Israel, 2002

I would like to congratulate

my friend Mr. Jan Kavan on his election to the

presidency of the General Assembly and to wish him

success. I also thank the Secretary-General for his

leadership and his dedication to right what is wrong

and to light the lamps of hope.

The eleventh of September gave rise to a new

world. We find ourselves facing a new confrontation:

borderless, merciless, indiscriminate and inhumane.

The target this time was the United States — a United

States that in the past helped so many nations defend

their freedoms and their liberty. Now the United States

has been challenged again to defend our freedom by

protecting its own and to safeguard our lives by

securing its own.

The attack on the World Trade Center precipitated

a new division in our epoch and in the years to come —

a divide created by groups that preach and cause death

and agony. On the wrong side of the divide are those

who are trying to destroy the free world, which is

diversified and heterogeneous, cherishing the right to

every thought and religion as well as the principle that

every human being has the right to be different and yet

to prosper and live in security.

10

The front from Bin Laden to Saddam Hussein is a

menace to us all. It will not enable peace, nor will it

permit freedom — for all people or for their own

people. In countries that harbour terror, women are

discriminated against, men are oppressed, civil and

human rights are violated, and the poor cannot escape

from their poverty They force us to defend our

inalienable right to look ahead with hope. They

imposed on us a war of self-defence — the defence of

pluralism and of the promise of science. They reject the

incredible technologies that may carry us from the

limits of land to the discovery of uncharted provinces.

The culture of death forces us to defend the culture of

life, to win battles that we did not initiate, to triumph in

this uninvited war.

We never imagined that it could be dangerous to

walk our streets, to fly our skies, to breathe the air or to

drink the water. We cannot agree to this. We cannot

allow dark forces — which, as we are aware, could

destroy the lives of innocent people on a whim — to

possess weapons of mass destruction. We shall not turn

our lives into a series of sleepless nights and

nightmarish days.

We do not have the right to ignore the danger. We

do not have the option to postpone it; it is imminent.

We have to win as soon as possible.

Terror is destined to lose. It will be defeated

because it carries no hope. It respects neither human

beings nor the values of humanity.

Science and technology made the economy

global, and science and technology globalized terror as

well. Now strategy also is globalized, because ballistic

ranges have replaced geographic distances, because

non-conventional warheads have replaced measurable

explosives, because terrorism transcends frontiers and

fronts. Terrorists do not respect the rule of law. They

do not answer to independent judges or relate to

elected leaders. They mock international lines. They

destroy universal norms. They shed blood. They

introduced dullness and stopped affluence. Nothing is

to be expected from them but death.

Terror creates poverty more than poverty creates

terror. Terror leads to backwardness. We have to offer

the economic potential to open prospects and horizons

for all nations, poor and rich. New opportunities can

bring enfranchisement. We have to close ranks to

prevent distorted dreams from becoming a raging

typhoon that reaches all four corners of the globe. We

have experienced in our own country the terrible

effects of terrorism.

Babies were shot in the arms of their mothers.

People at prayer were killed while praying. Yes, it hurt

us, but it did not change our goals. We mourn, but we

did not bury peace.

It harmed the Palestinians in the United States

and in other countries. It prevented the occupation

from ending. It introduced additional problems and did

not solve a single existing problem.

Alas, the Middle East is still replete with

national, religious and territorial disputes. The land is

small; the agony is great. But the real tragedy is that

without terror we could already have resolved these

disputes. Terror entrenched them. Terror changed

priorities — security before policy. It affected

resources — arming young men, for example, instead

of desalinating vital water. If it continues, battlefields

will create deserts of sorrow and days of darkness.

Campuses of learning will be replaced by camps of

violence.

But this is neither a decree of heaven nor the

verdict of man. It can, it should, it will be different.

South Africa, Ireland, Yugoslavia and the Congo

achieved more by talking than by shooting, more by

dialogue than by dispute. We offered the Palestinians a

comprehensive solution without the terror — a solution

that was close to their national aspirations. We related

to their desire to be free, to be equal, to be

independent. We agreed that they would have their land

in accordance with United Nations resolutions. But

terror postponed their destiny. Terror postponed our

willingness to end control over their lives. Smoking

guns replaced the torches of peace.

