How dare the world shun Israel on terrorism (Jose Maria Aznar)

How dare the world shun Israel on terrorism 

Forty years after Munich, we are wrong to block the country most affected by atrocities 

Jose Maria Aznar 

When we are about to mark the 40th anniversary of the terrorist attacks at the Olympic Village in Munich, in which 11 Israeli athletes were killed by Palestinian terrorists, it is a real paradox to see Israel excluded from the first meeting of the Global Counter-terrorism Forum. 

This initiative, led by the United States and attended by 29 countries and the European Union, took place last month in an effort to improve the co-ordination of counter-terrorism policies at global level. Why wasn't Israel invited? The meeting was held in Istanbul and no one wanted to "provoke" the host, the Islamist Government of the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

Worse still, in July, the forum organised its first victims-of-terrorism meeting. Not only was Israel excluded, but Israeli victims had no place in its official speeches. When we see deadly terrorist attacks such as the recent one in Bulgaria, targeting tourists simply because they were Israeli, the marginalisation of Israel is totally unacceptable. 

As a terrorism victim myself, who was fortunate to survive a car-bomb attack, I cannot understand or justify the marginalisation of other terrorist victims just for political reasons. If we extrapolate Israel's experience of slaughter to Britain, it would mean that in the past 12 years about 11,000 British citizens would have died and 60,000 would have been injured in terrorist attacks. In the case of the United States, the figures would he 65,000 dead and 300,000 injured. Israel's ordeal is far from insignificant. 

It is even more poignant if one considers Israel's willingness to face up to terrorism and the practical experience that it has acquired to defeat it. Israel has much to contribute in this area and everyone else has a lot to learn if we really want to defeat the terrorists. 

Fiamma Nirenstein, the vice-president of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Italian Chamber of Deputies (and a member of the Friends of Israel Initiative) has made a proposal that is as fair as it is attractive - to hold a moment of silence at the London Olympics in memory of the 1972 massacre. Remembering is important, first, because of the victims, but also because many Europeans adopted the wrong attitude towards Palestinian terrorism after the Munich attack. The culprits who were arrested were later quietly released for fear of further attacks. And because of that initial fear the terrorists knew hose to take advantage of the situation and to press for more rewards. 

I have experienced terrorism at first hand. Many of my friends and some political colleagues have been killed by terrorists whose only merit was to have a hood, a gun or a bomb. Nonetheless, even in the most difficult times, I have always believed that weakness and appeasement are the wrong choices. Terrorism is not a natural phenomenon; it doesn't happen spontaneously; its not something ethereal. It can and must be fought using all the tools provided by the law and democracy - and most importantly, it can be defeated if there is the will to defeat it. Israel has provided ample proof that it possesses that will, since its own existence is at stake. 

To marginalise or isolate Israel to avoid irritating Turkey is a big mistake. All of the Middle East, from Morocco to the Gulf, is undergoing profound, although not always peaceful, change, which is yielding very disturbing results. Although the elections in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt are something new and promising for the region, Syria is immersed in civil war and there is a danger that the region's largest arsenal of chemical weapons will spin out of control and become available to anyone - as happened with Libya's portable anti-aircraft missiles, which disappeared after the fall of of Colonel Gaddafi, In Egypt, the rise of Islamism threatens economic and political stability. Hezbollah is still in Lebanon, keeping alive its goal of eliminating Israel -just as members oft Hamas do in Gaza. Despite sanctions, Iran is moving forward with the development of a nuclear bomb in its effort to become the regional leader and to export its Islamist and revolutionaiy ideology as widely as possible. There are also other areas in turmoil that directly affect Europe, such as the Sahel region of Africa, south of the Sahara, which is now becoming dominated by al-Qaeda. 

Isolation not only renders Israel weaker against its enemies, but also makes all Westerners weaker. And the practitioners of terrorism know all too well how to exploit our differences. 

Remembering Munich 40 years on should be a useful reminder of our successes and failures. It should help us to enhance our collective abilities to light terrorism. Israel is key in this fight. Israel is a part of the West. Israel is not the problem; it is part of the solution. We will become the problem if we continue to cold-shoulder Israel, the country most affected by terrorism and, possibly, the one that knows best how to defeat it. 

Jose Maria Aznar was Prime Minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004 and is chairman of the Friends of Israel Initiative.

YNET: How not to have a Palestinian state Spain’s ex-PM says no peace possible when one side committed to other’s destruction Jose Maria Aznar

The unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state, and its international recognition, would be a huge mistake. A peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians is essential, but it can only be achieved through honest negotiations –not by any party imposing a unilateral decision.

