Speech to the State Zionist Council of South Australia
Adelaide, 6 November 2005
The Rabin Memorial Lecture: "Democracy - A Sustainable Option for Peace in the Middle East"
Introduction
Thank you to Norman Trubik, President of the State Zionist Council of South Australia for the honour of being asked to present the Rabin memorial lecture.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We remember today the life of a truly remarkable man, who brought so much both in terms of leadership and of compassion to a region so sorely in need of such qualities.
We remember today, how that man stood firmly in the face of the immense dangers that threatened the very existence of his young country…
… and in opposition to terrorists determined to impose their will by destructive means.
We remember today, Yitzak Rabin.
Sadly, we also remember how the life of Yitzhak Rabin was taken from a world that looked to him to deliver peace to the Middle East…
… taken not by a traditional foe - but most tragically - by the actions of a young and terribly misguided Jewish student…
… with a single shot that reverberated around the globe.
Ten years on, few would forget the sadness they felt when hearing of Rabin's death, nor the heartfelt farewell that family, friends and world leaders gave him.
Ladies and gentlemen,
When a decade ago in Parliament I expressed my condolences for Yitzhak Rabin, I described him as one of the "truly great statesmen of the modern age".
He was also a man of many dimensions, talents and passions.
With a love of nature, his dream as a boy was to become a water engineer and help quench the thirst of a parched Israeli landscape.
But that was before a young and vulnerable Israeli nation called upon him to take on a far greater mission.
In a career spanning many decades, he served his country nobly as a military man; a diplomat; a leader able to make tough decisions; and as a defender of democracy and its principles.
But above all and throughout, Yitzhak Rabin was an advocate of peace in the Middle East.
I say this knowing that circumstances demanded of Rabin that he serve with distinction as a hero of the Israeli War of Independence; as the builder of a strong Israeli Defence Force; and as the architect behind the Six-Day War.
He understood the nature of the threats to his country and the means for securing its future.
In accepting the Nobel Peace prize, Rabin set out what he saw as the guiding duty for all leaders, with these words:
"The leaders of nations must provide their peoples with the conditions - the "infrastructure", if you will - which enables them to enjoy life: freedom of speech and of movement; food and shelter; and most important of all: life itself…
…There is only one radical means of sanctifying human lives. Not armoured plating, or tanks, or planes, or concrete fortifications. The one radical solution is peace ."
In striving to deliver that solution, and perhaps like few others, Rabin knew the value of democracy; the need for courageous leadership to deliver peace in the Middle East; and the need for action not retreat or compromise in the face of terrorism.
One of his first tasks as Minister of Defence in a national unity government in the 1980s was to disengage the Israeli Defence Force from a war of attrition in Lebanon…
… and during his second term as Prime Minister in the early 1990s, he signed with the PLO the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles.
In response to a campaign of terrorist attacks by extremists opposed to the peace process, Yitzhak Rabin "vowed to pursue the peace process as if there was no terrorism while fighting terrorism as if there was no peace process."
He symbolised the complexity of the challenges faced by the Israeli people and their nation throughout its existence.
In many ways, Rabin also symbolises the challenges of the world today and, while gone in body, continues in spirit and by example to serve - as he did for his own countrymen - as a teacher and shepherd for all who seek a safer, more peaceful world.
The Universality of Democracy
Ladies and gentlemen,
In discussing the need for leaders to stay true to the interests and will of their people, Rabin once said:
"History as a whole, and modern history in particular, has known harrowing times when national leaders turned their citizens into cannon fodder in the name of wicked doctrines…
…Almost all the regimes which did not place Man and the sanctity of Life at the heart of the world view, all those regimes have collapsed and are no more. "
Rabin recognised that the strength of a nation and that of its leaders comes not from force of arms nor subjugation of its citizens but rather comes through reflecting the views and beliefs of those citizens.
Only a regime that truly represents such views will have a foundation solid enough to be able to prevent its ultimate collapse.
Rabin was a staunch supporter of democracy, and it was an issue uppermost in his mind on that fateful day in November 1995 as he stood in the Kings of Israel Square to address the people of Israel for the last time.
In words sadly prophetic of the tragedy that was about to befall him, he warned against violence undermining the very foundations of Israeli democracy, declaring:
"It must be condemned, denounced, and isolated. This is not the way of the State of Israel. Controversies may arise in a democracy, but the decision must be reached through democratic elections."
