RABIN / HUSSEIN Coverage of Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein I of Jordan (Hussein bin Talal) speaking to a Joint Session of Congress.
RABIN / HUSSEIN Coverage of Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein I of Jordan (Hussein bin Talal) speaking to a Joint Session of Congress.
See catalog 491269 for end of Rabin speech. RABIN / HUSSEIN Coverage of Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein I of Jordan (Hussein bin Talal) speaking to a Joint Session of Congress.
RABIN / HUSSEIN Coverage of Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein I of Jordan (Hussein bin Talal) speaking to a Joint Session of Congress.
MS House Speaker Tom Foley, Vice-President Al Gore (Albert Gore, Jr.) seated next to him, introduicng the Prime Minister of Israel. Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin addressing joint session of U.S. Congress with King Hussein I of Jordan seated next to him, announcing a peace accord between the two countries. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin assumes podium. Receives standing ovation. Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, distinguished Members of the Congress, His Majesty, the King of Jordan, I start with the Jewish word `Shalom.' (applause) Each year, on Memorial Day for the Fallen of Israel's Wars, I go to the cemetery of Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. Facing me are the graves, headstones, the colorful flowers blooming on them, and thousands of pairs of weeping eyes. I stand there, in front of that large silent crowd, and read in their eyes the words of, `The Young Dead Soldiers,' as the famous American poet, Archibald MacLeish, entitled the poem from which I take these lines: They say: Whether our lives and our deaths were for peace and a new hope, or for nothing, we cannot say; it is you who must say this. Mr. Speaker, we have come from Jerusalem to Washington because it is we who must say, and we are here to say: Peace is our goal. It is peace we desire. (applause) (Israeli diplomats in gallery. C/A Leah Rabin)
RABIN / HUSSEIN Coverage of Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein I of Jordan (Hussein bin Talal) speaking to a Joint Session of Congress.
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin continues. With me here in this House today are my partners in this great dream, and allow me to refer to some Israelis that are with me, here with you: Amiram Kaplan, whose first brother was killed in an accident, whose second brother was killed in pursuit of terrorists, whose third brother was killed in war, and whose parents died of heartbreak. And today he is a seeker of peace. Moshe Sasson, who, together with his father, was an emissary to the talks with King Abdallah and to other missions of peace. Today he is also an emissary of peace. With me, a classmate of mine (panning shot Israeli retinue in gallery) from the elementary school Chana Rivlin of Kibbutz Gesher which faces Jordan, who endured bitter fighting and lost a son in war. Today she looks out her window onto Jordan and wants the dream of peace to come true. Avraham Daskal, almost 90 years old, who worked for the electric company in Trans-Jordan, and was privileged to attend the celebrations marking King Hussein's birth. He is hoping for peace in his lifetime. And Dani Matt, who fought against Jordan in the war of independence, was taken a prisoner-of-war and devoted his life to the security of the State of Israel. He hopes that his grandchildren will never know war. Mrs. Penina Herzog, whose husband wove the first threads of political ties with Jordan. With us here in this hall are: The mayor of Eilat, Mr. Gabi Kadosh, which touches on the frontier with Jordan and will be a focus of common tourism. And Mr. Shimon Cahaner, who fought against the Jordanians, memorializes his fallen comrades and hopes that they will have been the last to fall. And Mr. Talal al-Krienawi, the mayor of a Bedouin town in Israel who looks forward to renewing the friendship with their brothers in Jordan. And Mr. David Coren, a member of a kibbutz which was captured by the Jordanians in 1948, who awaits the day when the borders will be open. And Dr. Asher Susser, a scholar who has done research on Jordan throughout his adult life. (panning shot Israeli retinue in gallery) And Dr. Sharon Regev, whose father was killed while pursuing terrorists in the Jordan Valley and who yearns for peace with all his heart. Here they are before you, (Applause. Israeli people in the gallery stand.) people who never rejoiced in the victories of war, but whose hearts are now filled with joy in peace.
RABIN / HUSSEIN Coverage of Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein I of Jordan (Hussein bin Talal) speaking to a Joint Session of Congress.
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin continues. I have come here today from Jerusalem on the behalf of those thousands of bereaved families - though I have not asked their permission. I stand here on behalf of the parents who have buried their children; and of the children who have no fathers; and of the sons and daughters who are gone, but return to us in our dreams. I stand here today on the behalf of those youngsters who wanted to live, to love, to build a home. I have come from Jerusalem in the name of our children, who began their lives with great hope and are now names on graves and memorial stones, old pictures in albums, fading clothes in the closets. Each year as I stand before the parents whose lips are chanting `Kaddish,' the Jewish Memorial Prayer, ringing in my ears the words of the same famous Archibald MacLeish who echoes the plea of the young dead soldiers, and I quote: They say: We leave you our deaths. Give them their meaning. Let us give them meaning; Let us make an end to the bloodshed. Let us make true peace. Let us today be victorious in ending war. (applause) (CU of King Hussein I of Jordan (Hussein bin Talal). CU of Leah Rabin)
RABIN / HUSSEIN Coverage of Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein I of Jordan (Hussein bin Talal) speaking to a Joint Session of Congress.
