Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Secretary of State George Shultz met for 90 minutes here Saturday night, apparently to discuss an international conference for Middle East peace.
But neither man commented on that issue when they emerged from their talk, nor did they refer to it later in their remarks at a dinner given in their honor by the Ben Gurion Centennial Committee, the culminating event in the year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, held at the Parker Meridien Hotel.
Peres and Shultz were scheduled to meet again Sunday in Washington where both will attend a meeting of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) before Peres returns to Israel Monday.
Peres arrived here Friday for a four-day visit, leaving behind a government hopelessly deadlocked over his proposals for an international conference “opening” to be followed by direct negotiations between Israel and Jordan and other parties to the Mideast conflict.
Peres told a meeting of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Friday that he had not come to the U.S. to mobilize support for his proposals, which are bitterly opposed by Premier Yitzhak Shamir, the Likud leader, splitting the Labor-Likud unity coalition government.
‘HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY’ MUST NOT BE MISSED
Peres told the Jewish leaders, “Even if you do not support my proposal for an international conference, I would not change my mind.” He said he would continue to work “with all my strength” not to miss this “historic opportunity.”
Peres maintained that the Arab world has reached a point where it must choose between peace and religious fundamentalism and cope with enormous economic problems. “Only peace can help them solve these problems,” Peres said.
He said an international conference was necessary to provide King Hussein of Jordan with “a legitimate entry into negotiations with Israel.” He denied vehemently accusations by Likud that he offered Hussein territory in return for peace. “All the rumors… are smear campaigns and nonsense. We agreed to negotiate without preconditions,” Peres said.
He also reiterated that Israel would never agree to negotiate with the Palestine Liberation Organization and said that four Arab countries oppose PLO participation in a peace conference — Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Morocco.
THE TEST OF GREAT LEADERSHIP
At the Ben Gurion Centennial Dinner, Peres recalled that Ben Gurion had been his mentor and had often spoken to him on the issues of leadership and peace. The test of great leadership is when a leader is not afraid to take unpopular decisions and “swim against the stream,” he quoted the late Premier as saying.
Peres said Ben Gurion told him that a leader has to choose between war and peace, and if he chooses war “he has to take the risk, and if he choose peace he has to pay the price.”
Shultz, in his remarks, described Ben Gurion as an example of a leader who worked for peace and justice. He said the strongest bond between the U.S. and Israel is “the search for peace.”
Shultz was presented with a limited edition sterling silver sculpture by the Israeli artist Aharon Bezalel. It is called “Unity” and represents the Twelve Tribes of Israel. He was also given the Ben Gurion Peace Award.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
