DOCUMENT: Letter from MK Uzi Landau to President Clinton complaining about
US Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk

19 Elul 5760
September 19, 2000


The Honorable William Jefferson Clinton
President of the United States of America
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500


Dear President Clinton,

As Chairman of the Knesset State Control Committee (the equivalent of the
U.S. Senate's Committee on Governmental Affairs) and former Chairman of the
Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, I would like to bring to your
attention a serious incident involving United States Ambassador to Israel
Martin Indyk that I believe warrants your immediate intervention.

According to a September 16, 2000 report in the Guardian of London, ".the
U.S. Ambassador to Israel yesterday urged Israel to share Jerusalem with the
Palestinians. Mr. Indyk said: 'There is no other solution but to share the
holy city.." Ambassador Indyk was similarly quoted by the Associated Press,
The Jerusalem Post and Ha'aretz. The timing of the speech and the political
context in which it was delivered leave no room for doubt that Ambassador
Indyk was calling on the Government of Israel to divide Jerusalem. Indeed,
the Guardian correspondent described the remarks as "a sharp departure from
Washington orthodoxy in recent years."

In addition to his remarks concerning Jerusalem, Ambassador Indyk offered
his views regarding secular-religious tensions in Israel and the role of the
Reform and Conservative movements in Judaism. He also intimated his tacit
support for Prime Minister Barak's so-called secular revolution. As a
commentator in the liberal daily Ha'aretz noted, "readers are urged to
imagine what the Americans would say if the Israeli ambassador to Washington
were to come to a local religious institution and say such things."

As a veteran Knesset member who has consistently supported closer ties
between our two nations, I wish to strongly protest Ambassador Indyk's
blatant interference in Israel's internal affairs and democratic process. I
am sure you would agree that it is simply unacceptable for a foreign
diplomat to involve himself so provocatively in the most sensitive affairs
of the country to which he is posted. If a foreign ambassador stationed in
the United States were to involve himself in a domestic American policy
debate regarding race relations or abortion, the subsequent outcry would not
be long in coming.

Ambassador Indyk's remarks about Jerusalem are an affront to Israel,
particularly since he made them in the heart of the city that he aspires to
divide. By needlessly raising Arab expectations on the Jerusalem issue,
rather than moderating them, Ambassador Indyk has caused inestimable damage
to the peace process. It is likewise inexplicable that Ambassador Indyk
would choose to interject his private religious preferences into the debate
over secular-religious tensions in Israel.

I wish to point out that this is not the first time that the American
Embassy in Israel has interfered in our internal affairs. In February, I
wrote to you in the wake of media reports that Embassy officials were
lobbying Israeli Arab leaders regarding a possible referendum on the Golan
Heights. My fear is that such interference in Israel's affairs is rapidly
becoming routine.

In light of the above, I request that you recall Ambassador Indyk to the
United States and I urge you to disavow publicly his undiplomatic remarks. I
am confident that such measures would help to remedy the damage done by
Ambassador Indyk to the relations between our two peoples.

Sincerely,

Uzi Landau
Member of Knesset