| 00:00:17 | I'D LIKE TO CALL ON DAVID MILLSTONE, NEC MEMBER FROM CLEVELAND, AND CHAIR OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, TO INTRODUCE AMBASSADOR MICHAEL OREN. |
| 00:00:31 | [ APPLAUSE ] >> THANK YOU, PAM. |
| 00:00:36 | PERHAPS NO ONE EXEMPLIFIES AND EMBODIES. |
| 00:00:39 | THE DEEP AFFINITY BETWEEN THE AMERICAN AND ISRAELI PEOPLE MORE THAN ISRAEL'S AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES, MICHAEL OREN. |
| 00:00:47 | BORN IN UPSTATE NEW YORK, RAISED IN SUBURBAN NEW JERSEY, AND EDUCATED AT COLUMBIA, AND PRINCETON UNIVERSITIES, AMBASSADOR OREN DRAWS ON HIS AMERICAN EXPERIENCE AND HIS AMERICAN IDENTITY TO NURTURE THE BOND BETWEEN THE U. |
| 00:01:03 | S. AND ISRAEL ON A DAILY BASIS. |
| 00:01:06 | AMBASSADOR OREN WAS FIRST KNOWN TO MANY OF US AS A NOTED HISTORIAN, AND PROLIFIC WRITER OF SEMINAL WORKS LIKE "POWER, FAITH AND FANTASY: AMERICA IN THE MIDDLE EAST, 1776 TO THE PRESENT," AND "SIX DAYS OF WAR, JUNE, 1967, AND THE MAKING OF THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST" WHICH WERE "NEW YORK TIMES" BEST SELLING BOOKS AND FOR HIS OP. |
| 00:01:32 | EDS IN THE "WALL STREET JOURNAL," THE "NEW YORK TIMES" WHERE HE WAS A CONTRIBUTING EDITOR. |
| 00:01:39 | HIS CAREER BEGAN WHEN HIS ZIONIST CONVICTION SPURRED HIM AT THE AGE OF 15 TO MOVE TO ISRAEL TO WORK ON A KABUTZ ALFALFA FARM. |
| 00:01:53 | AMBASSADOR OREN SERVED IN THE ISRAELI ARMY IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT ROLES, THAT DREW ON HIS COURAGE, HIS ELOQUENCE AND INTELLECTUAL ACUMEN. |
| 00:02:01 | HE SERVED AS AN OFFICER, A PARATROOPER, A LIAISON WITH THE U. |
| 00:02:09 | S. SIXTH FLEET DURING THE GULF WAR AND IDF SPOKESMAN DURING THE SECOND LEBANON WAR AND THE GAZA OPERATION IN JANUARY, 2009. |
| 00:02:17 | HE WAS AN EMSEAR TO JEWISH REFUSNICS IN THE SOVIET UNION AND ADVISER TO IZZ REAL'S DELEGATION TO THE UNITED NATIONS AND GOVERNMENT'S DIRECTOR OF INTERRELIGIOUS AFFAIRS, BUT HIS PRIDE OF BEING AN AMERICAN NEVER WAVERED, EVEN AS HE ANSWERED PRIME MINISTER'S NETANYAHU'S CALL TO SERVE AS AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES, HE FELT A SOLEMN AND BITTERSWEET EXPERIENCE OF HAVING TO RENOUNCE HIS AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP IN ORDER TO BE APPOINTED TO HIS POST AS AMBASSADOR. |
| 00:02:47 | THE CHALLENGING TIMES IN WHICH ISRAEL FINDS HERSELF REQUIRES ISRAEL'S EMSEAR TO THE U. |
| 00:02:54 | S. TO CONTINUE TO DRAW ON HIS INTELLECT AND HIS ELOQUENCE. |
| 00:02:57 | HE ARE HONORED HE IS ABLE TO VISIT WITH US TONIGHT AND TO SHARE HIS VIEW, NOT JUST OF HIS VISION OF A WAY FORWARD, THAT HOLDS OUT THE PROMISE OF PEACE, SECURITY, AND BRIGHT FUTURE WE ALL WISH FOR ISRAEL. |
| 00:03:11 | THE AMBASSADOR WILL DELIVER BRIEF REMARKS AND THEN TAKE A FEW QUESTIONS FROM OUR AUDIENCE. |
| 00:03:16 | WE ASK THAT YOU NOT INTERRUPT DURING THE COURSE OF HIS REMARKS, OR WE'LL HAVE TO REMOVE YOU FROM THE ROOM. |
| 00:03:24 | [ LAUGHTER ] PLEASE JOIN ME IN WELCOMING AMBASSADOR MICHAEL OREN. |
| 00:03:43 | [ APPLAUSE ] >> I'M BLUSHING. |
| 00:03:49 | THANK YOU. |
| 00:03:50 | ALFALFA FARM, I'M GOING TO GIVE A TALK ABOUT ALFALFA TONIGHT. |
| 00:03:54 | TRULY IS RIFT EGG. |
| 00:03:55 | I'M DELIGHTED AND HONORED. |
| 00:03:57 | I DON'T WANT TO INSULT ANY OF MY CONTEMPORARIES BUT TO LOOK OUT IN THE AUDIENCE TO SEE SO MANY YOUNG FACES IS A THRILL FOR AND AND PRIDE FOR THE STATE OF ISRAEL. |
| 00:04:09 | FIRST OF ALL I ACKNOWLEDGE THE INCOMPARABLE ABE FOXMAN, THE EMFATICAL JESS HORDACE, HI, JESS, HOW ARE YOU DOING? |
| 00:04:19 | ROBERT, THANK YOU ALL FOR GREETING ME. |
| 00:04:21 | I WANT TO TAKE YOU BACK TONIGHT. |
| 00:04:23 | I WANT TO TAKE YOU BACK 65 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK. |
| 00:04:28 | 65 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK, MAY 8th, 1945, A HISTORY QUIZ. |
| 00:04:35 | V.E. DAY IN EUROPE. |
