Direct negotiations between Israel and its Arab neighbors, commenced in 1991 in Madrid, represent a unique opportunity to resolve a conflict that has existed for generations. The National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council welcomes the bold initiatives undertaken by the Rabin government to infuse the negotiations with renewed momentum, including offers of territorial compromise and the expedited transfer of expansive self-governing authority to Palestinian residents of the administered territories.

Israel's neighbors should seize this opportunity by formulating positions that are responsive to these Israeli offers and by taking concrete steps to enhance the peacemaking climate. Such steps include ending violence inside Israel and the territories and terminating the economic boycott, which includes the particularly egregious practice of blacklisting United States companies as well as companies from other countries simply because they maintain commercial ties with Israel (secondary boycott). The failure of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to announce an end to this practice is outrageous in light of the sacrifices made by our troops in Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

We urge President Clinton to give a high priority to resuming the momentum of the negotiations. We welcome statements by the President and Secretary of State Warren Christopher indicating their intention to actively facilitate the peace process without intervening in the direct, face-to-face talks between Israel and the Arab parties.

The security of the state of Israel remains the Jewish community's most fundamental concern. Extremist states and organizations in the region, especially those driven by militant forms of Islamic fundamentalism, are committed to undermining the peace process and to the destruction of the Jewish state. Understandably, Israel has sought to develop effective measures to respond to these threats, including the temporary deportation of terrorist leaders following an upsurge in violence by Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups. We regret the one-sided resolution condemning Israel adopted by the United Nations Security Council last December and U.N. Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's harsh report to the Security Council which failed to note the murder of Jews and Palestinians that preceded Israel's action. We welcome the creative agreement reached between Israel and the United States which allows for the partial return of the deportees and a shortening of the deportation period for the others. We also welcome the recent decision of the Security Council, achieved through the leadership of the United States, which gave positive recognition to this agreement and called for an expeditious reconvening of the peace negotiations.

Another source of danger to Israel's security and regional stability is the continuing rapid proliferation of conventional and non-conventional weapons in the region, particularly in countries with aggressive, authoritarian regimes. The NJCRAC calls on the United States government to take a leadership role, in coordination with other major arms-producers, to control the dangerous flow of weapons to the region. We support efforts to convert defense industries at home and abroad to peacetime production in order to reduce the economic pressures for the sale of weapons to the Middle East. The United States also should seek to assure that the international community remains committed to adequate monitoring procedures with regard to Iraq’s military capabilities. As long as the potential for aggression against Israel remains, it is essential that the United States continue to fulfill its longstanding commitment to maintain Israel's qualitative military edge.

The NJCRAC looks forward to working with President Bill Clinton and his administration as well as with the 103rd Congress in strengthening the already solid U.S.-Israel relationship. The special ties between these two countries are founded on a shared affinity between democracies and the recognition that their close strategic alliance will continue to play an important role in the post Cold War era.

-end -

Return to top of this page