Over the past two years, the Palestinian Authority has refused to sit at the negotiating table with the Israeli government, hiding behind the excuse of Israeli construction work on a few West Bank settlements. At the same time, however, it has been negotiating the creation of a national unity government with Hamas, a terrorist group whose stated aim is the elimination of Israel.

A Palestinian “government” of a unilaterally established, self-declared “Palestinian state,” in which Hamas is a member of the governing coalition, will make negotiations, much less a peace agreement, impossible: no negotiation is possible, and no agreement is possible, when one side is committed to the other’s destruction.

US President Barack H. Obama has recently advocated a return to talks based on the pre-1967 lines with mutual land-swaps. But even those lines, as originally delineated in the 1949 Armistice Agreements, were subject to negotiations in accordance with UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338, which both sides agreed at the time would be the basis for a future peace agreement. Any future border, according to these resolutions, must be the outcome of a negotiated agreement.

The unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood is also a clumsily concealed de-legitimization device. Serious Palestinians know very well that they do not meet the internal and external requirements to become a viable state, much less to become a new UN member-state with all its attendant obligations. Their objective is different: the unilateral declaration is, in reality, simply another tactic in a broader strategy of embarrassing and then de-legitimizing the State of Israel.

There is no historical, institutional or legal basis on which to recognize a Palestinian state today, except as a kind of “virtual state,” which exists in some fashion in the imaginations of various parties but which has no tether to reality. In the West Bank, Palestinians crucially depend on Israeli cooperation to function. Other more modern aspects of statehood, such as respect for human rights, freedom and a functioning democracy - all of which are required of other countries seeking recognition - are sadly lacking in the Palestinian case.

Indeed, this rush to a unilateral declaration of statehood, including the intra-Palestinian negotiations with Hamas, is impeding the deeper formation of civil society in the West Bank, which has made progress in recent years and which is essential to any enduring peace.

Blackmail will lead to disaster

A declaration of Palestinian statehood by the United Nations General Assembly will be an act of political manoeuvring that will only make it even more difficult to find a solution. Unilateral action will have unforeseeable consequences, so the only true way forward is through a bilateral agreement.

This is not the time for destructive gestures: it is time to encourage everyone to sit down and negotiate, face to face, with no pre-conditions other than mutual and unequivocal recognition.

There cannot be two states, living in peace side by side, unless Palestinians accept that Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people and the Israelis accept that the Palestinian State will be the state for the Palestinian people. Absent that basis, no genuine progress will be made.

The government in Jerusalem has said on numerous occasions that it is ready to talk. Now is the moment of truth for the Palestinians. They must choose negotiation, with all that negotiating entails, including concessions by both parties.

The alternative is for the representatives of the Palestinian people to continue demonizing their only possible negotiating partner, while expecting the international community to tilt the scales in their own favour. But blackmail will lead to disaster. Negotiations must be conducted in good faith and not as a means of exerting various forms of international pressure.

It is time for the international community, starting with the UN, to say that the time for game-playing and wishful thinking is past. Serious negotiations can only be conducted by Israelis and Palestinians themselves, no matter how much help or goodwill is provided from the outside. A unilaterally declared Palestinian State, which is not the product of bilateral negotiations, is a demand that Israel accept the unacceptable.

Diplomacy demands, above all, negotiation and agreement, not unilateral demands imposed with contempt.


We all have a sincere desire to see a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel, living in a lasting and stable peace. We therefore call on all leaders of the European Union and the Western world to reject unequivocally the current position of the Palestinian Authority. We urge the Palestinians to see that the only way they can have their own State is through an agreement with the Israelis. No other options should be supported by the international community.

Only sincere dialogue and the unconditional recognition of each side by the other can be the basis for renewed negotiations. Only sincere dialogue and the unconditional recognition of each side by the other can set the foundations of a viable Palestinian state in the near future.

Friends of Israel Initiative in the AIPAC Policy Conference The following is the speech delivered by the FoII Chairman José María Aznar to the AIPAC Policy Conference, last 24th May in Washington.

It is a real honor to be here representing the Friends of Israel Initiative. And to be among some of America’s, and the worlds, strongest -- and most effective -- friends of Israel.

Howard, they tell me after this session thousands of people will be going to lobby Capitol Hill in support of a strong and enduring US-Israel bond….That is good news, my friends. And though I am obviously not American, I want you to know when you go to the Capitol today to speak out in support of peace, in defense of democracy and freedom, in support of Israel, I am with you. And my fellow leaders of the Friends of Israel Initiative are with you. And our supporters all around the World are with you.