| 00:04:37 | THE NAZIS WERE DEFEATED FINALLY. |
| 00:04:39 | PEOPLE WERE DANCING IN THE STREETS. |
| 00:04:40 | PEOPLE WERE CELEBRATING, BUT THERE WAS ONE MAN NOT DANCING IN THE STREETS, NOT CELEBRATING, THERE WAS ONE MAN UP IN HIS ROOM LOCKED IN HIS ROOM WRITING IN HIS DAIRY, AND HE WAS THE LEADER OF THE ZIONIST MOVEMENTS WHO NAME WAS DAVID VANGUREN. |
| 00:04:59 | HE WAS WRITING IN HIS DIARY ABOUT THE ALLIED VICTORY AND WHERE THE ALLIES SAW VICTORY HE SAW DEFEAT. |
| 00:05:05 | A THIRD OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE HAD BEEN MASSACRED. |
| 00:05:08 | THE ZIONIST SETTLEMENT IN PALESTINE, THE ESCHOO WAS LEFT WITHOUT FUNDS TO DEFEAT ITSELF AND ARMS TO DEFEND ITSELF. |
| 00:05:18 | THERE WAS A FORMER HABERDASHER IN THE WHITE HOUSE WHO DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT FOREIGN AFFAIRS, KNEW NOTHING ABOUT ZIONISM. |
| 00:05:27 | 60 YEARS OF STRUGGLE IN THE LAND OF ISRAEL TO RECREATE A JEWISH NATION SEEMED AT THAT POINT LOST. |
| 00:05:33 | IT ALL SEEMED DEAD. |
| 00:05:36 | SAD WHAT B WHAT BENGURIAN WROTE IN HIS DIARY WHILE THE OUTSIDE WORLD WAS REJOICING, TERRIBLY, TERRIBLY SAD. |
| 00:05:45 | JEWISH HISTORY IS RIFE WITH SUCH MOMENTS, MOMENTS WHEN OUR TEMPLES HAD BEEN DESTROYED, OUR PEOPLE HAVE BEEN EXILED OR SUBJECTED TO INQUISITIONS, AND ALWAYS AT SUCH MOMENTS WE JUS HAVE ASKED HOW CAN WE GO ON? |
| 00:05:59 | HOW CAN WE POSSIBLY HAVE HOPE? |
| 00:06:02 | TODAY, WE CONFRONT DAUNTING THREATS TO ISRAEL'S SECURITY AND TO ISRAEL'S LEGITIMACY, AND HERE, TOO, TODAY, WE MIGHT BE TEMPTED TO SUCCUMB TO THAT SAME FEELING OF DESPAIR. |
| 00:06:15 | INDEED THERE ARE MOMENTS TODAY WHEN THE CHALLENGES FACING -PISRAEL SEEM OVERWHELMING AT BEST, AND AT WORST, INSURMOUNTABLE. |
| 00:06:25 | NOW THE FIRST OF THESE PERILS FACING ISRAEL MAY SURPRISE YOU. |
| 00:06:29 | IT'S WHAT I WOULD CALL THE PERILS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PEACE PROCESS. |
| 00:06:33 | NOW, HOW CAN PEACE BE PERILOUS? |
| 00:06:36 | WELL, PEACE IS A VISION THAT WE ALL SHARE, IT'S A VISION OF TWO STATES, ONE JEWISH, ONE PALESTINIAN LIVING SIDE BY SIDE WITH ONE ANOTHER, FREE FROM FEAR OF VIOLENCE OR FURTHER CLAIMS, BUT REALIZING THAT VISION WILL REQUIRE OF US FIRSTLY TO MAKE PAINFUL SACRIFICES IN THOSE TERRITORIES WHICH WE REGARD AS THE VERY CRADLE OF OUR JEWISH PEOPLEHOOD, AND MAKING PEACE WILL ENTAIL FOR ISRAEL TAKING INCREDIBLE RISK. |
| 00:07:08 | NOW KEEP IN MIND THAT ISRAEL HAS ALREADY WITHDRAWN FROM TWO TERRITORIES, FROM LEBANON IN 2000, GAZA IN 2005, BOTH WITH THE HOPE THAT THOSE WITHDRAWALS WOULD GENERATE CONDITIONS CONDUCIVE TO GREATER PEACE, BUT WE DIDN'T GET PEACE. |
| 00:07:24 | WE GOT ROUGHLY 15,000 ROCKETS FIRED AT OUR TOWNS AND FARMS AND CITIES. |
| 00:07:29 | THAT IN ADDITION TO 1,000 DEATHS FROM PALESTINIAN SUICIDE BOMBERS. |
| 00:07:33 | WE DIDN'T GET PEACE. |
| 00:07:34 | WE REAPED WAR. |
| 00:07:36 | A VASTLY GREATER DANGER COULD BE POSED BY A PALESTINIAN STATE, WHICH IS NOTED AANYSENT TO THE RELATIVELY SPARSELY POPULAR NEG OF ILLEGALITY BUT WITHIN HUNDREDS OF YARDS FROM BENGURIAN AIRPORT A PALESTINIAN STATE THAT COULD RAIN IRANIAN SUPPLIED MISSILES ON TO TEL AVIV, JERUSALEM JERUSALEM. |
| 00:08:07 | THE DANGER ALSO EXISTS PALESTINIAN LEADERS WHO LONG REFUSED TO RECOGNIZE ISRAEL AS A JEWISH STATE WOULD CONTINUE TO DO SO AND SEE THE TWO-STATE SOLUTION AS A TWO-STAGE SOLUTION, THE SECOND STAGE BEING ISRAEL'S DISSOLUTION. |
| 00:08:23 | PERILOUS, TOO, IS THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE PROCESS OF CREATING THIS PALESTINIAN STATE COULD WIDEN THE RIFTS WITHIN OUR OWN PEOPLE, BETWEEN THOSE WHO INSIST THAT WE CONCEDED TOO LITTLE AND THOSE THAT PROTESTING, THOSE WHO PROTEST THAT WE SACRIFICE TOO MUCH, ESTABLISHING A PALESTINIAN STATE COULD LITERALLY TEAR OUR STATE FROM THE RIGHT AS WELL AS THE LEFT ASUNDER. |
