Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin quoted Prime Minister Sharon as saying he hopes the Europeans will give Israel 15 years of quiet after the disengagement from Gaza - and his European hosts laughed at this idea.
Reactions like the above do not make Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom's scheduled appearance at the United Nations today, in which he will attempt to rebuff an international onslaught against Israel's policies, any easier.
Minister Shalom will use his UN platform to remind his audience that Syria is not adhering to the recent UN call to remove its forces from Lebanon. Chiefly, however, he will explain Israel's need for an anti-terrorism fence in light of continuing Arab attempts to carry out terror attacks against Israeli targets. While there are those within Israel who fear that the partition will return Israel to its dangerous pre-1967 borders, opponents of Israel attack it as an "apartheid" partition. Shalom hopes that Israel's latest moves towards a retreat from Gaza and the northern Shomron will help him make his case.
This is far from guaranteed, however. Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin told HaTzofeh newspaper last week the following anecdote:
"On my last visit in Strasbourg [site of part of the European Parliament], at a convention of leaders of legislatures from around the world, the heads of the French Parliament invited me to visit them in Paris. I came, and after a few words of courtesy, they asked me, 'Tell me, Mr. Israeli Parliament Chairman, you are known as one of Prime Minister Sharon's close friends, so why is it that you do not support his disengagement initiative?' I said, 'Well, the truth is that I should ask you. He has been trying to convince me that the moment we disengage, Europe will give us at least 15 years of quiet and won't put pressure on us [to make further concessions], and during this time we will be able to stabilize our control over areas on which we cannot compromise, such as the Jordan Valley and Jerusalem. So tell me: Will you in fact give us 15 years of quiet?' They started to laugh and said that they now understand why I don't support the Prime Minister.
"Later on, I asked them if they would give us 15 months of quiet. They laughed. I said, 'How about 15 weeks?' and they continued to laugh. '15 hours?' - and they still laughed. Regarding 15 minutes, they didn't laugh, but neither did they nod..."
Reactions like the above do not make Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom's scheduled appearance at the United Nations today, in which he will attempt to rebuff an international onslaught against Israel's policies, any easier.
Minister Shalom will use his UN platform to remind his audience that Syria is not adhering to the recent UN call to remove its forces from Lebanon. Chiefly, however, he will explain Israel's need for an anti-terrorism fence in light of continuing Arab attempts to carry out terror attacks against Israeli targets. While there are those within Israel who fear that the partition will return Israel to its dangerous pre-1967 borders, opponents of Israel attack it as an "apartheid" partition. Shalom hopes that Israel's latest moves towards a retreat from Gaza and the northern Shomron will help him make his case.
This is far from guaranteed, however. Knesset Speaker Ruby Rivlin told HaTzofeh newspaper last week the following anecdote:
"On my last visit in Strasbourg [site of part of the European Parliament], at a convention of leaders of legislatures from around the world, the heads of the French Parliament invited me to visit them in Paris. I came, and after a few words of courtesy, they asked me, 'Tell me, Mr. Israeli Parliament Chairman, you are known as one of Prime Minister Sharon's close friends, so why is it that you do not support his disengagement initiative?' I said, 'Well, the truth is that I should ask you. He has been trying to convince me that the moment we disengage, Europe will give us at least 15 years of quiet and won't put pressure on us [to make further concessions], and during this time we will be able to stabilize our control over areas on which we cannot compromise, such as the Jordan Valley and Jerusalem. So tell me: Will you in fact give us 15 years of quiet?' They started to laugh and said that they now understand why I don't support the Prime Minister.
"Later on, I asked them if they would give us 15 months of quiet. They laughed. I said, 'How about 15 weeks?' and they continued to laugh. '15 hours?' - and they still laughed. Regarding 15 minutes, they didn't laugh, but neither did they nod..."