Now we are following the profound debate taking

place among the Palestinians. We respect it, because

debate is the beginning of democracy. When

democracy prevails, peace undoubtedly will arrive. The

Fatah organization apparently issued a call that

contains some new approaches. I shall quote one of

them:

“We will build an independent State of

Palestine and a political system in accordance

with the principles of democracy, the rule of law,

with an independent judicial system, separation

of power, respect for human rights, civil liberties

and a market economy.”

We look upon these words as the dawn of a

different season; we hope that it is spring. Reducing

violence will shorten political distances. Political

horizons are, in my judgement, within reach. Israel

accepts President Bush's vision. That vision is

supported by the Quartet; it is endorsed by Arab

countries; it outlines a political goal and a timetable. It

can be considered as both a road map and a calendar.

What is needed now are wheels to propel the vehicles

of peace. An economic wheel is needed in order for us

to move to a global market economy that leads to

science-based industry. A market economy can open

gates and skies. An ecological wheel is needed to let

air and water flow cleanly. Pollution is not national; we

have to work together to control it. Ecology has

changed history. In the past, bloodshed was about real

estate, and real estate created divisions, demarcation

and, unfortunately, wars as well. In our era, the battle is

not for real estate but for air, for water and for energy;

it is about the fertility of the land, rather than its size.

“Non-real” estate is not marked, nor can it be divided.

Either we respect it unanimously, or we will be

victimized by its loss.

Then there is the cultural wheel. Three

civilizations were born in the Middle East. They were

made manifest in the Bible, in the New Testament and

in the Koran. We read them in different languages, yet

we pray to the same heavens. The descendants of

Abraham should behave like a family — with tolerance

and solidarity. Spiritual leaders should pray for peace,

but they also need to preach it, call upon it and

contribute to it.

The political wheel should not rotate in the same

misguided orbit as in the past. We have been through

five wars in five decades — Palestinians, Egyptians

and Jordanians lost generations of young people. We

paid heavily with young blood as a result of three terror

campaigns. The time has come to comprehend that the

real triumph is in the harvest of peace, not in the seeds

of another war. When we replace the war maps with

peace maps, we will discover that the differences were

minimal. The wars were appalling. We shall see that

the promised land could have become the land of

promise a long time ago.

Without wars, our region will be able to bloom

again. We can separate politically into two States and

coordinate one economy. That will enable us to take

advantage of the exceptional invitation that came from

both the United States and a united Europe to partake

in their economic opportunities.

Tourism can flourish when terrorism has ended.

Islands of high-tech excellence can be established.

Millions of trees can be planted to produce a new

climate. We can make green our arid lands. We can

become contributors, not dependants.

The call of the future cannot be harmonized with

the voices of the past. Only new solutions can evoke a

grandeur equal to the past. We do not have the right to

suspend it in the face of our children. Young Israelis

and young Palestinians are entitled to a new life — a

life of their own. While fighting terror, let us not fight

people. While seeking freedom, let us not extend

subjugation.

I should like to direct a comment to Syria. The

same principle that enabled us both to participate in the

Madrid conference a decade ago is still valid.

A word to Lebanon: Israel is committed to the

territorial integrity of Lebanon. Israel respects its need

for real political independence. Lebanon should not

permit Hezbollah to destroy its own country. Hezbollah

is not a party, it is a dangerous agenda. Lebanon should

immediately free Israeli prisoners and prisoners of war.

The people of the Middle East should let bygones

be bygones. Let us return to our traditions, where

prophets, not terrorists, told the future. Let us return to

our landscape, where the blue skies did not surrender to

the heavy clouds of despair; to a time when justice

promised equal opportunities for individuals and for

nations. Let us join, together, the march of mankind

towards new discoveries that will make life more

purposeful and may bring security to posterity.

We were born in the cradles of hope, not in the

tombs of despair. We guard our spiritual heritage, and

it is not antithetical to building a new Middle East. The

world is new.

I should like to conclude with an old verse from

our scriptures:

“The Lord led Adam through the Garden of

Eden and said to him, ‘All I created, I created for

you. Beware lest you spoil and destroy my world,

for if you spoil it, there is no one to repair it after

you'.”

We are here to repair.