| 00:08:52 | NOW THE NEXT DANGER FACING ISRAEL IS THE ESCALATING XAP TO DENIAL ISRAEL LEGITIMACY, STRIP ISRAEL OF THE RIGHT TO DEFEND ITSELF AND EVEN OF THE RIGHT TO EXIST. |
| 00:09:01 | WE'RE ALL FAMILIAR WITH THE GOLDSTONE REPORT. |
| 00:09:03 | YOU KNOW THE GOLDSTONE REPORT, BUT THE GOLDSTONE REPORT IS ONLY ONE COMPONENT IN THE GLOBAL AND RICHLY FUNDED CAMPAIGN TO BOYCOTT ISRAEL ECONOMICALLY, POLITICALLY, ACADEMICALLY, TO DIVEST FROM ISRAEL, TO SANCTION ISRAEL FINANCIALLY. |
| 00:09:24 | BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT, SANCTION, IN SHORT BDS. |
| 00:09:30 | THE CAMPAIGN IS ACCOMPANIED BY ATTEMPTS TO ARREST LEADERS IN VARIOUS FOREIGN COUNTRIES BY ATTEMPTS TO PORTRAY ISRAEL AS AN APARTHEID STATE OR AMERICAN SUPPORT AS THE ISRAELIST PARTY AND THERE ARE EFFORTS TO DENY REPRESENTATIVES TO SPEAK ON AMERICAN CAMPUSES, BUT BDS ALSO HAS MILITARY RAMIFICATIONS. |
| 00:09:57 | YOU KNOW, HEZBOLLAH NOW HAS 42,000 ROCKETS AIMED AT ISRAEL, THREE TIMES AS 345E7B THEY THIS HE IN H IN 2006 AND HEZBOLLAH INTERNALIZED THE LESSONS OF GOLDSTONE. |
| 00:10:08 | ALL OF THE ROCKETS ARE NOW UNDER HOMES, HOSPITALS AND SCHOOLS BECAUSE HEZBOLLAH KNOWS WHEN THEY FIRE THE ROCKETS AT US AND WHEN ISRAEL TRIES TO DEFEND ITSELF, ISRAEL ONCE AGAIN WILL BE BRANDED AS A WAR CRIMINAL. |
| 00:10:19 | TRAGICALLY, THE JEWISH HISTORY HAS TAUGHT US WITH EVERY ATTEMPT TO ANNIHILATE US AS A PEOPLE HAS BEEN PRECEDED BY AN ATTEMPT TO DEHUMANIZE US AS A PEOPLE, AND DEHUMANIZED, ISRAEL COULD BE RENDERED VULNERABLE TO THE MOST OMINOUS CHALLENGE OF ALL, AND THAT'S THE CHALLENGE OF IRANIAN NUCLEARIZATION. |
| 00:10:41 | IN IRAN, IF IT ACQUIRES NUCLEAR CAPABILITIES WILL PRESENT ISRAEL WITH NOT ONE BUT MULTIPLE THREATS. |
| 00:10:48 | THERE'S THE THREAT THAT IRANIAN LEADER ALSO LIVE UP THEIR PLEDGE TO WIPE ISRAEL OFF THE MAP, DEVELOP THE NUCLEAR WEAPON, STICK IT ON THE HEAD OF ONE OF THE MISSILES THEY'VE DEVELOPED THAT CAN REACH ANY ISRAELI CITY. |
| 00:11:02 | A NUCLEAR IRAN CAN PASS ON NUCLEAR TECHNOLOGY TO HEZBOLLAH, TO HAMAS, AND NUCLEAR IRAN WILL TRIGGER A NUCLEAR ARMS RACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST THAT WILL TRANSFORM THE ENTIRE REGION INTO A TINDERBOX. |
| 00:11:16 | THE DANGERS OF PEACEMAKING, OF BDS, A NUCLEAR IRAN, SUCH CHALLENGES CAN INDEED SEEM INSEPARABLE. |
| 00:11:26 | AND YET, AS SO OFTEN IN THE PAST, ISRAEL'S LEADERSHIP IS RISING TO MEET THOSE CHALLENGES. |
| 00:11:31 | IT'S RISING TO MEET THEM COURAGEOUSLY, RISING TO MEET THEM CREATIVELY. |
| 00:11:36 | RESPONDING TO THOSE DANGERS OF PEACE, PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU AND THE ISRAEL GOVERNMENT HAVE SET OUT A PLAN PROVIDING FOR THE EFFECTIVE DEMILITARIZATION OF THE PALESTINIAN STATE. |
| 00:11:47 | THE STATE WILL NOT HAVE ROCKETS TO SHOOT AT OUR CITIES, NOT HAVE AN AIR FORCE TO SHOOT DOWN CIVILIAN AIRLINES, IT CANNOT BE TREATIES WITH HOSTILE ENTITIES SUCH AS IRAN AND TO PREVENT THE OCCURRENCE OF A LEBANON AND GAZA SITUATION WHERE THOUSANDS OF ROCKETS AND MORTARS WERE SMUGGLED ACROSS AN ADJACENT ARAB BORDER ISRAEL WILL SEEK A CONTINUED MILITARY PRESENCE IN THE JORDAN VALLEY. |
| 00:12:13 | THE PRIME MINISTER'S PLAN FURTHER CALLS FOR RECIPROCAL AND MUTUAL RECOGNITION BETWEEN THE TWO STATES, JUST AS ISRAEL WILL RECOGNIZE THE PALESTINIAN STATE AS THE NATIONAL HOME OF THE PALESTINIANS, SO TOO, THE PALESTINIANS HAVE TO RECOGNIZE ISRAEL AS THE NATION STATE OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE, IT'S NOT A TACTICAL PLOY, THIS IS THE DEEPEST STRATEGY YOU CAN IMAGINE, ONLY WITH MUTUAL AND RECIPROCAL RECOGNITION WILL THERE BE AN END OF CLAIMS WILL THERE BE AN END TO THIS CONFLICT. |
