BY JACOB EILON AND GIL TAMARI (CHANNEL 10 TV, ISRAEL)
May 12, 2008
11:30 A.M. EDT
Q Mr. President, thank you for speaking with Channel 10.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, sir.
Q First of all, congratulations on your daughter’s wedding this weekend.
THE PRESIDENT: (Laughter.) Thank you. It was — as my Jewish friends tell me, there was “Mazel tov.” And it was a beautiful experience. It was very emotional, and it was — to see your little girl marry a good guy. Laura and I were thrilled.
Q Made you proud?
THE PRESIDENT: I was very proud of her. It was a wonderful time. And we did it on our ranch, which was — we didn’t do it here in the White House because Jenna wanted a more low-key, kind of homey environment. And she loves the ranch and so do we, so it was perfect. It was wonderful. Thanks for asking.
Q Great. Now to business.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes. (Laughter.)
Q Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert just said a couple days ago that he would resign if he was indicted with some new corruption charges. Does that change in any way your strategy on the peace process —
THE PRESIDENT: No. The vision of the peace process still is the same. I have come to the conclusion that it is essential for Israel to have a Palestinian partner that is a democracy committed to peace. I fully understand not all Palestinians agree with that vision, but I also believe over time that when confronted with life in Gaza, what that’s like, or life in a place where you can raise your child in peace, most of the Palestinians will choose peace; and that the best way to marginalize these radicals who murder the innocent to achieve their political objectives is through Palestinian democracy.
Q And you can do that with Olmert and Abbas?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, the Prime Minister’s — as I understand it, the legal issue goes on, and I fully understand that and respect Israeli rule of law. I will just tell you, in my — I have great relations with the Prime Minister. I find him to be a frank man, an honest man, an open man, a guy easy to talk to, and somebody who understands the vision necessary for Israeli security.
And so we will continue working hard, and I do believe we can get a state defined by the end of my presidency. A state won’t exist until certain obligations are met by everybody, but to have it defined is very important.
Q So that’s the goal, by the end of the year, defined, what, borders of a Palestinian —
THE PRESIDENT: Well, that, and the refugee issue, as well as the other key security issues that are necessary for a state to come into being. But the road map has obligations for all parties. And so my goal is to get the state defined.
Look, I firmly believe that — first of all, I supported the Sharon move on Gaza, and still think it was the right move, and that I supported the elections, because there needs to be clarity. Everybody’s got to see the truth, and the truth is that Hamas can’t deliver promises for the Palestinian people. And the truth is, is that there’s an opportunity now to offer a different vision from theirs. Their vision is destroy Israel; how about a vision that says we want to coexist with Israel so we can raise our children in peace?
Now, I’m sure people say, oh, Bush, man, he sounds hopelessly idealistic. But the truth of the matter is, in order for peace to secure, it’s that kind of idealism that has got to prevail.
Q Mr. President, you have said that the bombing of the Syrian North Korean facility by Israel sent a message to Iran. What was the message, you are next?
THE PRESIDENT: No, it’s just that people are going to take care of their security needs. And the message to Iran is that, your desire to have a nuclear weapon, coupled with your statements about the destruction of our close ally, has made it abundantly clear to everybody that we have got to work together to stop you from having a nuclear weapon. To me, it’s the single biggest threat to peace in the Middle East, is the Iranian regime, not only because of their desire to have the technologies to build a weapon, the technologies necessary to build a weapon, but it’s also to their funding of Hezbollah. Look what’s happening in Lebanon now — a young democracy trying to survive. By the way, it’s in Israel’s interests that the Lebanese democracy survive.
Q So what’s going to stop them?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, pressure, sanctions, diplomacy. All options are on the table. They’re trying to destabilize the young Iraqi democracy. And what stops them there is when we catch them moving their weapons in, they’re brought to justice. That’s what stops them.
Q Many Israelis think that the only thing that will stop them would be a military attack. Have you considered that?
THE PRESIDENT: I’ve always told people that all options are on the table. I’ve also learned that in my seven-and-a-half years as President it’s probably best not to be talking about the specifics of any option.
Q If Israel does that, would you understand?
THE PRESIDENT: You’re becoming very hypothetical in your questions. I fully understand Israel’s concerns about Iran. That’s going to be my message when I come to Israel, and that is that you need to be concerned about Iran, and you are concerned about Iran, and so are we. And part of our job is to — you know, look, we want to — I mean, stopping them enriching, the first choice is to do it diplomatically, of course. And that’s why we’re working on the sanction regime, and that’s why we’re trying to affect their money flows.
But it’s hard, because not everybody shares the same anxiety as Israel and the United States does. But it’s a tough issue, and I fully understand it, and I will continue to pressure as best I can.
