Speech before the Los Angeles World Affairs Council on June 6, 2001:

Moshe Katsav
President of the State of Israel

            Mr. Chairman, Consul General Yuval Rotem, ladies and gentlemen.   One of the good reasons that I became elected as the president was because his uncle was my teacher. 

            My friends.  I come from the country to which Jews returned from all corners around the world.  I come from the country where Jews lived almost the whole last century with tears and blood.  I come from the country where during the whole last hundred years, we have terrorism, bloodshed and wars.   And in spite of that we built a very modern country, a sophisticated, democratic country, and I know for sure that for many countries around the world we are a very good example.  I belong to the nation who gave to humankind the Holy Bible, the prophets, monotheism and moral values.  I come from the region where the three monotheistic religions were born—Judaism 4,000 years ago, Christianity 2,000 years ago and Islam 1,400 years ago.  I belong to the nation who suffered many centuries from exiles, inquisitions, tragedy, holocaust, hatred and suffering.  I belong to the country which absorbed millions of Jews from more than seventy countries around the world and supplied to all of them houses, education, medical care, social services, etc.  We absorbed refugee Jews from Europe, the survivors after the holocaust.  We absorbed the refugee Jews from the Muslim countries, more than a million Jews emigrated to Israel from Muslim countries in the ‘50s. We absorbed Jews from the former Soviet Union—almost one million Jews from the former Soviet Union, and all of them are in Israel.  We have helped Jews from Ethiopia. I came here to say to you, my friends, my country gave to everyone fair and equal opportunities and because of that I was elected President of the Jewish state.

            It is, indeed, a very difficult time for my people, my nation, my state, my country.  The trend started more than two decades ago—the trend was very positive.  We signed a peace treaty with the biggest Arab country, Egypt.  It was signed between Prime Minsiter Menachem Begin and President Anwar Sadat.  We signed a peace treaty with the Hashemite Kingdom [of Jordan].  It was signed between King Hussein and Yitzak Rabin. Eight years ago we started a new policy towards the Palestinian people.  It was for all of us a turning point. 

            We started our peace process more than two decades ago because the Egyptian President came to Israel and almost twenty months, one and one-half years, before he signed a peace treaty with Israel after very tough negotiations in Camp David in the United States, Anwar Sadat announced in Jerusalem in his first visit there no more bloodshed.  Immediately Anwar Sadat became one of the most popular leaders in Israel.  He was admired by the Israeli people and, as a democratic country, it was much easier for

Menachem Begin to give up to President Anwar Sadat [and] to the Egyptian authority the whole Sinai with all the infrastructure, with all the natural resources.  Sinai, was for us, really a strategic asset, but we did it because we desired peace and because we trusted Anwar Sadat and because the Israeli people supported, trusted Anwar Sadat because Anwar Sadat announced no more bloodshed. 

            Yitzhak Rabin decided to sign on to the Oslo agreement with Yassar Arafat because of the same reason.  At that time, eight years ago, the international reputation of Yassar Arafat was very low.  His organization, if you remember, the PLO, was on the decline and the PLO at that time lost all its reputation, but Yitzhak Rabin decided to recognize Yassar Arafat, to meet him, shake hands with him, for the same reason: because Yassar Arafat announced and committed himself here in Washington, in the White House, he announced no more bloodshed. He promised President Clinton and Prime Minister Rabin by letter, he committed himself, that he will not use in any case terrorism or bloodshed as an instrument, a tool, to achieve his political ends. Because of that, we decided to try to start with him the new process of making peace.  But, unfortunately, during the last eight years since September 1993, since shaking hands between Yassar Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin at the White House, during the whole last eight years we have not even known one day of quiet, without terrorism and bloodshed.  From time to time we raise this issue with Yassar Arafat and he says, “Yes, it’s very difficult for me.  I need more time, but for doing that you should pay more.”  And for this good of preventing terrorism we paid once by Yitzhak Rabin, and after Yitzhak Rabin came Shimon Peres, and yet Arafat claims to pay the second time for the same goods to prevent terrorism, and we paid because we wanted peace. After Shimon Peres came Benjamin Netanyahu and we paid again, and after him came Ehud Barak, he was elected Prime Minister, so we paid to this gentleman five times for the same goods and he never supplied the goods.  He never fulfilled his promises, he never implemented his commitment towards the Israeli authority from September 1993.