| 00:12:41 | THE GOVERNOR OF ISRAEL HAS TAKEN STEPS, STEPS DESCRIBED BY SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON AS UNPRECEDENTED STEPS TO ADVANCE THIS PROCESS TOWARD ACHIEVING A DURABLE AND HISTORIC PEACE, AND YET STILL, THERE WILL BE SOME WHO WILL ACCUSE THESE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT OF CONCEDING TOO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE. |
| 00:13:00 | HISTORY TEACHES US, THOUGH, THAT WHENEVER OFFERED GENUINE PEACE BY INTREPID ARAB LEADERS AS KING HUSSEIN AND ANWAR SADAT, THE ISRAELI BRACED THAT PEACE UNFAULTERINGLY. |
| 00:13:15 | FACING THE THREATS TO ISRAEL'S RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENSE AND EXISTENCE, THE GOVERNMENT OF ISRAEL HAS JOINED WITH THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION IN COMBATING THE GOLDSTONE REPORT WHEREVER, WHENEVER IT APPEARS. |
| 00:13:26 | WE ARE DOUBLING OUR EFFORTS ON CAMPUS. |
| 00:13:33 | WE ARE DEFEATING DIVESTMENT MOTIONS AT BERKELEY. |
| 00:13:38 | WE ARE REACHING OUT TO COMMUNITY GROUPS OF DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS AND ETHNICITIES TO EXPLAIN ISRAEL'S CASE, AND WE'RE WORKING WITH LOCAL, STATE AND NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVES TO PASS LEGISLATION AGAINST BDS. |
| 00:13:52 | AND IN MEETING THE IRANIAN THREAT. |
| 00:13:55 | ISRAEL APPRECIATES PRESIDENT OBAMA'S DETERMINATION TO PREVENT IRAN FROM ACQUIRING NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND IS FOLLOWING ITS LEAD IN GALVANIZING INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR BIDING SANCTIONS ON IRAN. |
| 00:14:08 | WE WELCOME THE LEGISLATION THAT HAS BEEN PASSED IN BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS AND ABOUT SANCTIONS ON IRAN, AND ENCOURAGE ALL STATE AND LOCAL EFFORTS TO DENY ACCESS TO AMERICAN MARKETS AND AMERICAN KNOW-HOW. |
| 00:14:24 | WE EXPECT THE WORLD TO ACT DECISIVELY, TO DENY NUCLEAR MILITARY CAPABILITIES TO THE IRANIANS, WHILE RESERVING THE RIGHT OF ANY STATE, PARTICULARLY A JEWISH STATE, WITH OUR HISTORIC MEMORY, TO DEFEND ITSELF. |
| 00:14:40 | WE IN ISRAEL ARE MEETING ALL OF THESE MONUMENTAL CHALLENGES. |
| 00:14:46 | WE CAN CONFRONT THEM, WE RISE TO THEM, WE WILL MEET THEM, AND YET AT THE END OF THE DAY, ONE STILL HAS TO WONDER, JUST HOW WE DO IT. |
| 00:14:54 | HOW DO WE WAKE UP IN THE MORNING AND KNOW THAT THERE ARE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF HAMAS AND HEZBOLLAH ROCKETS POINTED AT US AND POINTED AT OUR FAMILIES? |
| 00:15:01 | HOW DO WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE TO FACE ENEMIES WHO REJECT NOT ONLY OUR PAST, BUT ALSO DENY US A FUTURE? |
| 00:15:07 | HOW DO WE DO THAT? |
| 00:15:09 | THE TEMPTATION TO DESPAIR CAN AT TIMES INDEED BE GREAT, BUT SO, TOO, IS THE IMPERATIVE TO REMEMBER, REMEMBER DAVID BENGURAN, ON MAY 8th, 1945. |
| 00:15:26 | REMEMBER BENGURIAN ALMOST THREE YEARS TO THE DATE LATER, MAY 14th, 1948, RECLAIMING THE REBIRTH OF INDEPENDENT JEWISH STATE IN OUR HOMELAND, THE LAND OF ISRAEL. |
| 00:15:37 | REMEMBER THAT. |
| 00:15:38 | REMEMBER HOW THAT STATE OF A MERE 600,000 SOULS, THAT'S HALF THE POPULATION OF METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON, ARMED WITH LITTLE MORE THAN HANDGUNS, FOUGHT OFF SIX ARAB ARMIES, ESTABLISHED A FLOURISHING HEBREW CULTURE, ESTABLISHED A THRIVING DEMOCRACY AND PROCEEDED TO ABSORB MANY TIMES ITS ORIGINAL NUMBER OF INHABITANTS IN IMMIGRANTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. |
| 00:16:01 | REMEMBER HOW THAT SAME STATE 19 YEARS LATER, 1967, AGAIN FACED DESTRUCTION AT THE HANDS OF ARAB ARMIES AND CONFRONTED THAT THREAT WHILE ALSO GRAPPLEING WITH A HOSTILE SOVIET BLOC, A HOSTILE CHINA, A HOSTILE INDIA WITH NO ECONOMY, AND NO STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UNITED STATES. |
| 00:16:22 | AND RECALL FINALLY ISRAEL 2010, A COUNTRY AT PEACE WITH TWO OF ITS FORMER FOES, A COUNTRY COMMITTED TO RESOLVING ITS CONFLICT WITH THE PALESTINIANS, A COUNTRY WITH SUPERB RELATIONS WITH FORMER SOVIET BLOC NATIONS, GREAT RELATIONS WITH CHINA, ONE OF OUR BIGGEST TRADING PARTNERS, WITH INDIA, A COUNTRY WITH ONE OF THE STRONGEST ECONOMIES, A COUNTRY BONDED WITH THIS NATION, IN AN HISTORIC MULTIFACETED AND UNBREAKABLE ALLIANCE. |
