The Rev. Jesse Jackson met with Israeli Ambassador Zalman Shoval for a half-hour Monday to express his sorrow that Israel had been attacked by Iraqi missiles.
Jackson, an outspoken critic of President Bush’s decision to use force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait, said he also was pleased that Israel now had U.S. Patriot missiles to help defend it from further attacks.
Shoval expressed his gratitude to Jackson for making a point by coming to the Israeli Embassy on the holiday celebrating the birthday of the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., according to an embassy report on the session.
Jackson asked for the meeting after sending Shoval a telegram last Friday expressing his “great sorrow and dismay” that Iraq had hit Israel with SCUD missiles earlier in the day.
“I think I speak for many Americans when I send my deepest sympathies to the innocent people who have suffered so needlessly,” the black leader wrote.
During his two unsuccessful attempts to win the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988, Jackson was strongly criticized by many in the Jewish community for his views on Israel and his meeting with Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasir Arafat.
Jews also were wary of his association with Black Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan, known for making blatantly anti-Semitic remarks.
In August 1988, Jackson met with then Israeli Ambassador Moshe Arad, who politely rejected a role for Jackson or any other individual as an intermediary in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
ISRAEL READY TO MAKE PEACE
Jackson said Monday that he hoped his meeting with Shoval would start a dialogue between him and Israel. He said the lack of such a dialogue had created misconceptions about his view among the people of Israel.
Jackson said he is praying for an end to the Persian Gulf crisis and that a solution will be found.
Shoval told Jackson that while diplomacy has an important role to play in bringing peace to the Middle East, the first goal for a better future in the region is to provide security and stability.
There is a consensus in Israel to seek peace, Shoval said, adding that when Saddam Hussein is defeated, the Arab world will find Israel ready to move the peace process forward.
Israelis want to find a solution to the Palestinian problem, but Arafat and the PLO cannot be part of the peace process, the ambassador said.
He said even Israelis who earlier had been willing to speak to the PLO changed their minds after Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip demonstrated their support for the Iraqi invasion and their joy at Israel being struck by missiles.
Jackson has not announced whether he plans to make another bid for the presidency.
But in November, he was elected as one of the District of Columbia’s two shadow senators, part of the effort to gain statehood for the district.
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