YouSaid · the spoken record

Shamir

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS SHAMIR

lines on the record
166
first
1980-09-24
most recent
1986-09-24
sittings or episodes
6
sources
un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

  1. “All alternative suggestions for the solution of the problem at hand—ideas such as the holding of an international conference or the like—are devoid of real prospect or purpose. No one can really believe that the various elements in the Middle East which arc so much at odds with each other would attend a peace conference and achieve a positive outcome that would lead to a solution acceptable to all. Thus too the ideas entertained by the European Community, which do not take Israel's position into account, are only likely to encourage those who are opposed to peace. 73. Those who genuinely seek peace should encourage the progress which has been achieved through the Camp David process.”

    1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)

  2. “One area in which progress has been achieved in the negotiations is the modalities of the free elections to be held in the territories concerned. These procedures would make the proposed autonomy into one of the few—all too few— examples of free democratic process in the Middle East. Progress has also been achieved in the area of powers and responsibilities of the autonomy covering many aspects of the everyday life of the inhabitants of the territories in question. 72. We certainly believe that autonomy can and must be established. All the parties to the Camp David framework are convinced that the process set out in that framework is the only one which is within the realm of the possible.”

    1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)

  3. “Thus, in accordance with the Camp David framework, negotiations have taken place for the attainment of full autonomy for the Palestinian Arab inhabitants of Judaea. Samaria and the Gaza District. 70. Substantial progress has been achieved in these talks in certain fields, but the talks have, it is true, had their tips and downs and have even been suspended a number of times by Egypt. There is nothing exceptional or extraordinary about the difficulties encountered thus far in the progress of the talks. They reflect the complexities inherent in the subjects under discussion. The difficulties are familiar to any country which, at one time or another, has been engaged in complex negotiations involving multifaceted and long-standing problems. 71.”

    1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)

  4. “Similarly I need only point to the strategic depth in Sinai which Israel has relinquished, as well as to the advanced air bases located in Sinai, the evacuation of which will be implemented in due course in accordance with the terms of the Peace Treaty. 68. Israel believed that its concessions and sacrifices would be met with appreciation and understanding by the world community and that a long-awaited breakthrough would be achieved on the international scene. Not only has that not come about, but many countries in the world have spared no effort to destroy that hard-won peace, and Israel continues to be the object of unending accusations and attacks. 69. Nevertheless, the decision and determination of Israel remain firm to continue on the road to peace.”

    1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)

  5. “Two years ago a development took place in the Middle East—a breakthrough which can appropriately be called historic. After serious negotiations between the parties, with the active and important participation of the United States, the Camp David framework and the subsequent Israeli-Egyptian Peace Treaty were signed by the leaders of the two countries and witnessed by the President of the United States. Israel made major concessions and took considerable risks by signing those agreements, l.et me cite only our withdrawal from the oilfields in Sinai, for there is no need for me to waste words on the significance and implications of that step in this day and age.”

    1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)

  6. “I would thus also appeal to the Government of Syria to respect the basic-human rights of its Jewish community, which it holds as hostages and which it prevents from leaving. 66. The Jews of Iran have suffered painfully in recent months, and their situation is deteriorating from day to day. Many Jews have been thrown in gaol; others have been given the death sentence, in most cases on "charges" of contact with Israel. We know of the difficulties in dealing with the present regime in Iran, to which fundamental concepts of human rights and the norms of international relations seem foreign. But we hope that sight will not be lost of the situation of the Jews there who are perhaps among the most vulnerable of the minorities in that troubled land. 67.”

    1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)

  7. “And we, the people of Israel, feel responsible for the lot of every Jew who suffers anywhere. 64. In the last year additional harsh limitations have been imposed on Jews who seek to leave the Soviet Union and emigrate to the State of Israel. Those restrictions conflict with the most basic human and national rights of peoples, and we are in duty bound to echo the cries of the Jews in the Soviet Union and appeal to the Government of that country to remove the restrictions and facilitate the immigration of Jews to Israel. 65. We must also express anxiety over the condition of the tortured Jewish community in Syria, whose human rights are severely curtailed, and many of whom have been imprisoned and have had their property impounded.”

    1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)

  8. “Many of the solutions worked out in Israel can be applied directly by others. Despite the disappointments which my country has experienced, Israel continues to have deep sympathy for the struggle of the developing countries to ameliorate and advance the condition of their peoples and economies. Israel stands ready to continue to give of its know-how and to take a vigorous and constructive part in the efforts of the international community in the spheres of health, social services, agriculture, development of new and renewable sources of energy, and in every other sphere to which we can contribute. 63. From this rostrum I should like to give expression to the anguish of our Jewish brothers in various parts of the globe. There is, it would seem, no end to the pain of the Jew in history. The suffering and persecution continue even today.”

