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Emanuel tells GA: Only dialogue can bring peace
By Sara Miller and Natasha Mozgovaya, Haaretz Correspondents
Tags: Rahm Emanuel, Israel news 

WASHINGTON - Negotiations without preconditions are the way to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said at the United Jewish Communities annual conference on Tuesday.

"It is only through dialogue that we can achieve the lasting peace that Israel seeks," Emanuel told the UJC's General Assembly in Washington, D.C.

He called for peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians to begin as soon as possible and without preconditions, and said negotiations must address permanent-status issues including borders, refugees and Jerusalem.
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Emanuel also reiterated the U.S. position that Israel must halt construction in West Bank settlements. "No one should allow the issue of settlements to distract from the goal of a lasting peace between Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab world," he said.

Emanuel was speaking in place of U.S. President Barack Obama, who canceled his scheduled appearance so he could address the memorial service for 13 men and women who died during a shooting rampage on a U.S. Army post at Fort Hood, Texas, last week.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently said Israel was making "unprecedented" concessions on West Bank settlement construction, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered concessions - that Israel will build no new settlements, expropriate no land for existing ones and limit the number of permits for new housing construction - indicated he was willing to enter into peace talks without preconditions while the Palestinians were not.

The Obama administration has demanded that Israel halt all settlement construction before negotiations could resume.

Emanuel told the GA participants he strongly believed Netanyahu understood the importance of reaching a peace agreement with the Palestinians. He also said Israel should not be the only side headed toward peace, and called the U.S.-Israel bond "unbreakable."

"Make no mistake, the path toward peace is not one that Israel should be asked to walk alone. That is why the U.S. will remain actively engaged, and Israel's one true friend. The Palestinians must come to the table, recognize Israel's right to exist and reject violence," he said. "As the president has said many times, as the president said in Cairo, the bond between the Israel and the U.S. is unbreakable. It's a bond rooted in shared interests and shared values."

'One of us'

For the first time since taking office, Emanuel, who was introduced to the predominantly Jewish audience as "one of us," also spoke about his personal connection with Israel. "My father is a Jewish Israeli," he said, adding that his parents taught him about the spirit of community.

The chief of staff also sought to assure the audience that the administration's efforts to engage the Muslim world do not come at the expense of U.S.-Israel ties. "There are some who suggest this implies a diminished level of support for Israel," said Emanuel. "That is not the intent and that is not the case, and never will be."

Obama's chief of staff also said the world was increasingly opposed to seeing Iran emerge as a nuclear power. "Today, thanks to the work of the president, there is strong and growing international consensus against a nuclear armed Iran," said Emanuel, adding that Israel has been "a beacon of democracy in a region too often defined by strife."

Iran, along with the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, was also on the agenda of Obama's Monday night meeting with Netanyahu, which Emanuel described as "very positive." Netanyahu addressed the GA on Monday

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      1.   I`m a Rahm`s Fan 18:23  |  Stephen 10/11/09
      2.   Bravo Rahm Emanuel! We are here with you! 19:21  |  Israeli citizen 10/11/09
      3.   Rahm Emanuel: Dialogue is the only path to peace 20:36  |  Joshua 10/11/09
      4.   Power is the only path to peace 20:50  |  Piotr 10/11/09
      5.   "One true friend"? More like one true enabler... 21:20  |  peacelover 10/11/09
      6.   No freeze until Manhattan construction is frozen 21:21  |  Boruch 10/11/09
      7.   Israel is not interested in dialogue, only monologue and diatribe 21:37  |  Shiv 10/11/09
      8.   Obama 21:43  |  Harry 10/11/09
      9.   Since when is the reiteration of clichéd newsworthy? 21:45  |  Peter 10/11/09
      10.   Rahm you were an excellent choice to fill in for the Pres... 21:54  |  Esther 10/11/09
      11.   Terorist Father 21:57  |  Ahmet 10/11/09
      12.   America reassuring, the favourite, Israel, once again! 22:09  |  Maureen Ann 10/11/09
      13.   Is he also "one of us", the USA???? 22:14  |  Roger 10/11/09
      14.   Rahm 22:19  |  Lola 10/11/09
      15.   #3 Joshua---Bush started the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan 22:24  |  Labhras 10/11/09
      16.   harry, only one thing... 22:25  |  jon 10/11/09
      17.   Preconditions? 22:28  |  Nick 10/11/09
      18.   harry... soldiers murdered by a 22:53  |  samos 10/11/09
      19.   Israel is a binational state, without including Palestinians 22:56  |  Joan Liverpool 10/11/09
      20.   #12 Joan Liverpool---quite so 23:07  |  Labhras 10/11/09
      21.   HALT SETTLEMENTS 00:08  |  Katherine 11/11/09
      22.   Talk is cheap; Israel must stay strong 00:32  |  T. Traub 11/11/09
      23.   We don`t beleive you Rahm. 00:37  |  flower, 11/11/09
      24.   US needs to cut Israel loose 01:11  |  I`m censored 11/11/09
      25.   Justice is the only path to peace 01:36  |  stella westwell 11/11/09
      26.   Rahm Fool: Dialogue is the only path to peace 01:46  |  A Jew 11/11/09
      27.   Rahm favors the enemies of Palestine 02:43  |  Basil 11/11/09
      28.   Hey Samos, Muslims 03:15  |  gly 11/11/09
      29.   Netanyahu, who rules Israel with confidence 04:00  |  Mark Lincoln 11/11/09
      30.   #8 Labhras Ha ha well said 05:46  |  C O 11/11/09
      31.   Dialogue requires willingness and listening ears! 07:32  |  syrian opinion 11/11/09
      32.   Re: "unbreakable" 08:50  |  Dutch 11/11/09
      33.   Shiv #5. You say - No dialogue. Because Israel, tralala, etc, 09:55  |  S 11/11/09
      34.   Forget it, Mr. Emanuel, no more games..... 09:56  |  Swiss (Dino) 11/11/09
      35.   Rahn Emanuel 09:56  |  John Spear 11/11/09
      36.   LIKE FATHER LIKE SON 19:31  |  Mike 11/11/09
      37.   Dialogue can`t bring Peace wthout ADMISSION 23:21  |  Michael Greenberg 13/11/09
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