Οι ελληνο-ισραηλινές σχέσεις και η πορεία τους ήταν το θέμα συζήτησης σε ημερίδα που διοργάνωσε η AHEPA στην Washington, με την συμμετοχή των πρέσβεων της Ελλάδας κ. Β. Κασκαρέλη και του Ισραήλ. Michael B. Οren, καθώς και του βουλευτή του Ρεπουμπλικανικού κόμματος από την πολιτεία της Φλόριδας, ελληνικής καταγωγής Gus Bilirakis. Στόχος της ημερίδας είναι η διερεύνηση συγκεκριμένων τομέων για την συνεργασία μεταξύ Ελλάδας και Ισραήλ, καθώς και με ποιον τρόπο η ελληνοαμερικανική και η ισραηλινο-αμερικανική κοινότητα θα συμβάλει στην ενίσχυση των σχέσεων των δυο χωρών.
Ο κ. Oren, πρέσβης του Ισραήλ στις ΗΠΑ, έκανε έναν θερμό χαιρετισμό, κάνοντας λόγο για την στρατηγική σχέση μεταξύ των δυο χωρών. Στην ομιλία του ο πρέσβης της Ελλάδας στις Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες, κ. Βασίλης Κασκαρέλης, αναφέρθηκε στις τελευταίες ανταλλαγές επισκέψεων μεταξύ των κ.κ. Παπανδρέου και Νετανιάχου, οι οποίες, όπως χαρακτηριστικά είπε, είναι ενδεικτικές της αποφασιστικότητας των δυο ηγετών (Παπανδρέου και Νετανιάχου) να προάγουν και να ενισχύσουν τις διμερείς σχέσεις των δυο χωρών, τονίζοντας παράλληλα ότι η εξέλιξη αυτή «είναι απλά το αποτέλεσμα της συνειδητοποίησης ότι αυτή η σχέση μπορεί να αποδειχθεί μόνο ευεργετική για τις δυο χώρες, αλλά και για την ευρύτερη περιοχή, όχι ως άξονα, αλλά ως ανοιχτή και χωρίς αποκλεισμούς περιφερειακή συνεργασία, η οποία δεν στρέφεται εναντίον άλλων δυνάμεων στην περιοχή, ή δημιουργεί κλίμα ανταγωνισμού στις ήδη υπάρχουσες συνεργασίες.
Στόχος της συνεργασίας αυτής, η προαγωγή της διμερούς σχέσης στο πλαίσιο της περιφερειακής ισορροπίας, και η συμβολή στην επίλυση των (περιφερειακών) προβλημάτων. Ο έλληνας πρέσβης δεν παρέλειψε ωστόσο να αναφερθεί στις παραδοσιακές καλές σχέσεις της Ελλάδας με τον Αραβικό κόσμο, αλλά και την συμβολή του κ. Παπανδρέου στην προσπάθεια επίλυσης της αραβοϊσραηλινής διένεξης.
Ο κ. Κασκαρέλης τόνισε ότι η δυναμική μια διμερούς συνεργασίας Ελλάδας-Ισραήλ μπορεί να αποβεί ευεργετική για τις δυο χώρες σε πολλούς τομείς (Γεωργία, διαχείριση υδάτινων πόρων, ενέργεια, τουρισμό και άμυνα), εκτιμώντας παράλληλα ότι τα ευρωπαϊκά προγράμματα –ειδικά στο πλαίσιο της ευρω-μεσογειακής συνεργασίας και του σχεδίου δράσης ΕΕ-Ισραήλ- συμβάλλουν στην βελτίωση των ελληνο-ισραηλινών εμπορικών και οικονομικών σχέσεων. Τέλος ο έλληνας διπλωμάτης αναφέρθηκε και στην διασπορά, ελληνική και ισραηλινή, εκφράζοντας την πεποίθησή του ότι οι δύο κοινότητες θα εργαστούν από κοινού για την ανεύρεση συγκεκριμένων τομέων συνεργασίας.
Ολόκληρη η ομιλία του πρέσβη της Ελλάδας στις Ηνωμένες Πολιτείες κ. Β. Κασκαρέλη έχει ως εξής:
President of AHEPA, Ambassador, distinguished guests,
It was with great pleasure that I accepted the invitation to come and speak today about Greek-Israeli relations. This is a worthy initiative by AHEPA and I would like to congratulate you for it.
And it is a pleasure, as I have been among those advocating the need of enhancing Greece’s relationship with Israel. And in this context, as Ambassador of Greece to the U.S., I have also reached out to the Jewish American community to establish open, frank and productive communication channels. On several occassions, I had the opportunity to emphasize to Jewish American organizations the mutual benefits of such a relationship, and this has been precisely the message I have articulated to the Greek American community.