| 00:16:54 | YES, WE FACE CHALLENGES. |
| 00:16:55 | SOME OF THEM QUITE DAUNTING, BUT WE HAVE OVERCOME SIMILAR OBSTACLES IN OUR PAST, AND WE HAVE PREVAILED. |
| 00:17:03 | WE HAVE PREVAILED BECAUSE OF OUR FAITH, BECAUSE OF OUR PERSEVERANCE AND RESILIENCE, BUT ALSO WE HAVE PREVAILED BECAUSE WE HAVE NEVER STOOD ALONE. |
| 00:17:14 | YOU, OUR SUPPORTERS IN THE UNITED STATES, MEMBERS OF ADL, THIS WONDERFUL ORGANIZATION, HAVE ALWAYS STOOD WITH US AND CONTRIBUTED IMMENSELY TO OUR SUCCESS, AND ISRAEL TODAY NO LESS THAN IN THE PAST CALLS ON EACH ONE OF YOU, ONCE AGAIN, TO HELP US MEET THESE CHALLENGES. |
| 00:17:35 | SUPPORT US IF WE ONCE AGAIN DECIDE TO MAKE EXCRUCIATING SACRIFICES AND TAKE IMMENSE RISK FOR PEACE, BUT SUPPORT US, TOO, IF WE DECIDE THAT THE CHANCES FOR REAL PEACE DO NOT WARRANT THOSE SACRIFICES OR RISKS. |
| 00:17:51 | JOIN US IN FIGHTING FOR ISRAEL'S RIGHT TO DEFEND ITSELF, AND ISRAEL'S RIGHT TO EXIST. |
| 00:17:55 | JOIN US IN MAKING THAT THE FIGHT OF AMERICANS, FROM ALL BACKGROUNDS AND OF ALL FAIR-MINDED PEOPLE EVERYWHERE. |
| 00:18:03 | JOIN US IN THIS FATEFUL FIGHT TO DENY NUCLEAR WE POSSIBLEAPONS TO IRAN. |
| 00:18:10 | AS IN THE PAST AT THE TIME OF ISRAEL'S CREATION OR THE SOVIET IN THE COUNTRY TAKE TO THE STATES, MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD IN YOUR SYNAGOGUES AND COMMUNITY CENTERS, HANG UP BANNERS THAT SAY NBDS AND "STOP THE IRANIAN BOMB" HANG THOSE BANNERS AND IN SPITE OF THE DIFFERENCES THAT SOMETIMES DIVIDE US, SUPPORT THE DECISION ITS MADE BY THE PEOPLE WHO BEAR THE GREATEST RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE RAMIFICATIONS OF THOSE DECISIONS, AND SUPPORT THE DECISIONS MADE BY ONE OF THE WORLD'S FREEST AND MOST REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACIES. |
| 00:18:47 | JOIN US WITH HEBAT SIOM, DEDICATION TO ISRAEL, AND A COMMITMENT TO CLAAL, ISRAEL, TO THE UNITY OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE EVERYWHERE. |
| 00:18:58 | JOIN US WITH DIVERSITY, WITH CIVILITY, AND WITH LOVE, AND WITH THE CERTAINTY THAT ISRAEL WILL AGAIN NOT ONLY SURVIVE THESE CHALLENGES, BUT IT WILL THRIVE. |
| 00:19:32 | THANK YOU. [ APPLAUSE ] THANK YOU. |
| 00:19:37 | QUESTIONS? |
| 00:19:40 | PLEASE. |
| 00:19:41 | >> STRAIGHT AHEAD. |
| 00:19:45 | >> HI. |
| 00:19:46 | >> STEVE MENDELSSOHN FROM PHILADELPHIA. |
| 00:19:49 | YOU'RE A SCHOLAR, YOU'RE A HISTORIAN, YOU UNDERSTAND ISLAM, THE ISLAMIC MIND-SET, YOU UNDERSTAND THE ARAB CULTURE. |
| 00:19:56 | WHAT GIVES YOU ANY HOPE AT ALL THAT ANY PLAN, A NETANYAHU PLAN, A BARACK PLAN, ANY HOPE SHORT OF THE TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF ISRAEL WOULD WORK? |
| 00:20:07 | >> WELL, WE HAVE EXAMPLES OF TWO PEACE TREATIES WHICH ARE IMPERFECT PEACE TREATIES BUT IF YOU WOULD HAVE ASKED ME THAT SAME QUESTION IN OCTOBER, 1977, I MIGHT HAVE SAID THERE WAS NO CHANCE, BUT THE FOLLOWING MONTH ANWAR SADAT LANDED IN ISRAEL AND THAT LED TO A PROCESS WHICH WE NOW HAVE SUSTAINED FOR WHAT, 35 YEARS, A PEACE WITH EGYPT, WE HAVE A PEACE TREATY WITH JORDAN, NOT PERFECT PEACE TREATIES BUT WE HAVE PRECEDENCE. |
| 00:20:33 | WE HAVE IN THE WORLD TODAY A PALESTINIAN LEADERSHIP, PARTICULARLY UNDER THE PRIME MINISTER AND PRESIDENT, WHICH WE HOPE WILL PROVE TO BE A VIABLE INTERLOCUTURE AND PARTNER IN THE PEACE PROCESS. |
| 00:20:46 | THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT IS VERY DEEP, VERY DIVERSE, VERY REPRESENTATIVE AND VERY STABLE. |
