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Nov. 24, 2006
Iranian threat central
Olmert shares concern in GA message.
JEFF L. LIEBERMAN
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert insisted his five-day visit
to the United States was not to be "a dramatic visit,"
but as he set foot on North American soil, he seemed to have brought
with him a clear and defined message.
Whether it was meeting with United States President George W. Bush
in Washington, or addressing a crowd of 5,000 at the United Jewish
Communities General Assembly (GA) in Los Angeles, Olmert wanted
to talk about Iran.
The message, as he told the GA, was that, "If Iran achieves
the ability to produce nuclear weapons, as we know it is seeking
to do, we will enter a new era of instability unlike any the world
has ever seen."
Jewish community leaders from around North America and Israel had
assembled at the Los Angeles Convention Centre for the three-day
annual leadership summit, highlighted by the attendance of the prime
minister. The address became the GA's most prominent event, gaining
attention from media and a large group of protesters. It required
street closures and the services of city police, the Secret Service
and the prime minister's own security team.
The threat of Iran was a message often heard at the GA. Both Israeli
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former Israeli prime minister Binyamin
Netanyahu also urged caution – Netanyahu speaking in even starker
terms than Olmert and comparing Iran's nuclear preparations to the
slow rise of Nazi Germany in the 1930s.
In what seemed like a response to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
and his many taunts toward Israel, Olmert asserted, "We cannot
tolerate – we will not tolerate – those who challenge
Israel's right to exist while actively seeking to develop the catastrophic
weapons to fulfil their goals."
It was only the day before that Ahmadinejad had said of Israel,
"We will soon witness its disappearance and destruction."
Olmert called upon the world community to "speak with one voice"
about Iran and to respond without hesitation.
He told the GA audience that Bush is a great friend of Israel, a
comment that elicited a large amount of applause.
Olmert spent little time addressing this summer's conflict between
Israel and Hezbollah, seguing only briefly onto the subject as he
spoke about Iran.
"This was Hezbollah's war," he said. "This was Iran's
war; not Lebanon's war. And not Israel's war."
In a speech marked with significant moments of applause, the crowd
remained silent in a moment during which Olmert might have hoped
for support: "The recent fighting in Lebanon tested Israel's
resilience," he noted, "and despite all that has been
said and written, we stood up to the challenge."
Olmert reminded the audience why Israel got into this situation
initially – Hezbollah's capture of Israeli soldiers Ehud Goldwasser
and Eldad Regev, who still remain missing.
As Olmert asked Karnit Goldwasser, wife of Ehud, to join him on
stage, he gained the support he was seeking as the audience rose
in applause and solidarity.
It was hope that he continued to press for, a word he repeated many
times while stating his optimism for Israel, despite the rise of
radical Islam and anti-Israeli feelings throughout the Middle East.
With Iran, Lebanon and Hezbollah taking centre stage, mention of
the Palestinian-Israeli conflict paled comparatively. Olmert did
extend an offer to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
immediately, without any preconditions. Abbas has since responded
to the offer, stating there will be no meeting until Israel ceases
its military operation within the Gaza Strip.
The remarks come on the heels of the shelling earlier this month
by the Israeli Defence Forces of the Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun,
which killed 18 Palestinians, seven of them children. Olmert personally
admitted regret for the offensive, but the event fanned the flames
of Arab fury that had been simmering since the end of the Lebanon-Israel
conflict.
Toward the end of his speech, Olmert spoke of the words in the Israeli
national anthem that drive his presidency: "To be a free nation
in our land, in the land of Zion and Jerusalem."
Jeff L. Lieberman is a freelance writer living in Los
Angeles.
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