Q Mr. President, did you get any official request to pardon Jonathan Pollard, and if yes, would you consider it? And you know, many people in Israel think that the arrest of Ben-Ami Kadish in another spy case tended to influence you.
THE PRESIDENT: We are constantly analyzing cases. There’s been no change in the government’s attitude at this point.
Q So —
THE PRESIDENT: No change.
Q But your — did you get such a request?
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, yes, constantly.
Q Constantly?
THE PRESIDENT: Sure.
Q So for our 60th birthday, any new —
THE PRESIDENT: We’ll analyze every request, but there’s been no change of attitude.
Q Mr. President, it took, like, seven years before you got involved in the Middle East.
THE PRESIDENT: No, that’s not an accurate statement, please.
Q Well, with the Israeli-Palestinian —
THE PRESIDENT: No, that is an inaccurate statement, too. But, anyway, go ahead. I will let you finish your question.
Q Would you recommend the next President to start earlier?
THE PRESIDENT: Look, I inherited — when I came in office, there was an intifada. It’s hard in the middle of the intifada to be talking peace; I mean, you had people scrambling for their security. But I gave a speech in June 2002 — remember I was sworn in in 2001 — which really helped define the two-state solution. It talked about who we would or not deal with. I’ve been — no, we’ve been very much engaged in terms of setting the conditions. Remember, the road map was done during my time. Anyway, no, we’ve been very much involved in the Middle East. It’s a —
Q Should the next President start earlier?
THE PRESIDENT: Like me?
Q You’re not the next President.
THE PRESIDENT: No, no, you mean, start it early like I did? Sure, yes, you can’t help it. Look, this is the — one of the accomplishments — or one of the interesting things that’s happened in this administration is we have placed American foreign policy — a top priority of our foreign policy is squarely in the Middle East. We got Iraq, we got Lebanon, we got Iran, and of course we got the Middle Eastern — the peace process between the Palestinians and Israelis, which frankly is moving down the road pretty good. And I hope during my time, before it’s over, we get the vision defined. But it’s — I think any American President is going to be committed to Israel’s existence, and understand the realities and threats in the Middle East.
Q Finally, Mr. President, you are coming to Israel for your second visit as President of the United States. What do you expect from this visit?
THE PRESIDENT: I expect a chance to speak in the Knesset, which I’m excited about, and I’m thankful. And I’m looking forward to telling people that I fully understand the nature of the world, and that there are ideologues who murder innocent people to achieve their political objectives, and we must do — we must stand strong against those ideologues, and we must on the one hand be strong in our security measures, and on the other hand, offer a competing vision. And that’s what I’m going to talk about.
It’s a hopeful speech, it’s an optimistic speech, and it’s one that I hope assures Israel — Israelis that during the Bush administration and the subsequent administrations, they’ll have a strong friend and ally in the United States of America.
Q Mr. President, we wish you a pleasant trip to Israel.
THE PRESIDENT: I’m looking forward to it. Thank you, sir.
Q Thank you very much, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, thanks. Good to see you, guys.
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16 Responses
Can President Bush say two words that make sense?
Mr. Bush talks about “enriching”!!
The president talks very yeshivish!!
I detect a hopeful posture in the President’s comments vis-a-vis J. Pollard.
G-d bless the President of the United States of America
Freeing pollard aint in the hands of the “melachim” cuz lev melachim beyad Hashem… it depends on us davening and Hashem moving chess pieces!
I happen to love this president. I am not so keen on annoying reporters though. I guess it is their job…
The president’s support and attitude towards Israel’s interests and rights, changed increasingly for the worse, ever since Ms. Rice took the office of State Department.
The administration’s portrayal of Abbas as a viable partner of peace and the push for a Palestinian state is driven by the need for a Bush legacy rather than goodwill for Israel.
This is evident by his statement about “supporting Sharon’s disengagement and that he still thinks it was the right move”.
The interviewers’ remarks about Mr. Bush beginning his involvement in the peace process only seven years into his presidency, is reflective of the jurnalist’s totally skewed perspective. Israel has never had such a good friend in the White House as Mr. G.W. Bush, and we are to appreciate and commend him for that.
‘לב מלכים ושרים ביד ה
thanks yeshiva world for bringing us that interview!
we were blessed w/ a good prez 4 7 1/2 years.who knows whats in store? yes he truly is a chevreman- i think he would get a kick out of yeshiva guys!
#6 why are you pouncing on him? Look at how much good he’s done for us till now
The problem is that Bush thinks that the Arabs think the same way that American’s do, their issue is that they are being ruthlessly tormented by a dictator.
So to create peace all you have to do is send the military in, topple the dictator, give everyone cable TV and pizza and then you have democracy!