| 00:20:50 | WE HAVE AN AMERICAN ADMINISTRATION WHICH IS DEEPLY COMMITTED TO PEACE, SENATOR MITCHELL IS RETURNING TO OUR AREA NEXT WEEK TO BEGIN THE PROXIMITY TALKS WHICH WE HOPE AND THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION SHARES THIS HOPE WILL QUICKLY SERVE AS A CORRIDOR FOR MOVING TO DIRECT TALKS ON ALL OF THE CORE ISSUES, AND WE HAVE A MIDDLE EAST IN WHICH THE MAJORITY OF ARAB STATES NOW VIEW IN ANOTHER MIDDLE EASTERN STATE, NOT ISRAEL, AS THEIR PRIMARY ADVERSARY, IRAN, OF COURSE. |
| 00:21:18 | NOW, AGAIN, THIS IS NO GUARANTOR. |
| 00:21:21 | THERE'S NO GUARANTEE THE PEACE PROCESS WILL TAKE OFF BECAUSE OF ALL OF THE FACTORS BUT FROM AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE I WILL TELL YOU THERE IS A GREATER CHANCE FOR MOVING TOWARD A HISTORIC PEACE TODAY THAN IT HAS BEEN I THINK IN RECENT MEMORY, AND WITH THE LONG VIEW OF THE MIDDLE EAST, WHICH I COME TO AS AN HISTORIAN, GOD, WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT 65 YEARS AGO THAT THERE WOULD BE PEACE BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY AND ENGLAND AND THAT NO ONE IN EUROPE WOULD EVER THINK ABOUT WAGING WAR WITH ANOTHER. |
| 00:21:52 | THE MIDDLE EAST IS NOT A STATIC REGION. |
| 00:21:55 | IT'S HIGHLY DYNAMIC. |
| 00:21:56 | IT IS CHANGING ALL THE TIME, AND IF I WEREN'T AT BASE AN OPTIMIST, I WOULDN'T BE -- I PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE THIS JOB AND I CERTAINLY WOULDN'T HAVE RAISED MY FAMILY IN THAT AREA, THOUGH I AM VERY OPTIMISTIC. |
| 00:22:14 | >> MY NAME IS RICK BARTON I'M FROM SAN DIEGO. |
| 00:22:16 | WHEN YOU LAY OUT THE CHALLENGES FROM A MILITARY STANDPOINT, MISSILES ON BOTH SIDES OF ISRAEL'S BORDER, NORTHERN BORDER, SOUTHERN BORDER, THE QUESTION SEEMS TO ME THAT IS BEGGED IS HOW ARE THEY GETTING THERE? |
| 00:22:31 | WHAT EFFORTS ARE BEING MADE TO INTERDICT THE SUPPLY OF MISSILES, AND THE WHOLE ISSUE OF SYRIA, AND ITS ROLE OBVIOUSLY AS IRAN'S BASICALLY PROXY IN THE AREA. |
| 00:22:44 | CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE EFFORTS WITH REGARD TO SYRIA AND INTERDICTING THE MISSILES, ET CETERA? |
| 00:22:50 | >> THE EGYPTIANS ALONG THEIR BORDER AND THERE ARE AS MANY AS 1,000 HAMAS-DUG TUNNELS UNDER THAT BORDER BETWEEN SINAI AND GAZA, ARE DOING A BETTER JOB OF INTERDICTING THE FLOW OF WEAPONRY, THROUGH THE TUNNELS, SOMETIMES BY THE SEA A CROSS THEIR BORDER BUT IT'S NOT -- THE BORDER IS NOT HERMEDICALLY SEALED AND WEAPONRY IS GETTING THROUGH. |
| 00:23:15 | HAMAS TESTED OUT A ROCKET WITH A RANGE THAT COULD EASILY HIT TEL AVIV. |
| 00:23:19 | WE KNOW ABOUT IRANIAN-SUPPLIED ROCKETS. |
| 00:23:21 | WE KNOW THAT MEMBERS OF HAMAS HAVE GONE OUT THE TUNNELS AND RECEIVED TRAINING AT THE HANDS OF THE IRANIANS. |
| 00:23:27 | IN LEBANON THE REGIME ESTABLISHED BY U. |
| 00:23:29 | N. RESOLUTION 1701 PASSED AFTER THE SECOND LEBANON WAR IN 2006, HAS PROVEN COMPLETELY, COMPLETELY INIF I ICATIOUS IN STOPPING THE SUPPLY OF ADVANCED ROCKET AND MISSILES TO HEZBOLLAH. |
| 00:23:47 | I GAVE YOU THE FIGURE 42,000 ROCKETS. |
| 00:23:50 | IT MAY BE AS HIGH AS 60,000 ROCKETS AND WE HAVE GOOD REASON TO BELIEVE THEY INCLUDE MORE ADVANCED FORM OF ROCKETS THAT CAN HIT ANY ISRAELI CITY WITH A VERY HIGH DEGREE OF ACCURACY, WITH PAYLOADS OF ABOUT ONE TON WHICH IS ENOUGH TO TAKE DOWN THIS HOTEL. |
| 00:24:05 | SO VERY DEADLY THREAT INDEED. |
| 00:24:06 | IT IS ONE OF THE REASONS, PROBABLY THE PRIMARY REASON THAT ISRAEL IN A PEACE AGREEMENT WITH THE PALESTINIANS WILL SEEK A CONTINUED MILITARY PRESENCE ALONG THE JORDAN VALLEY BECAUSE EXPERIENCE HAS SHOWN THAT OUR PROBLEM WITH LEBANON IS NOT THE ISRAELI/LEBANESE BORDER BUT THE LEBANESE/SYRIAN BORDER. |
| 00:24:24 | OUR PROBLEM WITH GAZA IS NOT THE ISRAELI/GAZA BORDER BUT THE EGYPTIAN/GAZA BORDER. |
| 00:24:32 | WE HAVE TO ENSURE THAT THE GAZA/LEBANESE PARADIGM IS NOT REPLICATED IN THE WEST BANK FOR THE REASONS I OUTLINED EARLIER. |
| 00:24:41 | AGAIN IT'S BAD ENOUGH THAT THE ROCKETS WERE FIRING ON GALILEE AND IN THE NEGEV AND EVEN IN BERSHEVA, BUT IMAGINE IF THEY COULD LOB ROCKETS LIKE THAT IN DOWNTOWN JERUSALEM, DOWNTOWN TEL AVIV, AT THE AIRPORT, ALL OF OUR INDUSTRIAL CENTERS, IMPOSSIBLE. |