Since the swearing in of its first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, through to the current day, Israel has demonstrated that democracy can thrive in the Middle East.
Despite facing extraordinary difficulties and holding within it a variety of often strongly opposing views, Israel has prospered through its close adherence to democratic principles.
Transitions of power have occurred peacefully, with governments of national unity a not uncommon solution.
Australia too, with the world's sixth-oldest continuously operating democracy, has a proud liberal democratic tradition…
… that provides for robust public debate, and continues to serve our increasingly multicultural society well, with its guarantee of religious tolerance and freedom of association.
Contrast this with the lack of freedom and protection for citizens that we too often see in the Middle East.
The brutal regime of Saddam Hussein did notplace Man andthe sanctity of Life at the heart of its world view - but rather turned its citizens into cannon fodder.
I am proud of the part Australia is playing in Iraq's democratic transition.
To an extent they have not known before, the people of Iraq now have a chance to determine their own government and plot their own future.
This is a freedom that millions of ordinary Iraqis have courageously embraced through the election in January of an interim Government and only a few weeks ago with the Constitutional referendum.
Undoubtedly, many challenges still lie ahead for the Iraqi people…
… and it remains vital that the international community continues to support them as democracy takes root.
Ladies and gentlemen,
There are those who try to argue that democracy is a European concept without application beyond the Western world.
These sceptics say that democracy will never take root in the Middle East or Islamic culture.
But the intellectual ancestors to the current batch of naysayers said that democracy would never take in Germany, in Japan, or in Eastern Europe.
They also said that democracy was incompatible with Asian cultures.
And on each occasion, they were wrong.
To these people, I say that democracy is a humanising and liberating concept that has equal relevance and application to all the peoples of the world.
It is true that the exact form that democracy takes may vary from country to country, but its merits and appeal are truly universal.
It is not limited by geography, by culture nor by faith.
In Lebanon this year democratic elections free of Syrian interference were held, symbolising a new found freedom and national unity.
It is now Syria that must meet international expectations by respecting Lebanon's sovereignty and cooperating to clarify unresolved questions surrounding the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
India - the world's largest democracy and a truly multicultural country with more than 126 million Muslims amongst its population- has been a robust example of democracy in action now for some fifty-eight years.
The diverse but predominantly Muslim society of Malaysia has accepted democratic principles since its independence in 1957.
And in more recent years we have seen Indonesia - the largest Islamic nation - embrace democracy, as has Afghanistan and now Iraq.
The spread of democracy will not be easy.
But as the world's oppressed increasingly see brutal regimes fall before their disaffected populace, the seeds of liberation will be sown with a stark choice presented to such rulers…
… reform and support a transition to the democratic model…
… or continue down a path to your ultimate ruin.
Some promising steps have been taken recently in the Middle East with Kuwaiti women now able to vote for the first time as well as local elections in Saudi Arabia.
Australia is committed to playing its part in the transition to democracy - as we are doing in Afghanistan and Iraq…
… and in supporting the development of strong democratic institutions - as we do through our development assistance in our own region.
More than a third of the Australian aid program is being directed to governance activities, with a particular focus on states in the Asia-Pacific region such as Solomon Islands, PNG, East Timor, and Nauru.
Rabin was one who regarded the upholding of the law as a basic component of any democratic society - and of equal application to all members of such a society.
On one occasion he had to remind his fellow Knesset members of this fact, with these words:
"Just as is the case with violence, the upholding of the law is also not optional. It is impossible to separate between laws that we are prepared to respect and those we are unprepared to uphold just because someone does not like them…
… Upholding the law, any law, is a prerequisite for the existence of a proper democratic and social system ."
The Middle East Peace Process
Ladies and gentlemen,
Faced with the reality that peace in the Middle East could not be achieved without the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, Yitzhak Rabin made a difficult decision and chose to engage with its more moderate elements.
Though still deeply sceptical about the then PLO leader, Yasser Arafat, Rabin agreed in 1993 to clandestine negotiations with the PLO.
The outcome of these talks was, of course, the Oslo Agreement, which Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin signed on the lawn of the White House in September 1993.
On that occasion, with a hope and a pray for peace, Rabin spoke directly to the Palestinian people:
"We, like you, are people who want to build a home, plant a tree, love, live side by side with you - in dignity, empathy, as human beings, as free men…"
Alas, the loud and clear voices echoing that of Rabin have at times been drowned out by people lacking his vision of peace.
