Vortrag von Silvan Shalom, Außenminister des Staates Israel

German Council on Foreign Relations/Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik e.V.
Berlin, 19 May 2005

Address Silvan Shalom
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel

Distinguished Ambassadors,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to be with you here today, and I wish to thank the German Council on Foreign Relations and all the organizers of this event for their hospitality.

ISRAEL-GERMANY

It is an honor to be here in Berlin, to mark the fortieth anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Israel and Germany - ties which were established against the awful backdrop of the Holocaust, but which have always sought also to carry a message of healing and hope to our peoples.

The Holocaust is a heavy burden, carried differently, yet together, by both peoples.

Israel admires the courage and honesty with which this country continues to recognize the imperatives dictated by this unique calamity.

At the same time, we look to German society to continue and redouble its efforts, to ensure that the lessons of that darkest period in our national life are learnt and applied, at all times.

As the generations change - and in the face of the continued and worrying rise in anti-Semitism and incidents of verbal and physical abuse directed against Jews and Israel - it is crucial to remember, that the Holocaust did not begin with tanks and guns but with words, and words alone.

Civil society itself cannot be safe, if we do not act as one, to combat the new wave of anti-Semitism, currently buffeting Europe. Today, Israel and Germany are partners in every field of human endeavour.

Our people share the same democratic and universal values, and our countries share the same interest in international stability, security and peace.

These common values and interests are reflected in the rich fabric of political, commercial, cultural, scientific and social cooperation between us.

I am pleased to be able to reaffirm the commitment of the Government of Israel to these efforts, and I am pleased also to have heard similar commitment from the German leadership, in my meetings yesterday and today with President Kohler, Chancellor Schroeder and my very good friend Foreign Minister Fischer.

The rich array of events planned to mark the fortieth anniversary of our diplomatic ties, offer both countries the opportunity to rejuvenate our relationship, and ensure its continued relevance in the future.

We must work as one to build bridges from the past to the future, to the benefit of all our citizens.

REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This is a time of great change in the Middle East.

Processes are underway which are reshaping the face of our region:

• Democratic elections in Iraq and in the Palestinian Authority;
• the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon;
• improvement in Israel's relations with our Arab neighbours, including the return of the Jordanian and Egyptian Ambassadors
• and, of course, the renewed possibility of momentum towards Israeli-Palestinian coordination and cooperation, as reflected in the Sharm-el-Sheikh understandings of February this year.

Together, these developments offer a real opportunity for progress towards peace, which we all must seize.

Israel is convinced that such progress is possible, and we are doing everything in our power to realise this dream, which I know is shared by everyone here today.

We must all do what we can to ensure that the forces of moderation will prevail over the extremists, who seek to prevent the very peace that we all seek.

The international community has a key role to play in these efforts. The international response to extremist countries such as Iran and Syria must be resolute and united.

Such countries - who openly and actively support terrorism and, in the case of Iran, continue to seek nuclear weapons - pose a real danger to everything we hold dear.

At the same time, efforts must be focused to reinforce the moderates in our region, to help to bring tangible benefits to their peoples and prove the value of their way.

Each and every member of the international community can play a role in facilitating cooperation and understanding between Israel and her neighbours, and in creating an international atmosphere conducive to peace - and I will come back to this point later in my remarks.

I am also pleased to relate here today the clear improvement we can feel in the international community's approach to Israel.

Just in the past year, Israel's relations with Europe have reached new heights, with the signing of our Action Plan in the framework of the European Neighborhood Policy, Israel's inclusion in the European Space program Galileo, the signing of a bilateral agreement on agriculture which had been delayed for many years, and so on.

Israel remains the only non-European country included in the Sixth European R&D program, and we are confident that this mutually beneficial involvement will continue into the Seventh program, and beyond.

The changing international atmosphere towards Israel and our people was perhaps signified most by the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly in January to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the liberation of the death camps and commemorate the Holocaust.

This was the first time in the fifty-seven years of Israel's membership of the UN that an Israeli initiative was supported and accepted.

ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS - THREE PILLARS OF PEACE

There is room for optimism also in the Palestinian context, after the passing of Yasser Arafat and the election of Abu Mazen.