| 00:24:58 | SO WE WILL BE SEEKING EXTENSIVE, DETAILED GARN TEASE FOR OUR SECURITY AS PART OF OUR QUEST FOR PALESTINIAN DEMILITARIZATION. |
| 00:25:10 | >> ON THE LEFT. |
| 00:25:12 | >> HI. |
| 00:25:13 | >> MR. |
| 00:25:14 | AMBASSADOR, MY NAME IS SANAZ MESHKIN FROM LOS ANGELES. |
| 00:25:18 | MY QUESTION IS ONE, IF YOU COULD COMMENT, PLEASE, ON THE UC IRVINE EPISODE THAT A LOT OF US HAD SEEN ON YOUTUBE, WHICH WAS VERY SAD FOR A LOT OF ACTIVISTS ON CAMPUSES, AND ALSO I ALSO WANTED TO KNOW IF YOU COULD, PLEASE, COMMENT ON THE PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU'S DINNER WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA AND THE AFTERMATH OF THAT, WHAT ARE YOUR COMMENTS ON THAT? |
| 00:25:41 | >> TWO EASY QUESTIONS THERE, THANK YOU. |
| 00:25:44 | THAT'S GREAT. |
| 00:25:45 | [ LAUGHTER ] IRVINE WAS A SAD EVENT FOR ME. |
| 00:25:47 | I HAD COME TO THAT CAMPUS, IT WAS KNOWN THE CAMPUS HAD A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF ARAB STUDENTS, STUDENTS FROM MUSLIM BACKGROUNDS, VERY STRONG PRO-PALESTINIAN MOVEMENT ON THE CAMPUS, THAT'S WHY I HAD GONE TO THE CAMPUS. |
| 00:25:59 | I THINK WE HAVE TO GO TO THE CAMPUSES. |
| 00:26:01 | WE HAVE TO ENGAGE. |
| 00:26:02 | WE HAVE TO TRY TO REACH OUT AND DIALOGUE WITH THESE VARIOUS GROUPS AND I HOPE TO DO THAT, BUT THEY DENIED ME THE ABILITY TO DO THAT. |
| 00:26:09 | THEY DENIED THEMSELVES THE ABILITY TO LISTEN. |
| 00:26:11 | THEY DENIED THE ABILITY TO LISTEN TO OTHER PEOPLE WHO WANTED TO HEAR WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY. |
| 00:26:15 | SO IT WAS VERY SAD. |
| 00:26:18 | IT WAS PRECISELY THOSE STUDENTS I WANTED TO TALK WITH AND THEY LEFT. |
| 00:26:23 | YOU MAY BE AWARE I WROTE A LETTER TO STUDENT BODY OFFERING TO GO BACK AND TALK TO THEM. |
| 00:26:28 | THE NEXT NIGHT, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S ON YOUTUBE, TOO, A PERIOD AT ANOTHER UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA CAMPUS OF SAN DIEGO, SAME STUDENTS SHOWED UP, SAME STUDENTS WITH THE SAME QUESTIONS, THEY COME WITH QUESTIONS WRITTEN, BUT THEY ASKED THEM, THEY DIDN'T INTERFERE WITH MY TALK AND I ANSWERED ALL THEIR QUESTIONS AND FOR ME THAT WAS PROBABLY THE HIGH POINT OF MY TRIP TO CALIFORNIA, AND I'M INCLUDING THAT IN A VISIT TO THE CAST PARTY OF "INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS. |
| 00:26:53 | " THAT WAS A GOOD PARTY. |
| 00:26:54 | [ LAUGHTER ] A FEW PERKS. |
| 00:27:00 | FEW PERKS. |
| 00:27:01 | AND SO I WILL CONTINUE GOING. |
| 00:27:02 | I'LL CONTINUE GOING TO CAMPUSES, YOU KNOW, IRRESPECTIVE OF THE RECEPTION BUT I DO HOPE THAT THOSE WHO HAVE THE MOST QUESTIONS OR THE MOST CRITICISMS OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL WILL COME TO LISTEN AND NOT TO INTERFERE. |
| 00:27:16 | AS FOR THE PRIME MINISTER'S LAST VISIT TO THE WHITE HOUSE, I'M GOING TO SHOCK SOME OF YOU. |
| 00:27:21 | WE WEREN'T SNUBBED. |
| 00:27:22 | I WAS THERE THAT NIGHT. |
| 00:27:24 | IT WAS THE PRESIDENT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN IN INDONESIA THAT NIGHT AND THE PRIME MINISTER HAD COME TO SPEAK TO THE APAC GATHERING. |
| 00:27:33 | IT WAS NOT A PLANNED STATE VISIT. |
| 00:27:36 | IT WAS ARRANGED AT THE VERY LAST MINUTE. |
| 00:27:38 | WE WENT OFF TO THE WHITE HOUSE TO DO WORK ON ANIMATING THE PEACE PROCESS, GETTING THE PROXIMITY TALKS UP AND RUNNING. |
| 00:27:43 | THE MEETING WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN A HALF HOUR, IT RAN INTO TWO HOURS. |
| 00:27:47 | IT WAS ABOUT 9:00 AT NIGHT, WE WERE FINISHED, THE PRESIDENT EXCUSED HIMSELF, WENT UPSTAIRS NOT TO HAVE DINNER WITH HIS FAMILY BECAUSE THE FAMILY WASN'T THERE, AND HE THOUGHT WE HAD ALL GONE HOME. |
