By Donald H. Harrison
Kerry tilts to Palestinians during Wednesday’s Mideast press conferences
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke bluntly about Iran and the Palestinians. On the other hand, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry tried to put a diplomatic gloss on matters during their joint appearance in Jerusalem. Later while standing with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem, Kerry spoke a little more pointedly. The test for diplomats will be to try to parse Kerry’s words to try to get some sense of how matters really stand.
Here’s Netanyahu speaking about Iran, as reported in a U.S. State Department transcript:
“We just marked the event 34 years ago when the American Embassy was seized and we heard the chants, “Death to America.” We heard that two days ago again in Tehran, and this is, I believe, the true face of this regime or the person who controls this regime, the so-called Supreme Leader. I think that this attitude buttressed by a policy of terror worldwide supporting Hezbollah, Hamas, and all the forces that are against peace participating in a mass murder in Syria – I think such a regime must not have the world’s most dangerous weapons.
“We’ve spoken about it many times, and I believe that as long as they continue their goal to enrich uranium to get nuclear weapons, the pressure should be maintained and even increased because they’re increasing enrichment. And I believe that it’s possible, with intense pressure because of the sanctions regime led in large part by the United States, to get Iran to fully dismantle its nuclear weapons program. And that’s really what we’re seeking – a full, peaceful, complete dismantling of Iran’s nuclear weapons capability, end of all enrichment, end of all centrifuges, end of the plutonium reactor.
“If this is achieved, I’d welcome it. I’d be very worried of any partial deals that enable Iran to maintain those capabilities but begin to reduce sanctions because this could have – I think this could undermine the longevity and durability of the sanctions regime.”
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Kerry did not really address Netanyahu’s points in his response. Instead he said the following:
“As I sit here, a team is arriving in Geneva and they will be negotiating tomorrow with the P5+1 on Iran, on the very topic that Bibi just raised. Our goal is an Iran that has only a peaceful nuclear program, and indeed we must make certain – it is incumbent on us, a responsibility of the world to know with certainty that it is a peaceful program and there is no capacity to produce a weapon of mass destruction. That’s our goal. And as I have said many times, no deal is better than a bad deal. We will not make a bad deal if a deal can be made at all. And we will be pursuing that carefully.”
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On the issue of the talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis, here’s what Netanyahu said:
“We seek peace with the Palestinians. We’ve spoken, John, many, many times about this, and because of your efforts, we launched several months ago an initiative to seek a peaceful agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. I want peace with the Palestinians; Israel wants peace with the Palestinians. We agreed three months ago on certain terms. We stand by those terms. We abide scrupulously by the terms of the agreement and the understanding on which we launched the negotiations.
“I’m concerned about their progress because I see the Palestinians continuing with incitement, continuing to create artificial crises, continuing to avoid, run away from the historic decisions that are needed to make a genuine peace. I hope that your visit will help steer them back to a place where we could achieve the historical peace that we seek and that our people deserve.”
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Again, Kerry did not respond directly . Instead he said:
“We are now three months into this negotiation. There are always difficulties, always tensions. I’m very confident of our ability to work through them. That’s why I’m here. We will spend serious time this morning. I will meet with President Abbas this afternoon. Again this evening, the Prime Minister and I and his team will share a working dinner, and we’ll work as late as it takes. And again tomorrow, I will be here in the region and working on this.
“So I hope that we will continue in the good faith that brought the parties together in the first place that this can be achieved. With good faith, with a serious effort on both sides to make real compromises and hard decisions, this can be achieved. President Obama sees the road ahead, as do I, and we share a belief in this process or we wouldn’t put this time into it. So I look forward to the conversations we’ll have beginning today, and I respect everybody’s patience with us that we are not talking every day about what we’re doing. We need the space to negotiate privately, secretly, quietly, and we will continue to do that. We have six months ahead of us on the timetable we’ve set for ourselves, and I’m confident that we have the ability to make progress.”
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And so matters stood until Wednesday afternoon, when Kerry traveled the few miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, met with Abbas, and then came out to share his impressions with the media:
“We just had a very, very good meeting with President Abbas and an excellent lunch and a great conversation about the process. Let me state unequivocally that President Abbas is 100 percent committed to these talks. He has committed that the Palestinians will not go to the United Nations during the period of time of these talks in exchange for the prisoners that are being released by Israel. That was the agreement.
“Let me emphasize at this point the position of the United States of America on the settlements is that we consider now and have always considered the settlements to be illegitimate. And I want to make it extremely clear that at no time did the Palestinians in any way agree, as a matter of going back to the talks, that they somehow condone or accept the settlements. The Palestinians believe that the settlements are illegal. The United States has said that they believe the settlements are not helpful and are illegitimate. And there should be no connection. That is not to say that they weren’t aware or we weren’t aware that there would be construction. But that construction, importantly, in our judgment, would be much better off limited as much as possible in an effort to help create a climate for these talks to be able to proceed effectively.
“I am convinced that President Abbas is serious about these talks. I’m convinced that he wants to find peace and that he understands that we require compromise by all the parties. And he has restated to me today his own willingness to compromise in an effort to find a fair and just peace.
“So I thank him for his hospitality today. I’m particularly excited that today we were able, in Bethlehem, to make the announcement of $75 million that will be added to an already committed 25 million for $100 million of high-impact infrastructure investment by the United States to immediately have an impact on the day-to-day life of Palestinians. In addition to that, we have significant contributions that will be made by other countries, all of whom are interested in trying to support the peace process here.
