Dr. Eran claimed that the issue is not the problem of Jerusalem, but of the future of Jerusalem and added that he takes credit for having the first day of the conference in Jerusalem, as a symbol of 60 years to the existence of the State of Israel. He requested to remove some of the titles that he holds. He is not speaking in the name of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, of which he was a member for 40 years, nor is he speaking in the name of the World Jewish Congress of which he is the representative to Israel, but as a resident of Jerusalem in which he has lived for 50 years.

  He spoke of his participation in the 1999-2000 negotiations, in which he was a witness to some humiliating processes. Humiliating in the sense that it is difficult to conduct negotiations with a party whose religious importance of Jerusalem you recognize, but who does not recognize the religious importance of Jerusalem to you or to your people.

 He noted that he was speaking on behalf of himself and as someone who loves Jerusalem.

1.       At the Camp David Conference in 2000, the city of Jerusalem faced an existential threat. The urban fabric was in danger of disintegrating. The Israeli side of the conference expressed that it saw fit to divide the city within the walls, granting Palestinian sovereignty. In addition, there was an agreement to the division of the Temple Mount Compound. Had this program been implemented, it would have cause irreversible harm to Jewish sovereignty. The agreements derived from a lack of knowledge, misunderstanding, negligence and possibly irresponsibility of historical dimensions. Dr. Eran noted that he proposes that everyone stand on the Mount of Olives or Mount Scopus and look out from those points and to delineate a border through the area they're looking at. The point of origin, for the day is far away, in which the border will be virtual, meaning only on the map. The path is not visual, but physical. This will cause a deterioration and division of the city. This kind of border is bad for Jerusalem. Clinton's proposal cannot be accepted. It is crucial that the city will be able to function as one, without a wall cutting through it.

2.       Jerusalem is very holy. Various considerations have prevented the inclusion of various neighborhoods in the area of Jerusalem since the artillery quieted in 1967. From an urban perspective, they should be included in one political area. The attempt to maintain the border of Jerusalem as though it is based on a religious Jewish rationale which will not gain Israeli or international support is not a strong claim. On the other hand, we should come up with reasons for why a physical border will fatally harm the city, from the understanding that it is right to design new borders on the basis of the significance of the three monotheistic religions.

3.       The division of sovereignty and the city area is not practical and from this reason, it is an obligation to have it under a single sovereignty. Dr. Eran proposed that Israel should demand sovereignty in future talks regarding the final status of Jerusalem. From reading other government's records and observing alternatives, he added that he prefers Israel.

4.        As long as negotiations with the Palestinians continue, nerves and voices from different directions become exposed. The question is whether the government of Israel should relate to these reactions, to the voices of the Diaspora Jews on the question of Jerusalem. Ron Lauder requested that the Prime Minister listen to the Jews of the Diaspora, when he came to discuss Jerusalem. Professor Shlomo Avineri said that this kind of demand undermines the sovereignty of the state, if the voices that are heard are not those of the citizens.

These are fundamental questions that deviate from the technical domains that refer to the heart and soul of every Jew. Since the establishment of the Jerusalem Committee in the Organization of Islamic States, he has not heard anyone deny the right of the Arab states to discuss the fate of Jerusalem. The voice of half the world's Jewry, which is not counted within the population of Israel, should be heard. Dr. Eran called on World Jewry to make its voice heard.

  Dr, Eran added that Diaspora Jews have a direct connection to the different aspects of Israeli society and to Israeli-US relations. This is a two-way relationship and it should remain that way.