The Honorable Benjamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister of Israel
Prime Minister's Office
Jerusalem, ISRAEL
Dear Mr. Prime Minister:
As lifelong supporters and friends of Israel, we urge you to reconsider the redeployment
from Hebron as well as the implementation of the Oslo Agreement.
When you spoke before both houses of the United States Congress, you stated that you would
demand reciprocity on the part of the Palestinians before proceeding with the implementation of
Oslo. As your memo of October 24, 1996 entitled "LIST OF MAJOR PLO VIOLATIONS"
clearly enunciates, there has been no PLO compliance. This failure of the PLO clearly gives you
ample recourse. Many legal scholars such as Professor Louis Rene Beres (International Law,
Department of Political Science, Purdue University) have proven that Oslo has no standing in
international law. I quote from his article: TERMINATING OSLO I AND II: AN
OBLIGATION UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW: An informed brief for permissible
abrogation by the State of Israel:
"It is generally believed that the Oslo Accords between Israel and the PLO are fully binding
under international law. Exactly the opposite is true. Because these non-treaty agreements
run counter to absolutely incontrovertible legal expectations, Israel is now obligated to
terminate the agreement../..../..../...The Oslo Agreements do not constitute treaties because they link a
state with a nonstate party. In and of itself, this incontestable fact, drawn from the Vienna
Convention on the Law of Treaties, certainly does not call for termination. But because
the nonstate party in this case happens to be a terrorist organization whose leaders must be
punished for egregious crimes, any agreement with this party that offers rewards rather than
punishment is entirely null and void. Indeed, in view of the peremptory expectation known in
law as Nullum crimen sine poena, "No crime without a punishment," the state party in
such an agreement - in this case the State of Israel -violates international law by honoring
the agreement."
There is therefore, no legal or moral reason for you to implement an agreement that is so
destructive to the interests of the State of Israel.
It is true that you also have proclaimed Oslo to be a devastatingly bad agreement for Israel.
Unfortunately you have been misinformed as to your obligations to implement what you agree is a
bad agreement. As Prime Minister, your obligation is to the People of Israel and not to a terrible
agreement between a previous government and a known terrorist. We would also like to remind
you of the brilliant words of Karl Von Clausewitz, who said (Von Krigge 1833): " War is not
merely a political act, but also a political instrument, a continuation of political relations, a
carrying out of the same by other means." Any analyst who has studied carefully the behavior
of the Palestinian Authority since the Oslo signing in 1993 would conclude the following: The
Palestinians are using the Peace Process as another means to achieve the victory over Israel
which they were unable to achieve in direct confrontation or war. This is exactly what
Clausewitz understood so well in the 19th century and many Israelis fail to understand today.
The Left will never support you and the Nationalist Camp will never forgive you for betraying
your campaign promises. Should you follow the foolish course of your predecessors, you will
certainly fail to protect the security and well being of Israel. And thus, history will record you as
the man who brought about the fall of the Third Temple.
We emphatically urge you to marshal the strength of character that runs in your heroic family, and
say NO to those who would dismember Eretz Yisrael. And then you should not only save
Hebron, but begin a major building program that would bring 50,000 Jews to live in the Hebron-Kiryat Arba metropolitan area.
With Love of Israel and Faith in Hashem.
Respectfully Yours,
Bernard J. Shapiro
Bernard J. Shapiro, Executive Director
Freeman Center For Strategic Studies
Co-Signers:
Richard H. Rolnick, MD, Chairman of the Board
Freeman Center For Strategic Studies
Louis Lechenger, Board Member
Freeman Centerr For Strategic Studies
Zvi Kalisky, MD, Advisory Committee
Ira Kahn, Advisory Committee
Morris A. Wilk, Advisory Committee