    1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)

  9. “We sincerely hope that in the near future the efforts to have a constructive dialogue rather than confrontation will be resumed, so that those whose needs are greatest will not suffer the most. 61. Despite our small size and limited resources, we have for decades devoted far greater efforts than might have been expected to assisting nations of the third world in the development of their economies and societies. Israel has shared freely the know-how which it has developed, as well as its experience as a small State in an arid and subtropical region, which has enabled us to make great strides over a period of a few short years. 62. The problems encountered by Israel in the course of its social and economic development are similar to the problems facing much of the developing world today.”

    1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)

  10. “I must also express the hope that all Members of the Organization which share our concern and feelings of responsibility for its future will intensify their efforts both to bring the United Nations back to the ideals of its founders and to channel the specialized agencies back to their specific areas of concern. 60. Among the subjects which have rightly been given a prominent place in the agenda of the United Nations are the state of the world's economy and the relations between the industrialized and the developing nations. The convening of the recent eleventh special session of the General Assembly attests to this fact. Israel took part in that special session with the intention of making a constructive contribution to its work. We therefore share the disappointment over the results of that event, which were not adequate.”

    1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)

  11. “Important tasks have been allotted to the United Nations. Besides its role in the preservation of international peace and security, it also has a vital role to play in other spheres which require our earnest attention, in particular through the specialized agencies established for various purposes. But even the specialized agencies have been gravely compromised by the plague of politicization. Business-like debates and deliberations in them have become increasingly difficult—if not all but impossible to conduct—to the grave detriment not only of the agencies themselves but also of those whom they were set up to serve. 59. While I am bound to express deep regret at the condition of the United Nations today.”

    1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)

  12. “That war between two States ruled by extremist, irresponsible and trigger-happy regimes threatens both regional and international security by putting at risk much of the world's regular supply of oil, That war, a struggle between two Moslem States, demolishes, in our opinion, the naive and groundless belief that the world's oil supply is dependent on a pro-Arab solution to the dispute between Israel and its neighbours. It has become all too clear that the solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict will not provide any miracle cure for the region as a whole or eliminate the many other grave conflicts raging in it. The ability of the United Nations to work for an end to the bloodshed in Iraq and Iran will be a yardstick of the Organization's ability to continue to fulfil its role for the encouragement and maintenance of peace. 58.”

    1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)

  13. “Out of the 18 debates which have been conducted thus far during 1980 in the Security Council, nine were devoted to subjects involving my country. Is there anyone who seriously believes that half of the world's international problems today are connected with Israel? We need only glance at a map of our region, the Middle East—which is just one region of the world—to sec that it is riddled from length to breadth with countless conflicts between States, between ethnic minorities and between different religious groups. Virtually all those conflicts have a history and a dynamic of their own, totally divorced from the Arab-Israeli conflict. 57. By way of illustration. I need only mention the situation in Afghanistan and. of course, the full-scale war between Iran and Iraq—a worrying outbreak of hostilities which has wide-ranging implications.”

    1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)

  14. “Perhaps the most cynical expression of the gap between the original vision and the reality prevailing in the United Nations today has been the refusal of this Organization, ostensibly dedicated to the peaceful settlement of disputes, to adopt and encourage the Camp David accords' and the subsequent Peace Treaty, which brought to an end decades of hostilities between Israel and Egypt and raised the possibility of expanding the peace process to embrace all of Israel's neighbours. This Organization, whose principal purpose is the promotion of peace among nations, has thus betrayed its own raison d'etre by rejecting an historic step towards peace and by playing into the hands of the enemies of peace, the rejectionists and the warmongers. 56. This unhappy phenomenon is not confined to the General Assembly.”

    1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)

  15. “54, To my very grout regret, it is not possible to express satisfaction at the condition of the United Nations today, either in general or from the specific perspective of my country. Indeed, it is questionable whether there remains much similarity or correlation between the noble ideals, principles and purposes which guided the founding fathers of the United Nations and the reality prevailing in the Organization today. The founders of this Organization saw in their vision a forum and a framework for the achievement and maintenance of peace between nations after the horrific experience of the Second World War, a horror which they had experienced at first hand. 55.”

    1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)

  16. “Mr. President, at the outset I should like to express to you our congratulations on your election to the high office of President of the thirty-fifth session of the General Assembly. Your vast experience and the outstanding qualities that you have exhibited in the realm of multilateral diplomacy ensure your ability to keep a firm grasp on the helm of the Assembly during this stormy period. 53. Al the opening of this session a new State joined the ranks of the United Nations: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. On behalf of the Government and people of Israel, I should like to welcome it to the Organization and wish it all prosperity and success as an independent and sovereign Stale.”

    1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)