            We are not weak. Indeed, we are stronger, we have strong power, strong forces in Israel, but not always the stronger is guilty.  The Palestinians are weak, and not always the weakest are innocent.  We are indeed very responsible and we are very sensitive to human life.  Because of that, our response and our reaction is indeed very tolerant.  We decided not to respond because we are very responsible to the process of making peace.  We know for sure that if there is any escalation it means destruction of the process of making peace and if there is an escalation it means more bloodshed among the Palestinian people and the Israelis.  I cannot understand it, and it’s really very complicated to understand it.  Why should we, day by day, try to convince the free world that the bloodshed is very negative?  No one around the world, especially among the free world, should give any legitimacy for terrorism or bloodshed.  The terrorism and bloodshed should not be a legitimate way to achieve political ends.  Maybe from time to time there are some differences, but we are not the Wild West as it was here in the 17^th century, 18^th century.  If someone was not satisfied they opened fire and tried to shoot to convince his partner that this is the only way to achieve his ends.  We cannot tolerate it at the beginning of the new millennium, at the beginning of the new century, we cannot tolerate it after so many years of bloodshed and terrorism in the Middle East. 

            You should know, my friends, during the last eight months seventy percent of the Israelis who were killed, seventy percent of them, were civilians--youngsters, women, children -- and we are really fed up.  We are not willing to tolerate it any more.  I left Israel last week, and since then 25 Israelis were killed—all of them were civilians, all of them.  How can the Israeli government explain to Israeli society that so many people were killed, not by accident but on purpose by Palestinian terrorists? Their aims are not Israeli troops.  Their targets are children, women, babies.  I believe that there is no one government or society in the world who can tolerate it.  To bomb a school bus with children on their way to school early in the morning, to put bombs in the shopping centers at the discotheques, Friday night around midnight -- twenty-one youngsters just came to enjoy and were killed.  Two days before I left Israel I visited two families whose two sons were killed by the Palestinian terrorists.  Fourteen years old, and they just came out to visit the nice views around their home.  That’s it, and they were killed by stones.  The worst thing is that one of the mothers cried and said to me that she could not recognize her son.  The terrorists destroyed the face of her son with stones.  According to the American standard and the Israeli standard, if someone would try to kill a cat by stones all of us would send him to jail. 

            We are not ready to tolerate it, but according to our partners’ so-called standards, the murderers are free.  Not one of them is in jail and no one was ready at that time to condemn him.  You should understand how much the situation is complicated and difficult.  Yassar Arafat, my friends, has created this terror, he’s the head of a coalition of terrorism, he’s leading the terrorism and he’s inspiring the terrorism in the Middle East.  We know it for sure.  He’s not just saying this for propaganda.  After eight months, almost all Western leaders are on their knees requesting from His Excellency Yassar Arafat, His Majesty, His Holiness, to cease the fire. 

            Do you believe eight months?  The free world could not stop this gentleman from this bloodshed, and just after the big tragedy on Friday night at the discotheque in Tel Aviv, twenty-four hours after that, he announced that Israelis must cease the fire.  We don’t say that because we are weak.  I repeat—we are not weak.  We can defeat him but we know for sure that to defeat the Palestinian terrorists means escalation—escalation means more bloodshed, it means the destruction of the chance of achieving peace. We still would like to believe that this chance is not destroyed. It is not enough to announce a cease fire, it’s not enough.  He should show that he is indeed serious in his intentions of ceasing fire.  He should show that he indeed could be our partner for making peace.  He should show that he is indeed the leader of the Palestinian people and to show this he must implement his commitment, his announcement to cease the fire. We have no intentions to give terrorism any political gains. 

            I believe that the whole world should stand behind Israel, not which side is right in these political differences between Israelis and the Palestinians.  The whole world should stand behind Israel and say there is no negotiation, there is no dealing with a terrorist organization, and if Yassar Arafat will not stop the fire, the whole world will cut off relations with him and will boycott Yassar Arafat.  It is the end of the game.  That’s it.  He should decide if he wants to be the leader of the Palestinian people or he wants to be leader of the terrorist organization. It’s impossible to be the leader of the Palestinian people and our partner at the same time to be leader of the terrorist organization.

