President Shimon Peres’s star-studded mega-conference kicked off in Jerusalem Tuesday with addresses by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Tony Blair and Peres himself.
The newly-refurbished Binyanei HaUmah Jerusalem Conference Center was lined with displays by the cutting edge of Israeli technology and scientific research initiatives - from insulin pills to electric cars - as heads of state and Israel's elite mingled over sushi and mini gherkins. Journalists the world over discussed how they had been courted by Peres's staff for months, with promises of an event like no other. (click here for photo essay on the conference)
Despite the conference’s seeming focus on technology and scientific advances, Peres’s role as architect of the Oslo Accords and the main proponent of unconditional negotiations shone through. All three of the top speakers took the opportunity during their short addresses to extol the virtues and importance of establishing a Palestinian state.
Former British Prime Minister and current Middle East envoy for the so-called Quartet (the UN, US, Russia and EU) Tony Blair spoke at the opening event, which featured dozens of former and current heads of state in one of the conference center’s smaller rooms, leaving many irate journalists outside the doors.
"It is justice that makes us want a State of Israel," Blair said. "It is justice that makes us want two states - Israel and Palestine - living side by side." Blair went on to call upon the world to spread democracy and freedom. "Though it may take some period of time for some countries, they will reach it," he promised.
Prime Minister Olmert, welcomed to the conference hall by more than a few audible boos from the invitation-only crowd, declared that he and Fatah chief PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas “have reached understandings and points of agreement on the core issues” in their ongoing negotiations. Despite that, Olmert said the ongoing talks are “very serious and very significant.”
Olmert said that the greatest challenge facing Israel is the determination of its “final borders” with its neighbors in an agreement recognized by the international community. That statement drew the only positive response from host Peres, who applauded and smiled broadly.
Faced with an unenthusiastic crowd, Olmert turned to the scores of young members of Birthright Israel and the Masa educational programs, praising both initiatives and garnering loud applause from the teenagers.
Peres himself took the opportunity of opening the conference – both at the presidents’ event and the main opening – to criticize Iran. "Fanatical religious ambitions aimed at taking over the entire region - and terror, including Iranian terror, have no shape and no future,” he said. He cited both Lebanon and Gaza as places where Iran was robbing people of their future and said, “If it weren’t for Hamas, there would already be a Palestinian state founded on the principle of two states for two peoples.”
Peres ended with his trademark exhortation to break with the past in favor of focus on the future. He closed saying: "In Jerusalem we learned to pray. Now let us how learn to act.”
US President George W. Bush will be joining the conference Wednesday and delivering an address in the evening.