If you stand with Freedom. You stand with Israel.

Almost a year ago, I called upon a number of friends, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lord Trimble of Ireland, former Czech President and hero Vaclav Havel, former President of Peru Alejandro Toledo, former Clinton Cabinet Secretary and President of Miami University, Donna Shalala, Former US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton and several others to establish a high level group dedicated to fighting the growing global chorus working to isolate and delegitimize Israel, to work to and present Israel as a normal country, with all the imperfections and the virtues of any democratic country in the World.

The Friends of Israel Initiative, as we called it, is essentially a group of prominent figures, some former politicians, some intellectuals, some professionals and entrepreneurs, most of us not Jewish, who share the strategic vision that in defending Israel we are defending the West. We are defending our way of life, our values. We are defending ourselves.

Put simply, we MUST defend Israel if we want to preserve the West as we know it.

Look at the changes sweeping the region. Uncertainty is the dominant factor. And Israel is both more important to the West – and more besieged by hostility than in recent memory.

Now is a time for action. That is why we are not a PR organization. We want to have a positive influence among current decision makers, primarily in Europe, but also beyond. As in Latin America, for instance, where the campaign to get a Palestinian State recognized right now has been growing in strength lately.

Using our natural contacts, and engaging our peers in critical dialogue, we attempt to convey our views and encourage others to avoid mistaken political decisions. And we cannot let up. There is much to do.

One need only look at how the events of the past few months played out to be reminded of the rightness of our cause.

What stronger case could ever be made than when between Morocco and Pakistan there is only island of stability, democracy and prosperity… and it is the State of Israel.

In these days of turbulence it is imperative that we know who our friends are, and that we have leaders with the moral clarity and conviction to know the difference.

We are not agnostic about the outcome of the titanic struggle playing out in the region. These are times of potential promise but also of real danger to the world. Things might go in the right direction, or they could go dramatically wrong.

And we don’t have to look far to see how wrong. We’ve seen the Palestinian Authority choose a unity with terrorist organization that praises Osama bin Laden… and attacks America for delivering justice to a dangerous murderer. And while the announcement in Cairo of HAMAS and FATAH joining arms may have come as a shock to many…it should not have been a surprise.

And make no Mistake: HAMAS is not legitimate. They are terrorists. They seek the destruction of the West. And like their parent Organization, The Muslim Brotherhood, they seek global domination of Islam and the destruction of Israel.

For two years, the Palestinian Authority and the PLO have REFUSED peace talks with Israel. In fact after Ehud Olmert made yet another a historic peace offer. Not only did the President Abbas choose not to respond before choosing “unity” with those dedicated to destroying Israel, they have reverted even further to a position not seen in nearly 20 years. Today they refuse to even sit across form Israel at the negotiating table. Not since 1991 have we seen such things.

THOSE who do not make clear that the only path to peace – which is the only goal – lies strictly in direct bilateral negotiations, undermine the chances for peace. The Obama Administration has said it opposes unilateral efforts at the United Nations. We applaud this stance and encourage them to say so again and again…

The European flirtation with supporting the unilateral recognition in September, and moves by several Latin American nations this year to recognize a Palestinian state are contrary to peace.

And with HAMAS as part of the Palestinian Authority government those states who recognize a unilateral Palestinian State will be necessarily be embracing a terrorist state. This cannot happen. We must speak out. And we will.

We must confront the lies. And we must make sure that our elected leaders know the truth and stand with out friends. Israel shares our values. Israel’s security is our security. And the threats that loom over Israel endanger us all.

We are concerned that the movement in favor of unilaterally recognizing a Palestinian state now, country by country – without peace, in the absence of any negotiations between the parties, is real. And this bad idea, this threat to peace, must be confronted. If you favor peace, you cannot be for unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state. Peace is the destination, nothing short of the end of all claims.

You can be sure that powerful voices will increase their calls for pressure on Israel. We are concerned that Israel might lack a sufficient numbers of allies in the region, in Europe and perhaps even here, to prevent some of these negative, veto-requiring scenarios from materializing.

We at the Friends of Israel Initiative will re-double our global efforts in defense of a negotiated and consensual agreement, born directly between the parties involved.

By the way, including borders that must be defensible and secure. And we all know that the 67 lines are neither defensible nor secure.

And we will defend the right of Israel to choose the terms of any agreement. Israel is a mature society, with strong and free institutions and a government accountable to its people.

No one from the outside has more right than the Israelis themselves to decide what is best for their future, what risks they can bear when they put their children on the bus or watch them go out on Shabbat.

