On December 27, 2007 the World Business Academy published my article, “Planting the Seeds of Peace.” In it I mentioned how I visited India after many years and met with many parliamentarians and business leaders, encouraging them to establish an unofficial network with their counterparts in Pakistan. Sadly, the date of December 27, 2007 also became the date of the assassination of Mrs. Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan. Exactly one year later, December 27, 2008, Israel began her assaults against Hamas, escalating the ground war. My aim is to steer you away from what we are all watching on television. I will put the conflict of the moment aside to tell you the story of my honeymoon memory of the Israelis and the Palestinians.
In Cairo on May 4, 1994, the Gaza-Jericho agreement (sometimes called the Cairo Agreement) was signed by Israel and Palestine. From this accord grew the Palestinian Authority and the relationship led to the Oslo Peace Process. During this time, October 1994, I was at my home with Ambassador Angier Biddle Duke and Mr. Bradford Morse, former Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). We judged that, in light of the positive climate, it was a good momentum to organize what would be the Jericho conference.
I sought the counsel of several old friends: Co-chair of the Global Forum, Rabbi Awaraham Soetendorp of the Netherlands; Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, Director of the Israel Institute of Talmudic Publications in Jerusalem; and the Israeli Minister of Culture, Mrs. Shulamit Aloni.… Continue reading