There has been a profound change of atmosphere in recent months, and a significant and welcome decline in the number of terrorist attacks, even though these have not ended completely. Today, we have an opportunity that may never repeat itself, to fashion a different - better - reality for our peoples, and for this entire region.

This reality will be built on three pillars - security, economic progress, and responsible and democratic leadership.

I. SECURITY

There is no longer any debate - amongst experts and political leaders alike - as to the critical importance of security, for the ability to make peace.

This understanding is reflected in the demands of the Palestinian side in the first phase of the Roadmap and in the international demand for security reform in the PA.

It is reflected in the World Bank's report on the economic prospects for the Palestinian economy.

It is reflected in the statements of world leaders, and also in the statements of Abu Mazen himself, who has denounced terror and declared his commitment to "one authority, one law".

The political process has no hope of succeeding if the citizens of the region can not be safe from harm.

The only way for this to happen, is through an uncompromising battle against the extremists, who reject all forms of moderation and compromise, and who continue to prepare themselves for the continuation of their attacks at the time of their choosing.

Both Israelis and Palestinians share a clear interest in bringing not only temporary calm - as promised by the PA - but the total removal of violence from our daily agenda, so that we may get back to the business of peacemaking.

For Israel, security is an issue on which we will never compromise.

Standing here in Berlin sixty years after the end of our people's darkest period in history - I state clearly that the State of Israel will never compromise on the security of its citizens.

We insist on the end of terror and the dismantlement of its infrastructure. This is the moral and historic imperative which the millions of victims of the past have left us.

II. ECONOMIC PROGRESS

The second pillar on which progress towards peace rests, is the effort to rebuild the Palestinian economy and to bring real benefits to the Palestinian people.

Here, the shared interest of all parties is clear: This is not a zerosum game; this is a win-win situation.

This is why Israel is working to implement as many steps as possible, to ease conditions for the Palestinian population - including the removal of roadblocks, the release of prisoners, the granting of work permits and the coordination of practical elements of the disengagement plan.

This is why Israel is working with the donor community, with the World Bank, and with Special Envoy Wolfensohn - with whom I met two weeks ago in Jerusalem - in order to ensure that the maximum number of international actors is involved in the collective effort to bring real results for the Palestinian people.

As the Palestinian effort to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure proceeds, so too will our capacity to build a positive agenda of cooperation between us, to reinforce this crucial dimension.

III. DEMOCRACY AND THE EXAMPLE OF EUROPE

Despite the significance of these issues, however, my intention here today is not to focus on the detailed requirements of the Palestinian side in the security field - urgent and crucial as they may be - nor on the economic dimensions of our peace efforts.

I wish to focus my remarks today on the third pillar of the peace we seek to build - democracy.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Promoting security is not just a technical, professional matter for the military brass or the defense establishment, nor can economic cooperation take root in a political-institutional vacuum.

Promoting peace and security is - at its core - an issue of cardinal values, and political institutions and culture. Palestinian society is currently undergoing a process of choosing its future leadership, through elections to key institutions and positions.

Israel welcomes these democratic processes.

We are convinced that the spread of democratic values, institutions and processes amongst our neighbors, is the key to ensuring the stability and prosperity of all the peoples of the region.

This is a lesson we have learned from Europe.

Just last week, we all witnessed the impressive and moving celebrations to mark the end of World War Two, and the victory of the values of freedom and tolerance, over those of Nazism.

Last week, Europe also celebrated Schuman Day, and the overgrowing union of its peoples. These two anniversaries are, of course, directly linked.

The European Union is living proof of the profound and positive impact of the values of democracy, of economic integration, of social development and cultural pluralism, upon stability and prosperity, and their contribution to the protection of Europe's citizens from harm.

Indeed, it is the recognition of the contribution of these values and institutions to peace and stability which lies at the core of Europe's Neighborhood Program and other initiatives, through which Europe is actively working to spread its values and institutions beyond its borders and into the Middle East.

History, however, is full of examples where the democratic process has been exploited by despots for very non-democratic purposes. The German people need no reminding of this fact.

Therefore, we must make a clear distinction between procedural democracy based on process, and real democracy based on values and world view.

