King Hussein Is Honored at Reagan Library

Under drum-tight security, Jordan’s King Hussein I swept into Simi Valley on Friday to receive the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award for his role in last year’s groundbreaking Middle East peace accord.

Flanked by bodyguards, Hussein and his wife, Queen Noor, took the stage with former First Lady Nancy Reagan amid vigorous applause and a flurry of camera flashes. After being welcomed by former U. S. Ambassador John Gavin, the dignitaries and an audience of 300 stood at attention in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library while a U. S. Marine Corps band played solemn versions of the U. S. and Jordanian national anthems.

Former U. S. ambassador to the United Nations, Vernon Walters, congratulated Hussein for “attempting to find a way for his people to live in peace.”

“As a soldier and diplomat, I’ve spent all my life trying to ward off the threat of a greater war, and thank heavens after 50 years Ronald Reagan lifted the threat of that war,” Walters said. “I think it’s particularly fitting that this award go to another man who has lifted a nightmare from another part of the world.”

Smiling, Hussein then stood and bowed as Nancy Reagan bestowed on him the gold-vermeil and sterling-silver medal emblazoned with her husband’s name. She fastened the ends of the regal purple ribbon behind the king’s neck and then gently flipped the medal over so the seal faced the audience.

Hussein then faced the crowd, and in a crisp, measured speech, credited co-recipients--Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat--for working together toward “this dream of peace.”

“I’ve found that, to get anywhere, adversaries have to appreciate each other’s positions, have to place themselves in each other’s shoes and understand what each faces,” Hussein said.

He pointed to indicators that the October peace treaty ending the 46-year state of war between Israel and Jordan is holding strong. A new international border has been established without help from foreign observers, people of both countries visit each other, “and the remains of the wall that separated us are disappearing.”

Hussein criticized dissident factions for working against the peace accord that would re-establish a Palestinian homeland and bring calm to a region of the world that has known conflict for centuries.

“There are those who are skeptical, there are those who cannot see beyond their limited vision, there are those who live in darkness and who would rather work for death and destruction,” Hussein said. “But our conviction is that an overwhelming majority of our people stand for peace and support it.”

Earlier in the day, the Simon Weisenthal Center gave Hussein its first-ever Peace Award for his efforts to end the blood-drenched Arab-Israeli conflict.

Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the Los Angeles center, presented the king with a curving silver ram’s horn inscribed: “He who pursues peace will find his prayers answered.”

In Jewish tradition, a trumpeting ram’s horn, known as a shofar, calls worshipers to prayer and celebration. Beaming, Hussein accepted the prize to a standing ovation.

On his historic visit to the center--the first time a Muslim leader has visited an American Jewish museum--Hussein spent much of his time touring the Museum of Tolerance.

Perched on a concrete slab in the replica of a World War II gas chamber, he swallowed hard and blinked back tears as he watched a video about Nazi cruelty toward Jewish infants.

Now at peace with Israel, after decades of bruising conflict, Hussein freely mourned the atrocities Jews have suffered over the centuries.

Accompanied by two rabbis, the short, soft-spoken monarch also studied the museum’s exhibits on other victims of racism. He stared fiercely at a film clip from the Los Angeles riots, shaking his head and pursing his lips at the sight of neighbors attacking one another.

And he watched in grim silence a documentary on the American civil rights movement that featured shots of bloodied activists and wailing relatives.

“Words cannot express my feelings,” Hussein wrote in the museum’s guest book, before signing his name in both Arabic and English.

Later, he added: “This museum of peace and tolerance is a haunting reminder to all mankind of the many inexplicable acts of cruelty . . . of the tragedy and shame that result from blindness, illogical hatred and intolerance.”