In Europe, in Latin America, in Canada, here in Congress and in the Administration, everywhere, we will meet with leaders at all levels to convey our message.

In the United Kingdom, where anti-Israel sentiment, and even anti-Semitism itself, is increasingly nasty, we will work to bring together Labour, LibDem and Conservative Friends of Israel and encourage them to confront the abuse of their legal system that is an embarrassment to such a fine country.

In Latin America, where we continue to speak with our peers about the fallacy of unilateral recognition, and so far seen key countries like Columbia and Mexico preventing a wholesale, continent wide slide in that direction, we will create a Regional Roundtable to recruit and empower Friends of Israel in countries across the region to join us in speaking out in explaining why we are Friends of Israel.

We will take emerging leaders from all sectors to Israel, as we grow our networks and demonstrate our solidarity with the people of Israel and the Jewish State.

We will defend for the State of Israel what we defend for ourselves. Nothing more; nothing less. We will defend the State of Israel for ourselves.

Why?, you might ask. Why are you doing this? It is very simple: because all those who are involved in the Friends of Israel Initiative believe in Israel.

I believe in Israel. And I am not ashamed to say it.

I believe Israel is an integral part of the Western world. It might be in the Middle East, but it is not a Middle Eastern country.

I believe Israel is a democracy like us.

I believe Israel is a land of opportunities, prosperity and future,.

I believe the risks and threats that Israel faces are the same as those confronting us.

That’s why I think the image of Israel usually portrayed in the media, particularly in Europe, and the treatment of Israel in many international bodies is not only deeply unjust and morally disgusting, it is a major strategic mistake.

When people are delegitimizing Israel, our roots and the values of pluralism, tolerance, innovation, liberty and human dignity are delegitimized as well.

By accepting the criticism of Israel’s right to self-defense, we are allowing those same forces to undermine our own defensive capabilities –against those who seek to impose their fundamentalist way of life over all others–.

Fundamentally, my friends, I believe that if we allow Israel to go down under the weight of its enemies, we all go down.

After less than a year, I’m pleased with what we have achieved….and with the support we have received, but I know we can do more. There is certainly more to do.

Without your support we could not be here, and with your support we plan to achieve much more.
If you want to join us, contact us. Go to our web site. Send us an email. Call us.

Thank you.
May God Bless America, the people of Israel and all who seek peace.

José María Aznar

José María Aznar was the president of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He recently founded a group called the Friends of Israel Initiative, which he says will fight the global campaign to delegitimize the Jewish state.
Aznar spoke last month at AIPAC National Summit in South Florida. Watch the full speech, in Spanish with English subtitles, by clicking “play” on the box to the right.
Below are some excerpts from his speech:
What unites us and inspires our efforts is the defense of Israel and that it is regarded as just one more country. We don’t aspire nor do we pretend to become spokespersons for a specific government. We don’t defend nor do we justify specific policies of the current government in Jerusalem, nor do we promote the particular interests of any political party. What we aspire to defend is the state of Israel, its right to exist peacefully and be treated with fairness—nothing more, nothing less.
In the same fashion, we don’t wish to become a kind of rapid-response corps that must intervene every time a crisis afflicts Israel. Not only do we think that it would be detrimental to our final objective, but I’m afraid we wouldn’t have a moment’s rest. We act and we’ll act consistently, but at our own pace. We believe in sowing the seeds with patience and dedication. We are not firefighters.
In fact, we think that the moment has come to explain certain things plainly and unabashedly. For example:
Israel has the right to exist as just one more nation; it is not fair to question its very existence.
Israel is a state as legitimate as any other, and it is not judicious to call its legitimacy into question.
Israel is an integral part of the Western world; it’s not wise on our part to weaken Israel.
Israel is a democracy comparable to ours; it’s neither fair nor reasonable to point out only its shortcomings.
Israel shares the same values we do: it’s illogical not to defend what is ours.
The enemies of Israel are our enemies too; it’s unreasonable to leave Israel aside in our quest to avoid risk.
Israel is a land of opportunity and it has a future: it’s not reasonable to portray Israel solely as a land of conflict, instability and wars.
...

I firmly believe that if we encourage Israel to give up, we would all sink along with her. If Israel were to fall under the pressure of its enemies, the West, as we know it today, would stop being what it is.
For all those reasons, since it’s politically unfair, morally reprehensible, and strategically dangerous, we must strive for Israel’s legitimization and defend the principle that Israel is a regular country just as any other one, a liberal democracy and integral part West, in spite of the fact that Israel is nestled in the heart of the Middle East and its neighbors are not our neighbors.
That is the strategic vision shared by those of us who are part of the Friends of Israel Initiative, and what we advocate. Because we think it’s necessary to do it. We do not share the complacent vision stating that everything is okay or that everything will necessarily improve.
...

