LETTER FROM RUTH MATAR (WOMEN IN GREEN) JERUSALEM Friday, September 19, 2003
Dear Friends,
Ten years ago, on August 20, 1993, Shimon Peres celebrated his 70th birthday in Oslo, Norway. According to his book, “The New Middle East”, he initialed “in the wee hours of the night” an Arab-Israeli Accord, which had been arrived at in utter secrecy.
According to Peres this Norway setting was ideal. A close-knit group of Norwegian Government people made itself available for passing messages between Israel and the PLO. The group included Foreign Minister Jurgen Holst and his wife, Marianne, and the head of the Political Research Institute, Terje Larson and his wife Mona. When discussions began to intensify, this group spared no logistical or other effort to keep the momentum going and to maintain secrecy. Even Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin was initially kept in the dark about these secret negotiations. However, President Hosni Mubarak, Foreign Minister Ahmru Mussah, and adviser Osmah el-Baaz were privy to the fact that secret talks were underway.
Extraordinary! The Egyptians knew that secret talks were being conducted, but Peres’ own Government, and the Israeli People, were not so informed! But then, Peres has always had contempt for democratic procedures. Indeed, he boasts: “I may not know what the People want; I do know what is good for the People.” (Jerusalem Post International Edition, December 23, 1995)
The entire Oslo Process was brought about by stealth and deception on the part of Peres.
He gave recognition to the world’s then-leading terrorist as the legitimate leader of the Arabs living in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. He entered into peace agreements with the PLO, an organization committed to Israel’s destruction. He gave this arch terrorist murderer, Arafat, guns and ammunition for a “police force”, which he fantasized would prevent further attacks upon Israel’s citizens. He surely is the first leader of a country to arm its professed enemy with the expectation of gaining security.
The Arabs must have had a good laugh! They made fools out of those who negotiated the Oslo charade; they scored the first real victory against Israel since 1948.
But Peres didn't have a clue as to the real intentions of the Arabs. He tells us in his aforementioned book “The New Middle East” how Abu Ala, a Senior PLO representative (presently Arafat’s handpicked puppet Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority), smiled warmly at him. “This agreement”, Abu Ala said, “IS YOUR BIRTHDAY PRESENT”. This “BIRTHDAY PRESENT” was, of course, the Trojan horse which Peres naively led into Israel’s very midst.
The ongoing Palestinian war of terror is a direct and inevitable result of these 1993 Oslo Accords - the worst blunder in Israel’s political history. The decade of carnage and blood that Oslo ushered in, is still erupting all around us. 1,110 Israelis have been murdered and thousands have ben maimed for life since Shimon Peres accepted his 70th birthday present from the Arabs.
But Peres refuses to admit any responsibility. In an article entitled “We Did Not Err” in Ma’ariv, the second largest newspaper in Israel, Peres writes: “THERE WAS NO SMARTER STEP THAN THE OSLO AGREEMENT...”
Never mind that he has brought grief and sorrow to so many families who have lost loved ones or suffered serious injuries. Peres is incapable of admitting error and continues to inject his poor judgment on crucial issues of the day. He recently met with U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, and sharply criticized Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for not fulfilling his pledges, including the dismantling of settlements. He also stated that Israel has not honored its promise to release enough Arab prisoners and that the Sharon Government is making a major mistake by not negotiating as long as there is terror. He stated that the political situation needs to be handled with “care and wisdom”, something which he, of course, never did.
Ten years after that handshake on the lawn of the White House Rose Garden, Peres defends Arafat and condemns Israel. Peres’ way of handling the political situation has been to close his eyes and to refuse to face the tragic reality of his own making, which exists in Israel today.
The Jerusalem Report in the May 1, 1997 issue reports an extraordinary remark of Peres with regard to peacemaking.
“In Argentina, the home of the tango, you know that in order to dance well you have to close your eyes and let the romance begin… Peace is a romantic process.”
This remark certainly illustrates how Peres lives in a dream world of his own. He has closed his eyes for the last ten years, while his so-called “peace partner” has killed 1,110 innocent civilians and maimed thousands. Tragically, Peres is dancing the Tango completely by himself on the graves of our loved ones.
Now Shimon Peres is celebrating his 80th birthday and is attempting to make this a national affirmation and recognition of his “achievements”. Obscenely, Prime Minister Sharon has declared this a State sponsored and State financed event. Sharon who in the past has accused Peres of “Giving Away the Country” and “Dancing with a Murderer” has assigned four of his staffers to promote Peres’ birthday celebration. He has also asked his Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom to provide an additional two of his staffers for the same purpose. 1,200 police are assigned to provide security for Peres' birthday bash. The Israeli tax payer, including the families of the victims of Oslo, will be forced to foot the bill for this two day extravaganza.
Over 200 people from close to 45 countries have been invited, including Bill Clinton, Kofi Annan, Polish Prime Minister Alexander Kosniski, Michael Gorbachev, Helmut Kohl, Nelson Mandela, Steven Spielberg, Barbara Streisand, Naomi Campbell, etc., etc., etc.
Israel is currently in dire straights economically. 20% of Israel’s children are malnourished. The Government is reducing welfare payments, and the education budget; it is severely shrinking the basic basket of services covered by the health funds, and making drastic cuts in the defense budget. We are told that we have no money for even vital services. How is it then, that we have money to honor the one person, Shimon Peres, who bears the greatest responsibility for Israel’s dire economic situation and the ongoing slaughter of Jews?
Our organization, Women For Israel’s Tomorrow (Women in Green), would have liked to ignore Mr. Peres’ birthday. We take no pleasure in raining on his parade. But our organization strongly feels, as does the majority of Israelis, that Oslo has been a tremendous failure. We would have liked to take no notice of Mr. Peres’ birthday, but we cannot ignore our Government permitting this event to become an international affirmation of Oslo, and an international opportunity to approve the creation of a Palestinian State on our Land.
World leaders and, shamefully, our own Government, will enjoy themselves at a dazzling party and pay homage to the main Architect of Oslo, Shimon Peres, who bears the greatest responsibility for the ongoing slaughter of the Jews. The rest of us will hold a Memorial Rally outside the Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv where the festivities are taking place, to honor the memory of all those poor souls, who will never be able to celebrate another birthday.
With Blessings and Love for Israel, Ruth Matar