In order for the Arabs to respect you, you have to give them something to respect. Giving away land, is the worst way to do this. And Abbas is not a partner for peace, his organization Fatah, preaches anti-semitic propaganda that rivals Nazi Germany. Not anti-ISRAEL propaganda, anti-JEWISH propaganda.
“Q Mr. President, it took, like, seven years before you got involved in the Middle East.
THE PRESIDENT: No, that’s not an accurate statement, please.
Q Well, with the Israeli-Palestinian –
THE PRESIDENT: No, that is an inaccurate statement, too. But, anyway, go ahead. I will let you finish your question.
Q Would you recommend the next President to start earlier?
THE PRESIDENT: Look, I inherited — when I came in office, there was an intifada. It’s hard in the middle of the intifada to be talking peace…”
PRESIDENT BUSH’S RESPONSE WAS RIGHT ON TARGET.
HOW CAN WE TALK PEACE WHILE INNOCENT ISRAELIS ARE BLOWN UP IN BUSES. THE BLOWING UP OF BUSES MUST STOP FIRST.
But the reporter was not done here he goes again:
Q Should the next President start earlier?
HELLO!!!
Obviously the reporter was so absorbed in his questions that he did not understand the Presidents response.
YOU CANNOT TALK PEACE WHILE INNOCENT MEN WOMAN AND CHILDREN ARE BEING KILLED.
Thank you Mr. President for this clarity of judgement.
It is unreal the power of shikcha(forgetfullness). How could one forget those terrible days that more than 1,000 innocent yidden died in suicide bombings?
H-shem Yinkam Dumum.
1818, as much as Zionists like to overlook this, we are in galus, still. Until we are redeemed BB”A, there is no mitzva to politically control any of those mekomos hakedoshim, and it may even be an aveira to do so, depending on who you ask.
Leonard613, I agree that the reporter seems to be on a different planet, and President Bush was, I thought, quite gracious in responding to the questions, despite being posed in a manner not fully befitting the honor due the President of a foreign country, and, as you said, his answers were right on.
As far as his statements on Mr. Pollard, I got the impression from the dialog that the president was trying to convey that they always receive requests (not from Israel, itself, necessarily) to free him, but that it’s a complex diplomatic or other matter which has to be resolved, so “we’re always evaluating” but “nothing has changed”.
Acheinu kol beis Yisrael…Hamakom Yiracheim Aleihem Viyotziem Mitzara lirvacha umeAfeila LiOra uMishi’bud Ligiulah Hashtah BaAgalah Uvizman Kariv.
The pressure needs to be kept on the prez. about pardoning Pollard!!!!
To #7
As low as the president’s approval rating is, congress’s approval has been consistently lower.
The reason for low approval rating:
The prez: not getting anything done.
Congress: not letting the prez get anything done.
to #4 shkoyech…so the mitzvah of pidyon shvuim we should be mevatel…just say tehillin give tzedakka…and leave the rest to hashem who will make “chess pieces” fall in place..was.wondering why avrohom avinu went to war to free lot,and didnt leave hashem to move the chess pieces, reb pinchus ben yoir chilin 6a (?) “went to pidyon shevoim….” etc, etc.. why didnt he just go to daven, say tehillim and let hashem make chess pieces fall in place. for that matter why do we do anything lets sit in shul and daven to hashem and the “chess pieces” will fall in place, nor pshat is “hashomaim shomayin l’shem, v’houretz nosan livney odom” we should run it according to his rotzoin and be mispalil to him for siyate dshamye. when c’v one is sick by you ,you sit in shul and say t’heillim and wait the chess pieces should fall in place? no you run from doc to doc. and are also mispallel hashem should guide you to the right shaliach to heal “v’rapay yrapeh”..so if you dont mind we think you made silly comment..
to the general oilem ..when comes to address the “PRESIDENT” or leader of any nation you have to address him,them with proper respectful title..by us shomrei torah umitzvous free speech is only up to not doing against halache .and the halacha is cholkin koved l’malchis.. now if by paroih the firsthitl– (drowned baybies, built them into the walls, used their blood for tzuras)and moshe rabbainu was obligated to defer to him with respect (shmos 11 posik 8, rashi and other places..) kol shkain the pres.of u.sshould adressed as PRESIDENT BUSH, and we think has din malech l’gabay this prat..
1818: Who should NOW, post-Zionism, have political control over Eretz Yisrael is a very difficult question to answer since we don’t know who will keep the Jews there safest. But that’s what it comes down to, safety of Jewish lives. And judging by its glorious wonderful and peaceful history, Zionism is clearly not a Mitzvah, just as our Rabbanim said 60+ years ago.
I presume the rationale for Chareidi political groups is that once they have to live under a Zionist rule (since they choose to live in Eretz HaKodesh), they may as well be productive citizens and attempt to bring their ideals into the national political arena. It obviously does have to do with money, too, though that is not the only reason I could come up with.