Meeting with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert - June 29, 2008

Late yesterday afternoon (June 29, 2008) Prime Minister Ehud Olmert found time to meet with a group of us from the United States, shortly after he led his Cabinet in the vote to release four Hezzbollah prisoners held in Israel's jail (one a terrorist in prison for the brutal murder of a father and his young child thirty years ago) along with 200 terrorist remains in order to secure the bodies of two Israeli soldiers. Israeli intelligence services believed these two soldiers were killed shortly after Hezbollah ambushed them on the Israeli side of the Lebanon border in July 2006. It was clear that the decision had been heart wrenching for the Prime Minister. We cannot imagine what the pressure of being the Prime Minister of Israel, constantly being embattled from all sides (and often from Israel's friends) feels like.

Our meeting, ably chaired by Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL) and Senator Ben Nelson (NE), allowed for a frank discussion on a variety of topics, the two most important being the prisoner exchange and the Iranian Nuclear crisis.

The Prime Minister made it clear that one of the main differences between Israel and its enemies is that each and every Israeli, alive or dead, is valuable and important. The enemies of Israel have not shown the same core belief. He acknowledged that there will be those in his country who do not and will not agree with the decision to, in effect, negotiate with terrorists, but the decision was his to make. He said that Israel is a small country and that he has not met with the families only once, but at least six to eight times in the last two years. He said that it was difficult to have the parents thank him for bringing the bodies of their children home, but he also realized that he might be meeting with other Israeli families in the future as a consequence of having released these terrorists. He has Harry Truman’s “The Buck stops here” on his desk, and he had to lead the decision. He spoke first at the six hour long Cabinet meeting and then wanted everyone else to have their say before the vote.

Other Issues:

Iranian Nuclear Program: Olmert said that there is a lot of room between world capitulation that allows Iran to obtain illegal nuclear weapons and a massive military attack. Iran is in deep financial trouble, with 40% of its oil being consumed domestically (even with deep rationing), that production is collapsing because of technological limitations. If foreign trade partners would refuse visas to Iranian businessmen, that approach would have a huge adverse impact on Iran, further putting pressure on the economy of Iran. Olmert did reference that this approach was discussed with President Sarkozy of France last week when he was in Israel and he hopes that Europe will sign onto that approach. He stated unequivocally that the region and, in fact, the world cannot have a nuclear armed Iran to make one of the most unstable parts of the world even more unstable.
Water: Israel is in the process of expanding its desalinization plants to produce four times the amount of water than it currently does, which would go a long way to resolving one of the lead issues of contention in the region. Being in the desert, water is more important and valuable than even oil. By producing more water, one of the leading limitations to peace with Syria, for example (other than their difficult leadership) is how to deal with the water issues around the Jordan River.
Economy: What is amazing is how productive the Israeli economy is, growing 5.4% in the first quarter and likely to have grown the same this current quarter. Imports and exports are up, both signs of a growing economy. Its unemployment rate is one of the lowest amongst industrialized countries at 6.5%. Its brainpower and innovation are incredible. Its agricultural capability is second to none, with world class yields in its produce and dairy, and its environmentally friendly use of water and fertilizers. It is amazing how productive the Israeli economy is even with the high cost of security, which you see everywhere.
Trade: The Prime Minister said that the agricultural lobbies in Europe and the United States are the major hindrances to a world trade agreement. Israel, with its very competitive agricultural sector, would be more than happy to see all of the subsidies eliminated and allow for fair competition in the marketplace. Israel would also like to be able to trade with its neighbors and to help them better feed their people, using Israeli technology. Trade can be the mechanism for bringing people together to create an environment where peace can thrive.
Gaza: The Prime Minister articulated the level of fear and anxiety that exists amongst the families living in the Israeli territory around Gaza. [We will be visiting Sderot immediately next to the Gaze later this week.] Even though the rockets are ineffective and have limited range, whether there are one or two a day or twenty a day, the rockets still prey on the mind of each person. Every parent wonders whether one of these indiscriminate rockets will hit the playground where their children are playing, or hit the grocery store where they or their spouse is shopping. Unlike the Israelis who target military and terrorist targets (though there is occasionally collateral damage), Hamas and their terrorist allies have no such scrupples, and intend to go after civilians. It is a priority of the government to stop that form of terrorism. The question is how, and why the government has not stopped the terrorism already.

I was impressed with how focused the Prime Minister is on the issues facing his country, especially with all of the controversy swirling around him. With the constant pressures on him to hold his balkanized coalition together, it is amazing that anyone can govern. I wonder what impact these controversies will have on the ability of Olmert to govern effectively and deal with the many issues facing Israel. Will Prime Minister Olmert think in a day to day fashion in order to stay in power, or will he be able to make decisions based on the long-term needs, objectives and goals for Israel? I look forward to learning more from our other presenters and visiting other critical areas of Israel over the next several days.