| 00:27:57 | THE PRIME MINISTER DECIDED TO HAVE A QUICK MEETING IN THE EISENHOWER ROOM OUTSIDE THE OVAL OFFICE, AND AT THE LAST MINUTE DECIDED THAT HE HAD ANOTHER BIT THAT HE WANTED TO TAKE ONE THE PRESIDENT SO THE PRESIDENT WAS REQUESTED TO COME DOWN. |
| 00:28:08 | HE CAME DOWN, AND WE CONCLUDED THE MEETING. |
| 00:28:12 | IT WAS NOT A PHOTO OPPORTUNITY. |
| 00:28:13 | IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE A PHOTO OPPORTUNITY. |
| 00:28:19 | IT WAS A WORKING MEET,ING, NOT A STATE VISIT. |
| 00:28:21 | THIS IS NOT TO PAVE OVER THE SETTLEMENT ISSUES OF JERUSALEM BECAUSE THERE ARE DIFFERENCES BUT I'M VERY LOATH AND VERY RESISTANT TO THE NOTION THAT THERE WAS A CRISIS AT THAT POINT, BECAUSE NONE OF US FELT THERE WAS A CRISIS AT THAT POINT AND IT WAS A PRESS-GENERATED CRISIS THAT DIDN'T EXIST. |
| 00:28:36 | THERE WERE LEGITIMATE DIFFERENCES OF POLICIES AND THERE ARE LONGSTANDING DIFFERENCES OF POLICIES. |
| 00:28:41 | THE POLICY OF THE PRIME MINISTER, THE CURRENT ISRAELI GOVERNMENT IN JERUSALEM IS EXACTLY THE SAME POLICY THAT GOLDENMAIER ITZAK RAH BIN HAS H AND THE OBAMA POLICY IS THE SAME POLICY THAT LYNDON JOHNSON HAD, SO IT'S NOT THAT THESE ARE NEW ISSUES. |
| 00:29:01 | THE TRUE LITMUS OF ANY ALLIANCE AND I SAY THE ALLIANCE BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL IS UNBREAKABLE. |
| 00:29:07 | IT'S NOT HOW YOU HAVE DIFFERENCES OF POLICIES BUT HOW YOU DEAL WITH THE DIFFERENCE ANSWER I'M CONFIDENT WE'RE DEALING WITH THE DIFFERENCES VERY EFFECTIVELY NOW. |
| 00:29:14 | >> NEXT QUESTION. |
| 00:29:18 | >> SARAH FEINSTEIN FROM CHICAGO. |
| 00:29:20 | THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. |
| 00:29:22 | WE ARE ALL TREMENDOUS FANS OF YOURS AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK THAT YOU DO. |
| 00:29:27 | MY QUESTION INVOLVES DIRECT AND INDIRECT TALKS AND THE LIKELIHOOD OF ISRAEL BEING ABLE TO ENGAGE IN DIRECT TALKS AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO, THE MEANINGFUL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO FOR ISRAEL. |
| 00:29:37 | >> BETWEEN PROXIMITY AND DIRECT TALKS? |
| 00:29:38 | >> YES, THANK YOU. |
| 00:29:39 | >> PROXIMITY IS SORT OF A, WE HOPE IT WILL BE A CORRIDOR TO DIRECT TALKS, THAT DURING THE PROXIMITY TALKS WILL SERVE AS A FRAMEWORK FOR SETTING AGENDAS AND PROCEDURES BUT ALSO EXCHANGING VIEWS ON THE PARTY'S POSITIONS REGARDING THE VARIOUS VERY WEIGHTY ISSUES THAT WE'LL FACE DURING DIRECT TALKS BUT WE ALSO BELIEVE THAT ANY PEACE TREATY BETWEEN THE ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS HAS TO BE NEGOTIATED DIRECTLY AND THAT'S CERTAINLY THE PRESIDENT OF ALL SUCCESSFUL PEACE NEGOTIATIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST, AND WE HOPE THEY WILL PROCEED TO DIRECT TALKS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. |
| 00:30:11 | THANK YOU. |
| 00:30:13 | [ APPLAUSE ] |
| 00:30:24 | >> MR. |
| 00:30:25 | AMBASSADOR, I FIRST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR FRIENDSHIP AND ACCESSIBILITY TO ADL IN ALL OF THESE YEARS, AND YOUR ACADEMIC AND WRITING CAREERS, AND YOUR CONTINUED AVAILABILITY TO US IN YOUR NEW POST. |
| 00:30:41 | I ALSO WANT TO TELL YOU THAT LISTENING TO YOU GIVES ME AND I'M SURE EVERYONE ELSE HERE GREAT COMFORT THAT THE GOVERNMENT OF ISRAEL'S REPRESENTATIVE IN THE UNITED STATES IS A PASSIONATE, ARTICULATE SPOKESPERSON FOR YOUR GOVERNMENT, AND FINALLY, WE WILL CONTINUE AS WE ALWAYS HAVE IN THE PAST TO SUPPORT THE DECISIONS OF THE DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT OF ISRAEL. |
| 00:31:08 | WE WILL JOIN YOU IN SUPPORTING YOUR GOVERNMENT IN WHATEVER WAY IT IS NECESSARY, AND WE THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR COMING. |
| 00:31:16 | >> MY PLEASURE. |
| 00:31:23 | [ APPLAUSE ] >> I LOVE SEEING ALL OF THESE YOUNG PEOPLE HERE, IT'S GREAT. |
| 00:31:30 | THANK YOU. |
| 00:32:12 | >> GOOD |
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