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin continues. Mr. Speaker, the debate goes on: Who shapes the face of history? Leaders or circumstances? My answer to you is: We all shape the face of history. We, the People. We, the farmers behind our plows, the teachers in our classrooms, the doctors saving lives, the scientists at our computers, the workers on the assembly lines, the builders on our scaffolds. We, the mothers blinking back tears as our sons are drafted into the army, we, the fathers who stay awake at night worried and anxious for our children's safety. We, Jews and Arabs. We, Israelis and Jordanians. We, the people, we shape the face of history. And we, the leaders, hear the voices, and sense the deepest emotions and feelings of thousands and millions, and translate them into reality. If my people did not desire peace so strongly, I would not be standing here today, and I am sure that if the children of Amman and the soldiers of Irbid, the women of Saltt, and the citizens of Aqaba did not seek peace, our partner in this great quest, the King of Jordan, would not be here now, shaking hands, calling for peace. (applause. CU of King Hussein I of Jordan)
RABIN / HUSSEIN Coverage of Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein I of Jordan (Hussein bin Talal) speaking to a Joint Session of Congress.
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin continues. We bear the responsibility. We have the power to decide. And we dare not miss this great opportunity. For it is the duty of the leaders to bring peace and well-being to their peoples. We are graced with the privilege of fulfilling this duty for our peoples. This is our responsibility. The complex relations between Israel and Jordan have continued for a generation. Today, so many years later, we carry with us good memories of the special ties between your country, your Majesty, and mine, and we carry with us the grim reminders of the times we found ourselves at war. We remember the days of your grandfather, King Abdullah, who sought avenues of peace with the heads of the Jewish people and the leaders of the young State of Israel. There is much work before us. We face psychological barriers. We face genuine practical problems. Walls of hostility have been built on the River Jordan which runs between us. You in Amman, and we in Jerusalem, must bring down those barriers and walls, must solve those concrete problems, and I am sure that we will do it. (Applause) (CU of King Hussein I of Jordan, Hussein bin Talal)
RABIN / HUSSEIN Coverage of Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein I of Jordan (Hussein bin Talal) speaking to a Joint Session of Congress.
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin continues. Yesterday we took a giant step toward a peace which will embrace it all: borders and water, security and economics, trade without boycotts, tourism, and the environment, diplomatic relations. We want a peace between countries, but, above all, between human beings. (Applause) (Overhead shot of US Congress) Beyond the ceremonies, after the festivities, we will move on to the negotiations. They will not be easy. But when they are completed, a wonderful, common future awaits us. The Middle East, the cradle of the great monotheistic civilizations: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; the Middle East, which was a valley of the shadow of death, will be a place where it is a pleasure to live. (applause)
RABIN / HUSSEIN Coverage of Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein I of Jordan (Hussein bin Talal) speaking to a Joint Session of Congress.
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin continues. We live on the same stretch of land. The same rain nourishes our soil; the same hot wind parches our fields. We find shade under the same fig tree (CU Queen Noor of Jordan, Noor Al-Hussein, Lisa Hallaby, Elizabeth Najeeb Halaby) and savor the fruit of the same green vine. We drink from the same well. Only a 70 minute journey separates these cities, Jerusalem and Amman, and 46 years, and, just as we have been enemies, so can we be good and friendly neighbors. (appplause)
RABIN / HUSSEIN Coverage of Israel Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein I of Jordan (Hussein bin Talal) speaking to a Joint Session of Congress.
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin continues. Since it is unprecedented that in this joint meeting two speakers will be invited, allow me to turn to His Majesty. Your Majesty, we have both seen a lot in our lifetime. We have both seen too much suffering. What will you leave to your children? What will I leave to my grandchildren? I have only dreams: to build a better world, (CU of Leah Rabin) a world of understanding and harmony, a world in which it is a joy to live. This is not asking for too much. (Applause) (CU of King Hussein I of Jordan, Hussein bin Talal) The State of Israel thanks you, thanks you for accepting our hand in peace, for your political wisdom and courage, for planting new hope in the hearts of your subjects, and the hearts of all peace-loving people, and I know that you enjoy the highest esteem of the United States, this great America, which is helping the bold to make a peace of the brave. (Applause) (Shot of Vice President Al Gore and Representative Tom Foley seated behind Rabin.)