This is of considerable sadness to Australians who share with Israel a deep and lasting friendship based on the shared values of democracy and liberty…
… a friendship strongly underpinned by the support of vibrant Jewish Australian communities such as that represented here today.
The Australian Government is committed to the right of the Israeli people to live in peace within secure and defined borders…
…and we have long supported a two state solution.
As a long time supporter and close friend of Israel, we were appalled by the recent reprehensible call from the Iranian President Ahmadinejad for Israel to be "wiped off the map".
These are truly disgraceful remarks by anyone, but particularly from someone who holds himself out as a leader.
Such extremist views do nothing to reassure the international community that Iran is prepared to be a responsible international citizen…
… and can only undermine the Palestinian cause.
Nevertheless, we are optimistic about the opportunities for a lasting peace in the Middle East…
… but it will require Rabin-like courage to be able to achieve it.
Ariel Sharon - who served under Rabin in the Israeli Defence Force - showed such courage withdrawing Israeli settlers from Gaza.
This was an extraordinarily difficult decision, especially for someone so closely connected with Jewish settlements.
And no one should underestimate the challenges that remain for both sides.
It is vital that the Palestinian Authority continues to reject violence and controls terrorist activities.
Hamas must renounce violence and embrace the democratic path.
More must also be done to ensure hatred is not passed to the next generation through further incitement to violence.
We wait to see what actions are taken.
But the dynamics are more promising than we have seen for some time.
Combatting terrorism
Ladies and gentlemen,
Rabin firmly believed in the principle that you should never negotiate with terrorists.
He applied this principle - not as some remote or theoretical exercise - but in the most difficult and dramatic of circumstances.
After pro-Palestinian hijackers siezed an Athens-to-Paris Air France flight and flew to Entebbe, Uganda in 1976, it was Rabin who made the courageous order for Israeli commandos to storm the plane.
The short battle that followed left twenty Ugandan soldiers, all seven hijackers and three hostages dead but the remaining one hundred, mostly Israelis or Jewish hostages, free.
We must recognise and accept that, at times, military action is justified.
As Rabin knew it is not an easy step but it may be a necessary one.
The ousting of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan is another such example.
And in Iraq it would be a grave mistake now to hand Iraq over to the terrorists who have killed thousands of Iraqis in a deliberate attempt to thwart the establishment of a democratic Iraq.
And just as the storming of the plane in Operation Entebbe was not an attack on peaceful Palestinians, the war on terror is not a war against Muslims.
On the contrary, the war on terror is a battle that - whatever our faith - we all have a stake in and must win.
Muslims are as much a target of terrorist actions as Westerners, for the ultimate terrorist goal is the creation of a new Caliphate in the Muslim world.
To achieve this they would firstly need to drive out western interests and influence from Muslim countries.
But more importantly they would need to shackle the predominantly moderate Muslim populations in countries like Indonesia and Malaysia with extremist ideology and fundamentalist rule.
Terrorism is inherently anti-democratic both in its objectives and methods…
… it is a threat to all societies, all cultures, all religions - including mainstream Islam.
One of the major fronts on which we must engage in this war on terror is in the battle of ideas.
The most successful warriors against extremist Islamic terrorists will be other Muslims.
We must support mainstream Muslims at home and in our region to ensure they defeat the divisive messages of hate, tyranny and intolerance propagated by the extremists.
Conclusion
Ladies and gentlemen,
Following the Six-Day War and in speaking about the moral strength required when faced with the realities of war, Yitzhak Rabin remarked:
"War is intrinsically harsh and cruel, and blood and tears are its companions…
…Our warriors prevailed not by their weapons but by their sense of mission, by the consciousness of the rightness of their cause… "
In combating terrorism, in promoting democracy and strong democratic institutions, and in supporting the Israeli and Palestinian people as they move towards a lasting peace, we are conscious of the rightness of these causes.
This awareness must be what drives us on as we look to a more democratic future, and where Israelis, Palestinians and all people can live in peace, free from the terrorist threat.
Just as democracy has taken root across the globe, making a mockery of cynics who said it could never occur, so too will we look back on this current age and be thankful that there were those with the vision, the empathy and the determination to help the Middle East embrace democracy.
Thank you .
ENDS