires making contact with the other side, recognizing the 
legitimacy of different faiths and different points of view, and 
openness to a world of competing ideas and values.
    But I don't think that's the majority view in the Middle East any 
longer. What once was a conflict among mainstreams is evolving into a 
mainstream seeking peace. We must not let the conflict invade the 
mainstream of Israel or of the Palestinians or of any other group in 
this region again.
    I believe you can not only imagine, you young people, but actually 
shape the kind of partnership that will give you the future you want. I 
think you can do it while protecting Israel's fundamental interests. To 
anyone who thinks that is impossible, I would ask you this: How many 
people thought Israel was possible when your grandparents were just 
people searching for a land? Who would have imagined the marvel Israel 
has become?
    For decades, you lived in a neighborhood which rejected you. Yet, 
you not only survived and thrived but held fast to the traditions of 
tolerance and openness upon which this nation was founded. You were 
forced to become warriors, yet you never lost the thirst to make peace. 
You turned weakness into strength, and along the way, you built a 
partnership with the United States that is enduring and unassailable.
    Now Israel enters its second half-century. You have nourished an 
ancient culture. You

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have built from the desert a modern nation. You stand on the edge of a 
new century prepared to make the very most of it. You have given your 
children a chance to grow up and learn who they are, not just from 
stories of wandering and martyrdom but from the happy memories of people 
living good lives in a natural way. You have proven again and again that 
you are powerful enough to defeat those who would destroy you but strong 
and wise enough to make peace with those who are ready to accept you. 
You have given us every reason to believe that you can build a future on 
hope that is different from the past.
    This morning the Prime Minister and Mrs. Netanyahu and Hillary and I 
had breakfast together, and he said something to me I'd like to repeat 
to you to make this point to all of you young people. He said: You know, 
there are three great ancient civilizations in the world--the Chinese 
civilization, the Indian civilization, and the Jewish civilization--all 
going back 4,000 years or more. The Chinese are 1.2 billion people; the 
Indians are nearly a billion people. To be sure, they have suffered 
invasion, loss in war; in the Indian case, colonization. But they have 
always had their land, and they have grown.
    There are 12 million Jews in the world, driven from their homeland, 
subject to Holocaust, subject to centuries of prejudice. And yet, here 
you are. Here you are. If you can do this after 4,000 years, you can 
make this peace. Believe me, you can do this.
    Years ago, before the foundation of Israel, Golda Meir said of her 
people, and I quote, ``We only want that which is given naturally to all 
people of the world, to be masters of our own fate, only our fate, not 
the destiny of others; to live as a right and not on sufferance; to have 
the chance to bring the surviving Jewish children, of whom not so many 
are left in the world now, to this country, so that they may grow up 
like our youngsters who were born here, free of fear with heads high.''
    This hope that all of us can live a life of dignity when respecting 
the dignity of others is part of the heritage of values Israel shares 
with the United States. On this, the first day of Hanukkah, may this 
hope be the candle that lights Israel's path into the new century, into 
a century of peace and security, with America always at your side.
    Thank you, and God bless you.

Note: The President spoke at 6:38 p.m. in the Ussishkin Hall at the 
Jerusalem Convention Center. In this remarks, he referred to Prime 
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of Israel and his wife, Sarah; Ben Mayost, 
chair, National Student Council; Liad Modrik, student council 
representative, Tel Aviv Center for the Performing Arts, during the 
President's March 1996 visit to Israel; Chairman Yasser Arafat of the 
Palestinian Authority; President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; and Leah Rabin, 
widow of assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, her 
daughter, Dalia Rabin Filosof, and her granddaughter, Noa Ben Artzi.