“So I look forward tonight to continuing my conversations with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and again tomorrow in Amman, I will have a chance to meet His Majesty King Abdullah, as well as again with President Abbas. So hopefully in the course of all this, we can find the goodwill and a good purpose and a good faith to make progress on behalf of two proud peoples who deserve, each of them, to live in their states in peace. That’s our objective and that’s what we will continue to work for. Thank you very much.”
So, in summary, Kerry made no comment on Netanyahu’s concerns about the Palestinians inciting their people to violence and hatred against Israel, but contented himself with talking about the negotiating process. In Bethlehem, however, Kerry took up the cause of the Palestinians, complimenting them for not escalating their battle with the Israelis at the United Nations and then reiterating U.S. solidarity with the Palestinians over the issue of any “settlements” beyond the 1967 Green Line.
As the U.S. diplomatic score cards went, it was Palestinians 2, Israel 0.
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Kerry also paid a call on Israel’s President Shimon Peres, whom he clearly considers to be more agreeable than Netanyahu to U.S. goals in the Middle East.
The U.S. State Department didn’t release the text of President Peres’ remarks, but it did put on its website Kerry’s friendly response:
“I am convinced from my conversations today with Prime Minister Netanyahu as well as with President Abbas that this is not mission impossible; this can happen. It will require both leaders to make big, historic, difficult decisions. But I am also convinced that those are decisions that are absolutely, totally in the interests of their country, Israel and their country-to-be, Palestine, and in the interests of both peoples.
“As you said a moment ago, there is no alternative. There will be chaos, violence, turmoil, confrontation, in the absence of peace. You cannot live with perpetual war, particularly in the Middle East, and not find huge complications. So President Obama has asked me to put this time into this effort. He is deeply committed to this cause. We believe that over the next months, with good effort we can hopefully make some progress.
“Obviously, on Iran, our eyes are wide open. We appreciate your comments and we certainly appreciate your support for exhausting the possibilities of diplomacy. And our hope is that Iran will understand that this is a simple obligation: Show the world that you are pursuing a peaceful program. It’s not that hard. Lots of other nations do it. So we will remember our friends and their interests, and we will be very thoughtful and careful as we proceed. But I’m very grateful to you, again, for your support for our diplomatic effort.”
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An aircraft is named for Gerald R. Ford
From the Department of Defense came the following press release, in which it has been disclosed that a Jewish senator–Carl Levin of Michigan– will be the principal speaker at a “christening” ceremony.
“The Navy will christen its newest aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, Saturday, Nov. 9, during an 11 a.m. EST ceremony at the Huntington-Ingalls Industries Newport News shipyard, Newport News, Va. Senator Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee will deliver the ceremony’s principal address. Susan Ford Bales, daughter of the 38th President Gerald R. Ford, will serve as the ship’s sponsor, break a champagne bottle against a plate welded to the hull, and officially christen the ship Gerald R. Ford.
“The Gerald R. Ford, designated CVN 78, honors the late president who guided the nation through the end of the Vietnam War and the Bicentennial of American Independence. President Ford served aboard USS Monterey (CVL-26) in the Pacific during World War II, and was the first President to serve aboard an aircraft carrier.
“‘The christening of USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) marks an important milestone in both the life of this ship and the development of our future fleet; a fleet built on the innovation that makes our Navy and Marine Corps team the finest expeditionary fighting force the world has ever known,” said Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus.
“Gerald R. Ford is the lead ship of the Gerald R. Ford class, the first new aircraft carrier design in more than 40 years. The Gerald R. Ford class will eventually replace all Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. The Ford class is designed to provide increased warfighting capability with approximately 700 fewer crewmembers for decreased total ownership cost. Ford will be the first aircraft carrier to deploy with the electromagentic aircraft launching system, advanced arresting gear, dual band radar, and all electric auxiliaries. Gerald R. Ford is designed for a 50-year service life with one mid-life refueling complex overhaul.”
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John F Kennedy’s San Diego trip remembered
Former Chula Vista City Councilman George Gillow, a fellow history buff, passed on a YouTube video from KFMB covering President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 visit to San Diego as covered by the late Harold Keen, a reporter par excellence and member of our Jewish community.
Wrote Gillow:
“Some of you may remember when President Kennedy visited San Diego in June of 1963. I remember that some of the students at Hilltop High were allowed time away to go to El Cajon Blvd. to see the President.
“The CBS television station TV-8 recorded the visit and did a half hour show. The Kennedy video has been preserved and is on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrJ6Q5avdRc . You can also do a YouTube search for “Kennedy Visit to San Diego”.
“At that time the Congressman representing South Bay of San Diego was Lionel Van Deerlin. The JFK visit occurred during his {Van Deerlin’s} first year as a Congressman. Since Van Deerlin was the only Democrat from the area, he got to fly on Air Force One with the President to San Diego. Then he got to ride in the Presidential Limo with the President and former California Governor Pat Brown (current Governor Jerry Brown’s father). He is seen in a number of shots in the video. Also some of you may remember Harold Keen, the narrator at the beginning of the film. He was a long time San Diego newsman who did interviews on the TV-8 evening news.
“The limo that the President was riding in looks like the same car that Kennedy was riding when he was assassinated a few months later.
“Finally notice the gas price on the Douglas gas station on El Cajon Blvd.
“Interesting piece of local history. Good that San Diego State preserved the film.”
By George, he’s right!
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Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted at donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com