This past summer, we witnessed a remarkable boost in relations between Greece and Israel, marked by an exchange of visits by both our Prime Ministers within the short span of just 20 days.
These visits are indicative of the determination of both leaders to promote and further enhance our bilateral relations. There has been a lot of discussion and even speculation regarding this development. In my opinion, such speculation is unwarranted, as there is nothing more natural than two neighbors developing and cultivating a productive relationship, not only to address regional issues, but also work together for a better and more prosperous future for their people. Let alone the fact that these two particular neighbors never had any differences or problems with each other. It is obvious that this development is simply the result of the realization that this relationship can only be beneficial for both countries, as well as the broader region.
It is beneficial to the region, since our intention is not to view this enhanced relationship as an axis, but rather, as an open and inclusive regional cooperation; one that does not turn against other actors, nor does it aspire to compete with existing cooperations.
The objective here is to promote a relationship, necessary to the equilibrium of the region, and one that contributes to resolving regional problems rather than intensifying them. We believe that the aforementioned perspective is necessary if we want to ensure the sustainability of this cooperation.
In this context, Greece’s high level relations with the Arab countries can only work as an asset and not a liability. As we all know, since early September, Israelis and Palestinians have been involved in direct negotiations, trying to resolve all core issues of their longstanding dispute.
Greece’s close relations with Arab countries have actually enabled Prime Minister Papandreou, in consultation with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Secretary Clinton, to work as an honest broker, facilitating the effort of the negotiating parties to overcome obstacles and keep the process alive.
This cooperation can also be beneficial to both countries on numerous fields on which we can work together: agriculture and water management, energy, tourism and defense. A quick glance at the map is enough to convince anyone of the potential dynamics of this cooperation.
You have two strong and stable democracies in a mainly unstable environment. Israel has a dynamic leading economy, while Greece is a member of both the EU and NATO; it is a gateway to a market of more than 300 million; it is in a phase of economic re-birth, as indicated by the bold reforms adopted by the Greek Government, well ahead of the joint IMF-EU plan.
Also favoring the improvement of our bilateral economic and trade relations – among many others – are: the common develoment of EU Programs (particularly within the frameworks of the Euro-Med Partnership and the EU-Israel Action Plan), easing of remaining barriers of access to the Israeli market, as a result of the Association Agreement with the EU and the subsequent agreements on sectoral trade and investment liberalization, as well as of the recent accession of Israel to the OECD.
Of course, Greece and Israel didn’t just discover each other. We have been sharing a vibrant and multi-faceted relationship for years, an important part of which is what we, diplomats, call “peoples’ diplomacy”, a term, perhaps too bureaucratic and stiff, to do justice to human relations.
Economic interactions, as well as cultural, historical and religious similarities provide fertile ground upon which we can build a solid relationship. To this end, the bridging role of the Jewish community in Greece is also of pivotal importance. All of the above constitute the basis upon which the Greek and Jewish American communities can and must work on.
Furthermore, Greeks and Jews are both people of the Diaspora, having encountered similar challenges: no statehood for centuries, migration due to political, social and economic reasons, struggle to maintain traditions and language.
Our two communities share strong family values, a commitment to their culture, their religion and their communities, while they both enjoy close ties with their motherlands. So much so, that I recall the amazement of many of my Jewish friends, who saw “My big fat Greek wedding” at how this could very well have been a film about a Jewish family.
Both communities also place great value on education and share a drive to excell and become productive citizens of the society within which they live.
A study of U.S. census statistics in the 1970s revealed that Greek and Jewish Americans have distinguished themselves as the two top ranking ethnic groups in education and prosperity in the U.S.
They have also been at the receiving end of discrimination and bigotry. AHEPA itself was founded to confront personal and economic intimidation by the Klu Klux Klan. Both have fought prejudice and negative stereotypes, struggling to maintain language and traditions, and they have both done an excellent job.
This shared background and similar challenges pave the way for common action in the academic, political, cultural and in other fields. I am confident that, in the days and months to come, Greek-Americans and Jewish-Americans will work to identify specific areas of cooperation and for that you can count on the support of the Greek and, I’m sure, the Israeli Embassies.
I would like to close with a reference to history. Throughout our common history, I could not find a more appropriate figure embodying tolerance and cooperation between our two peoples better than that of Alexander the Great, who, as ruler of the region, showed great respect for Judaism to the point that he was said to have bowed before the Chief Rabbi at the Jerusalem Temple. Let his example of intercultural respect and co-existence show the way forward for the members of our communities.
Thank you and congratulations again to AHEPA for organizing this conference and for the representatives of the Jewish American community who accepted the invitation.