Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak told Elon students during a Jan. 16 question-and-answer session that his country will do its part to bring peace to the troubled Middle East. Details...
Barak told the crowd in Whitley Auditorium that the Israelis are a patient people, ready to compromise in order to achieve peace. “It makes a lot of sense from our point of view to be ready to make compromises,” Barak said during the session. He stressed, however, that Israel will not approve a peace accord which risks areas of vital security.
Barak, who served as Israel’s prime minister from May 1999-February 2001, says the events of Sept. 11 have opened the world’s eyes to the power of terrorism. “We have to take (terrorism) very seriously,” Barak said. Developing defenses against biological and chemical weapons and improving airline security are just some of the steps that must be taken to fight terrorism, he said. “I am confident that together in a concerted effort, we will undoubtedly prevail, and the world will be a better place once we leave terror behind.”
Barak delivered an address to a capacity crowd of 2,400 in Alumni Gym on Wednesday evening, telling the audience that he admires the strength America has found since the Sept. 11 attacks. “The towers of the World Trade Center fell, but the American spirit rose up.”
Barak said the world has few choices when deciding how to deal with terrorism. “Either we destroy world terror, or be destroyed by it.” Barak said he believes the war on terrorism includes the destruction of the Taliban and addressing terrorist cells in Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Working with PLO chairman Yasser Arafat to negotiate peace is not an easy prospect, Barak said. “Arafat does not recognize the modern political right of the Jewish people to organize.” He also said the world “should be very careful not to reward (Arafat’s) terrorist behavior over the last 16 months.”
The most decorated soldier in the history of the Israeli Defense Forces, Barak, 59, ended his 36-year military career in 1995. He served as minister of the interior under Yitzhak Rabin and minister of foreign affairs under Shimon Peres before being elected to the Knesset in 1996.
U.S. Senator John Edwards, a North Carolina Democrat, introduced Barak before his speech. Edwards praised Barak as “a brave leader who risked his own career for peace.”