"Talk is cheap, but action is needed" - WJC President Ronald S. Lauder says. UK Foreign Minister Hague ignores Israel's security interests
NEW YORK / BRUSSELS – Ronald S. Lauder, the president of the World Jewish Congress (WJC), has expressed disappointment about comments made by British Foreign Secretary William Hague on the Middle East and Israel. Lauder called them “one-sided” and added: “Putting undue political pressure on Israel alone, completely neglecting its vital security interests, is counterproductive and unhelpful.”
“On an almost daily basis we see Europe?s political leaders going around the Middle East lecturing the Israelis about what they should do, and that they should do it now. What these leaders forget is that Israel cannot make concessions on its vital security needs, because this would mean suicide in the current climate, certainly as long as the Palestinians cannot guarantee Israel?s vital security interests and are pursuing a unilateral strategy which is in clear breach of all major agreements between parties since the Oslo Accords,” he declared.
“The British and other European governments would be well-advised to put more real effort into improving the situation on the ground instead of just taking the backseat and leaving Israel, the only democracy in the region, alone. Talk is cheap, but action is what we need,” the WJC president – a former US ambassador to Austria – said.
Lauder reiterated his call for Israel to become a member of NATO. This “would send a strong signal to other countries not to take on Israel. Lofty declarations regarding Israel?s right to live in peace and security are not enough.”
Background
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague was quoted Wednesday by the London newspaper 'The Times' as saying that "This should not be a time for belligerent language”. He was asked about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement before the Knesset in which he said Israel had to be prepared for "any outcome” in Egypt and "to reinforce its might”. According to the newspaper, Hague also demanded that the Obama administration give a timetable for bringing “greater urgency into the peace process” and for a peace settlement to be based on the borders prior to 1967.
About the World Jewish Congress
The World Jewish Congress is the international organization representing Jewish communities in 92 countries around the world. The WJC serves as the diplomatic arm of the Jewish people to governments, parliaments and international organizations.