However, Israel's image problem in the world isn’t simply a matter of public diplomacy or something that will be easily solved with a good PR campaign.
And why not? Because the image has to do with the big picture. They aren’t isolated issues. Israel, unfortunately, is still at war, not in an exercise of free will, but because its enemies want it to be that way.
It is not a conventional war like in 1948, 1956, 1967 or 1973. Nor is it terrorism as we suffered in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and after 2000. We’re dealing with a new kind of attack against Israel, against the legitimacy of the Jewish state, against Israel’s right to exist. It’s a new war, a “soft war” in which the enemies of Israel used legal tricks, exploit multilateral bodies and use dubious NGOs to portray Israel as an illegal state, a barbaric state, one that must be isolated and turned into a pariah state.
It's a war not against IDF forces, but against the idea of Israel.
Precisely for that reason, we decided to say, enough is enough. Stop blaming Israel for all the bad things that happen in the world. Stop allowing the effort to delegitimize Israel and to deny its right to exist. That's why we created the Friends of Israel Initiative.
...

I am convinced that the moment has come to bring Christianity and Judaism closer together since they both share the good and the bad—the values of human dignity, pluralism, initiative and freedom, as well as the enemies. If we get closer together, we’ll reinforce our mutual strengths.
Israel is at stake, yet Israel is the West’s first line of defense.

WSJ: Israel: A Normal Country

The following statement has been signed by Jose Maria Aznar, David Trimble, John R. Bolton, Alejandro Toledo, Marcello Pera, Andrew Roberts, Fiamma Nirenstein, George Weigel, Robert F. Agostinelli and Carlos Bustelo:

2010-07-08 by Founder Members

Israel is a Western democracy and a normal country. Nonetheless, Israel has faced abnormal circumstances since its inception. In fact, Israel is the only Western democracy whose existence has been questioned by force, and whose legitimacy is still being questioned independently of its actions.

We in the West need to regain moral clarity Israel is a fundamental constituent of the West. If Israel is lost, then we are all lost.

Israel may be located in the Middle East, but it is an integral part of the West. The one thing setting it apart from the rest is its status as the only democracy whose existence has been questioned since inception.

It is easy to blame Israel for all the evils in the Arab world and some are even ready to sacrifice the future of Israel if a new understanding with the Muslim world were to be achieved in return. However, to weaken Israel is a serious mistake since it is our first line of defence in the region; if Israel fell into the hands of its enemies, the West as we know it would cease to exist.

To defend Israel’s right to exist in peace and within defensible borders requires a moral clarity that has mainly gone lost in Europe - this spectre is also looming over the United States. To place Israel as a key component of the West’s fate - and it is - is to acknowledge that enemies are not chosen according to one’s liking and that the enemies of freedom are out there; to say that Israel, with virtues and flaws, has the right to be treated as any other liberal democracy, requires that we acknowledge as our own the values and trademarks in which we have been forged throughout the centuries.

Motivated by the necessity of reconstituting our own Western values, expressing deep concern about the contemporary wave of ideological and civilisational aggression against the state of Israel, and mindful that Israel’s strength is our strength and Israel’s weakness is our weakness, I have launched the Friends of Israel Initiative with the help of some very prominent people: Andrew Roberts, John Bolton, Alejandro Toledo, Marcello Pera, Robert Agostinelli.

Israel, I repeat, is a fundamental constituent of the West. The West is what it is, thanks to its Judeo-Christian roots. If the Jewish part of those roots is upturned and Israel is lost, then we are lost too. Today, to defend Israel is to defend the West. With this initiative we aspire to make that reality ever more patent.

José María Aznar was Prime Minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004

http://www.thejc.com/comment-and-debate/comment/36089/we-west-need-regain-moral-clarity

Speech to World Jewish Congress in Jerusalem Defending Israel to Defend Ourselves

Israel today is nothing less than essential to us, not only because the Jewish state is located in the very region where the strategic tectonic plates collide, but because Israel is one of the few nations willing to pay a price for its survival.

2010-09-01 by Jose Maria Aznar

Speech announcing launch of Friends of Israel Initiative in Washington DC

The following is the text of a speech delivered to more than 70 guests, friends and supporters of the Friends of Israel Initiative in Washington DC by Jose Maria Aznar.

2010-09-14 by Jose Maria Aznar