            By the way, he boosts the disaster to the Palestinian people, too. What can he say to the Palestinian people?  Which achievements can, he [say] he achieved for the Palestinian people?  Poverty, bloodshed, unemployment, disaster, not one political achievement he can present to his people.  And because of the Oslo process, because of the new policy of Yitzhak Rabin, the Palestinian people reached during the last eight years, to their historical achievement.  They never have had such a big dramatic, historical achievement during their whole history.  For the first time during the history of the Palestinian people they achieved a dramatic historical achievement during the last eight years, and if they do not stop it with terrorism, then could reach to more historical achievement [by means of] of making peace.

            Many of my friends ask me, here in the United States, “Really, can Yassar Arafat control the terrorism in the Palestinian Authority?”  Yes.  He can control it.  I know it.  We know it.  We know it for sure that he can control, he can prevent, he can stop, and if Yassar Arafat will not stop the violence he cannot be our partner.  I believe that it’s very clear at this stage to say to our friends around the world, in America, in Europe, “Yes, Yassar Arafat is very popular among the Palestinian people.  He’s admired.  He’s a leader.  He should express his determination to continue the peace talks, to stop the violence and to use his forces, his popularity and to stop the fire if he can and do it.  We don’t hate Palestinians.  Among the Palestinian people, many of them are innocent.  Many of them could be our partners.  We have no intentions to be involved with who will be the leader of the Palestinian people.  They should decide and anyone that the Palestinians will declare that he is their leader, we are ready to deal with him just on one condition.  Resolve terrorism.  Otherwise, he cannot be our partner and, of course, I believe that he cannot be a Palestinian leader.

            From time to time, many people ask the Israeli authorities, “What about the Israeli army, the Israel Defense Force?”  You should know, my friends, that the Israeli defense forces, the Israeli army, is among those armies around the world whose ethics and norms are very, very unique.  The Israel Defense Forces is indeed an ethical army, and we keep very well our norms.  David Ben Gurion, Israelis first Prime Minister, announced almost fifty years ago, in 1956 -- if you are aware of Israeli history, it was before the Yom Kippur War and before the Six Day War, in the middle of the Sinai War in 1956 -- David Ben Gurion announced in the Knesset that the Israeli soldiers, even the private soldiers, they have the right not to obey the orders of their commanders if these orders are illegal.  Do you believe that such an organization like the army, like the defense forces, they need totally to obey the orders of the commanders?  Israeli prime ministers from 1956 on gave permission to Israeli solders not to obey if the private solders believe or feel that the order is not legal.  And we keep it.  Many Israelis who were killed in the last few months just wanted not to respond, because around the terrorists where some children or some women and many Israeli soldiers say to me “I saw where they opened the fire but I also saw that around these terrorists there are many children and women and old people, and because of that, because our soldiers, their ethics are very high, I didn’t want to respond. Because of that many Israelis were killed at the last eight months.

            I’m very glad to be here with you.  It’s my third station in the United States.  I was invited by President George W. Bush.  I had with him two meetings last Thursday.  They were very fruitful, very good meetings.  I believe that the policy of the United States administration is very good one, not because they gave sympathy or support to Israeli but because it’s a very responsible [policy].  I really compliment President Bush for his policy, for his conception, for the approach toward the conflict in the Middle East.

            We have very good relations, and the cornerstone of our good relations is our common values.  We have almost the same history.  You are a state, a country of immigration, we are a country of immigration.  We appreciate the United States.  We appreciate American standards. We love the United States and we are really desirous to reach peace.  We say loudly and clear that I believe that peace is a national interest of the Arab world and it’s in the national interest of the Palestinians, the national interest of the Israelis, and I believe that sooner or later we’ll reach real peace, permanent peace in the Middle East.  I hope as soon as possible, because later means more bloodshed.

            I believe that peace will come. I hope as soon as possible, but it will not come sooner and if it comes later it will come but it will come with more bloodshed and more suffering.  I hope that we have among the Palestinian people some leader with vision and determination, who is sensitive to human life. Then we can bring to the Middle East prosperity, peace and a better world for the next generation.