In an attempt to avoid attacking the new state of Israel in 1948, King Abdullah, the grandfather of King Hussein, offered Golda Meir a proposal for a Jewish state that would be an autonomous region in his kingdom. Meir, of course, rejected the idea immediately.
The king was offended, both by the refusal, and by the fact that a woman was sent to negotiate with him.
After the War of Independence, when he met with Israelis, the king asked: “Where is Golda?”
When he heard that she had been made ambassador to Moscow, he replied: “Very well, keep her far away! She is too tough.”
Unfortunately, Abdullah was assassinated a day before he was to complete a peace agreement with Israel. It was based on the 1949 boundaries, with minor, mutual modifications, and assured freedom of access to the Jewish holy places in eastern Jerusalem. The vast majority of Jews would have gladly accepted this agreement at any point of time before June 5, 1967. Even after that war, a majority in Israel would have accepted such an arrangement with some stronger security measures and a larger hold in the Old City of Jerusalem.
But since then, a strong minority fell in love with new settlements in the West Bank and Israelis stopped thinking about the possibility of any concessions in Jerusalem. We started to believe our own propaganda that there were no partners for peace on the Arab side.
For many years only a very few people in Israel knew the truth: There were potential partners for negotiations. King Hussein opened a channel of direct talks with Israeli officials. The first was Jacob Herzog, followed by Abba Eban. Since then almost every important government leader has met with the Jordanian king.
Unfortunately, the political weaknesses of both Hussein and Israeli leaders of that time prevented the start of serious negotiations. Israeli officials did not understand the nuances of Hussein’s subtle messages, as they did not grasp his early warning of the joint surprise attack by Syria and Egypt in October 1973. We cannot be sure if serious negotiations would have changed the course, but surely we missed several opportunities to test the possibility of peace.
The two most serious errors were the refusal by the first Rabin government to explore Henry Kissinger’s idea of an interim agreement with Jordan, based on a withdrawal in the Jericho area.
Another grave mistake was that of Yitzhak Shamir and Moshe Arens, who refused to accept the 1987 peace accords reached by Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin with Hussein on the future of the West Bank. If that agreement had been implemented we could have been spared the intifada.
The Likud leadership then subscribed to the ridiculous idea of Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu that we should help the Palestinians dethrone the Hashemite family and make Jordan the Palestinian state. On the other side of the political map,Peres committed a grave error by not fighting Shamir fiercely, to bring down the unity government and force new elections on the question of possible peace with Jordan.
We must therefore admire the courage and wisdom of Menachem Begin, who did not miss the opportunity to make peace with Egypt. Rabin, in his second term as prime minister, learned from his past mistakes, and seized the opportunity for peace with the Palestinians and, soon after, with Jordan.
Since then, the Israeli public has had the opportunity for an open dialogue with King Hussein, and have come to appreciate his sincerity and integrity. We now realize how much we may have missed by not trying harder to forge peace with him earlier.
But we cannot cry over spilled milk; we must look forward and face reality. This ancient land, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Iraqi desert, will be the home of three states — Israel, Jordan and Palestine — which can and must coexist, to assure peace, security and economic prosperity.
Israel, as a strong country — though it currently has a very weak leader — must lead the way in strengthening the peaceful development of this region.
The only way that Israel can assure the stability of Jordan after Hussein is by forging ahead with the peace process, fulfilling all its obligations and agreements, and helping both the Jordanians and the Palestinians develop their economies.
Economic prosperity and social improvements are the main guarantors of peace. In promoting these, Israel will pay homage to a great man and a courageous friend.