[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 39 (Wednesday, March 20, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E384-E385]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       CONDEMN BOMBINGS IN ISRAEL

                                 ______


                               speech of

                         HON. GARY L. ACKERMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 12, 1996

  Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in stong support of House 
Concurrent Resolution 149, which condemns the bombings in Israel, and 
in solidarity with the people and Government of Israel. This recent 
spate of bombings was a series of heinous and cowardly acts, 
perpetrated by elements of the Palestinian society that have been 
rejected by the majority of Palestinians, and completely reviled by the 
international community.
  During this period of grief and mourning by Israelis and Jews the 
world over, I am pleased to see that we can all come together like 
this, in bipartisan fashion, to speak against these acts of evil, and 
support the Israeli people in their efforts to combat terrorism. 
However, we are faced with a complex question: How can we best combat 
the evil of terrorism, as it continues to indiscriminately victimize 
the people of Israel? I think the appropriate follow-up to that would 
be: How do we then fight this evil effectively, without completely 
derailing the peace process? That to me is a quandary, but

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it's one that I think is not completely unsolvable.
  In fact, I think we've seen some recent steps that would lead us to 
believe that we're in the best position, since the beginning of the 
process, to resolve this human tragedy of gigantic proportions. It has 
finally become apparent to the international community that we are all 
linked in a common struggle; a struggle to eradicate terror from the 
face of this planet. Without a doubt, we all have a vested interest in 
fighting the spread of terrorism, and that is why I welcomed last 
week's Summit of Peacemakers in Cairo as a positive step in that 
direction.
  The importance of forging as broad a coalition as possible to repel 
these enemies of peace can not be emphasized enough. It no longer 
suffices to have world condemnation, we must have world action as well. 
We have avoided this issue long enough; and in our interdependent and 
inextricably linked international community, we can no longer afford to 
do so. However, we must also take careful note: we are not attacking 
Islam, or the Moslem community--we are attacking terrorism, and 
terrorism has no religion. We are, in sum, fighting against the enemies 
of peace, and that fight transcends all ethnic and national borders.
  We have all, in effect, partaken in a momentous and irreversible 
process. We can not be deterred from continuing on. As Hasan Abd Al-
Rahman, chief representative of the Palestinian Authority in 
Washington, said in a statement to a recent International Relations 
Committee hearing on the commitments made by the Palestinians to the 
peace process: ``It's the struggle between those who have placed their 
lot with peace and those who seek its death.'' Therefore, I urge all my 
colleagues to continue to work together, to be vigilant, and to have 
faith that we can overcome these recent tragedies. Otherwise, the dark 
forces poised against us can claim their greatest victory.

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