This distinction is of particular and urgent relevance today in the Palestinian context:

The clear Palestinian and Israeli - and European - interest lies in the establishment of a leadership committed - as we are - to a strategy of peace and reconciliation.

A leadership which takes full responsibility for what happens in its jurisdiction and does not seek to justify its own passivity by blaming Israel for everything.

A leadership prepared to educate. One which acts to institute a transformation of values and thinking, away from conflict and struggle, towards peace and coexistence.

A leadership which is prepared to act with authority, which legislates and applies the law fully and equally, and does not allow militias and other groups to bear arms.

It is in this context that we must all reject the inclusion of Hamas in the Palestinian political system.

There is no place - nor can there ever be - in a democratic and peaceful society for a political party bearing arms, for a political party engaged in terrorism against the citizens of a neighboring country.

Not only because, in the case of Hamas, this poses a direct danger to the security of the citizens of Israel, but also because this poses a direct danger to the very possibility of maintaining Palestinian democracy itself.

The same is true in the Lebanese context as well, where the terrorist group Hizbullah is expected to participate in the forthcoming elections in that country.

The participation of Hamas and Hizbullah in elections spells not the beginning of true democracy in the Palestinian Authority and Lebanon, but its end.

Could the countries of Europe have succeeded in rebuilding themselves and their continent, if groups ideologically committed to the destruction of others had been left a free hand to attack neighbours, even as they participated in elections in their own lands?

Let me be clear: No democratic regime can survive if it lets terrorism and politics proceed side by side. The fate of such a regime is to bring catastrophe - upon its own people and its neighbors.

EUROPE AND HAMAS

In this context, I believe it important to ask what brings some in Europe to argue that it would be helpful for organizations like Hamas and Hizbullah to be integrated into the politics of their societies, despite their involvement in terror against Israel, and their refusal to abandon their declared goal of destroying our state.

What is it that brings some in Europe to abandon the universal values and principles which make Europe strong, when it comes to addressing the thugs of the Middle East, whose ideologies and actions identify them as the very antithesis of everything Europe stands for?

Is Israel to understand that terrorism against its citizens is to be tolerated for the sake of some greater good?

This is not acceptable, neither morally nor politically.

Israel will not be party to any process which grants legitimacy to those who are engaged in terror against its citizens. Therefore, from this platform here in Berlin today, I call on the European Union to resist those who would grant Hamas and Hizbullah the legitimacy they crave, unless they abandon completely their policy of terror against Israel and its citizens.

call on the European Union to do everything in its power - to bring the full weight of its moral and political power to bear - to bring an end to the violence of these groups against the Israeli people.

Only by promoting and ensuring genuine democratic behavior - rather than just the façade thereof - can Europe serve and be true, to the goal of peace in the Middle East, which we all share.

ROLE OF THE ARAB WORLD

Before concluding my remarks, I would like to mention the role of the Arab world.

On many occasions I have called for our Arab neighbors to normalize relations with Israel.

There are some who see this as a "prize" for Israel, but this is mistaken.

Of course, there is no doubt that Israel can benefit from improved relations with its neighbors.

But Israel's standing in the international community or its economic well-being, are not determined by our Arab neighbors.

Indeed, our relations with Europe and the UN and, with the entire international community - including the Arab world - have improved immensely in the last two years.

I just returned from a visit to Mauritania, an Arab country with whom we enjoy full diplomatic relations, and I am confident that we will see closer ties with other countries of the Arab world, in the months ahead.

But the real and crucial benefit of the normalization process we seek will be felt on the Palestinian side - where it will strengthen the moderates and weaken the extremists, helping expand constituencies for peace, and build the necessary critical mass for further progress.

The hesitation, passivity and unrealistic benchmarks set by the Arab leaders on this issue only serve to strengthen the extremists, who seek to perpetuate the conflict and the pain.

CONCLUSION

Ladies and Gentlemen,

There is a new hope in our region. We have an opportunity which we must not miss.

Israel is committed to doing everything in its power to seize this opportunity.

We wish to work with our Palestinian neighbors and with the entire international community in order to ensure our success.

Together, through the determined application of the values and the commitment which has made Europe great once again, I am sure that we can succeed.

Thank You.