Avi Shaked Post

A Meeting with Former Vice President Al Gore

This week brought another interesting opportunity.  I met with the former Vice President of the United States, Al Gore.

Vice President Gore joined a few of us at breakfast today prior to his lecture at Ness Technology on global warming.  During the breakfast I had the opportunity to exchange views on the peace process with the Vice President and with our foreign minister in Israel, Tzipi Livni.

Following the breakfast we joined with the group assembled by Ness Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: NSTC), a global provider of IT services and solutions for their client and partner conference.  We all listened to Mr. Gore's presentation, “An Inconvenient Truth,” about global warming, including specific updates for Israel.

A Moving Message from President Bush

Today, President Bush touched all people in Israel with a moving speech to the Knesset.  I know of no speech like the one we in Israel heard today.

He reflected on his visit at Masada and spoke of the unbreakable bond between Israel and the United States.

At one point, the President described his vision for Israel and the Middle East sixty years from now:

"Israel will be celebrating its 120th anniversary as one of the world's great democracies, a secure and flourishing homeland for the Jewish people," Bush said. "The Palestinian people will have the homeland they have long dreamed of and deserved a democratic state that is governed by law, respects human rights, and rejects terror.

"From Cairo and Riyadh to Baghdad and Beirut, people will live in free and independent societies, where a desire for peace is reinforced by ties of diplomacy, tourism, and trade. Iran and Syria will be peaceful nations, where today's oppression is a distant memory and people are free to speak their minds and develop their talents. And al-Qaida, Hizbullah, and Hamas will be defeated, as Muslims across the region recognize the emptiness of the terrorists' vision and the injustice of their cause."

A Meeting with President Bush

Yesterday, I had a unique experience.  I joined with other Israeli business leaders to meet and welcome President George W. Bush to Israel.  And, it was a memorable welcome with sustained applause from the group of about 100 individuals.

The room was filled with a sense of optimism and hope.  We are so close.  We must seize the opportunities offered by President Bush's visit.  The world is watching and the world is with us.

President Bush's words offered encouragement.  This excerpt from an interview with the Jerusalem Post a short time before our meeting captures the sense of the message he shared with us:

I will come not as somebody who demands, but as someone who encourages. The United States cannot impose peace. Lasting peace happens when people understand, in this case, that the definition of the [Palestinian] state is the first step toward peace. And it's hard work. So what I'll be doing is encouraging people to see if they can't reach agreement on what the borders of a state will look like, for example. Because once you can define the borders of the state then you can deal with the settlement issue in much more concrete terms.

I'm not running for the Nobel Peace Prize. I'm just trying to be a guy to use the influence of the United States to move the process along. All I've tried to do is wade in and add some legitimacy to the two-state solution. I've been the first president to articulate it. To me it's the only solution.

I just don't see how the Middle East evolves without a Palestinian state that's free and democratic. I don't see how the Middle East can involve without a democratic Lebanon, or without an Iraq that succeeds. And, by the way, Iraq is succeeding.

Peace Is Near. We Must Not Stop.

I am running an ad today in support of the peace process.  It reads:

Peace is near.

We must not stop.

Just before Bush visits Israel.

Just when peace with Syria becomes an option.

Just when there is progress in the negotiations with the Palestinians.

There are those who would be happy if the peace process came to a halt!

Olmert, despite these difficult days, don't give up on the peace process!

Avi Shaked

Labor Party Member, among the Geneva Initiative Founders

Download avi_ad_51008.pdf

A State is Profoundly Important

During the last few years, negotiation was possible between Israel and the Palestinians/Hamas through Egypt.

The talks had as their purpose to stop the rockets from Gaza and to stop the Israeli attacks on Gaza.

It seems that the talks found a measure of success.  Rockets stopped hitting Israel and Israel stopped attacking Gaza.

Can you estimate how much success might be possible if the negotiation was between two countries -- Israel and Palestine?

How many who have suffered might have been safe if two countries had successfully negotiated?

There can be no doubt about the important and profound reasons for both Palestinians and Israelis that a state should be established as soon as possible.

Message from US Vice President

  The US remains "strongly committed" to the establishment of a Palestinian state, Cheney said. Achieving that, he said, "will require tremendous effort at the negotiating table and painful concessions on both sides. It will also require a determination to defeat those who are committed to violence and who refuse to accept the basic right of the other side to exist."

Cheney was referring to Hamas, which took over the Gaza Strip last year and continues to rocket southern Israel.

"Terror and rockets do not merely kill innocent civilians. They also kill the legitimate hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian people," he said.

Investment and Peace

As world leaders look at our situation in the Middle East, they come to the same conclusion that I and many others share.  There must be serious investment in the Palestinian territories.

The most recent visitor, German Chancellor Merkel made this clear and stood behind her conviction with a commitment to invest 10 million euros in Jenin  And, this investment discussed by Merkel is a commitment made to an area that is not yet a country.  It should be just the tip of the iceberg.  Imagine what would be possible and what sums of money will flow to the Palestinians if the investments could go to a country. 

Just one more reminder of how important it is for the region to establish a Palestine country. 

It seems clear: investment requires peace, peace requires investment and investment will be so much stronger if it goes to a country.

We Seem to Have Leaders But Do We Have a State?

Earlier in the week rocket fire paused and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas agreed to resume peace talks.

Prime Minister Olmert spoke of restraint.

Of course, the rockets are fired again into Israel.  But, if they were stopped, cannot they be stopped again?  If someone has the influence to stop acts of aggression to pursue peace do we not have leaders with a common cause?

I think we have such leaders.  And, I think if these leaders will keep taking steps forward, the peace process can advance.  More importantly, if we have leaders who can affect the daily lives of people in Israel and in Gaza, maybe we are witnessing the steps by which Gaza becomes a sovereign state.

Without a doubt, peace is closer if both sides have leaders who decide not to shoot.  Let’s hope this week brings us a step closer to this reality.

An Historic Moment

We are witnessing an historic moment - for the first time Israel and Palestinian official teams are talking and the Earth did not move. There is deep meaning for individuals on both sides and there is a huge expectation that this time the path we are on will lead to peace – or at least an agreement.

On the other hand no one is dancing in the street because in such a "deal" there is no winner. On the contrary, too much blood has been shed and too many people have been sacrificed…and, for what

People are starting to blame themselves – why did we not start it years ago and spared so many people on both sides.

The world press must give this process news coverage. The media must not assume that this is just more talk and more negotiation….this is an historic moment.

Israel and Hamas Should Talk

It is time for our leaders here in Israel to talk with Hamas now!

The reality is that the rocket fire continues against Israeli towns.

But, reality also suggests that, as the European Parliament said this week, “the policy of isolation of the Gaza strip has failed at both the political and humanitarian level."

The European Parliament also stated, “"The civilian population should be exempt from any military action and any collective punishment."  And, in my view, this should be true for Israeli citizens as well as the civilians in the Gaza Strip.

After the comments from Europe, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri is reported to have said that Hamas will not rule out any initiative to put an end to its armed conflict with Israel.

The time has come to find out if they mean that and only a dialogue will inform us with regard to their resolve.

Why should we not talk with Hamas now?