[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 31 (Wednesday, March 12, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H892]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1130
                ALL U.S. ALLIES SHOULD BE TREATED FAIRLY

  (Ms. HARMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. HARMAN. Mr. Speaker, I recently returned from a trip to Israel 
where I reviewed important aspects of the longstanding United States-
Israel defense relationship. Nobody can visit this region without being 
struck by the fragility of the peace process and the looming potential 
for violence. During our meeting, Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechi 
emphasized both the military risks in the region and the willingness of 
Israel to take risks in pursuit of peace. I am deeply concerned, 
however, that the United States appears to be holding Israel to one 
standard and her peace partners to another. Friends and allies may 
disagree over the appropriateness or timing of building in Har Homa, 
but this administration's handling of the issue is surprising and 
potentially counterproductive--not to mention confusing.
  The administration should be congratulated for standing up in the 
United Nations and vetoing the anti-Israel resolution brought before 
the Security Council earlier this month. While condemning the Israeli 
Government's decision to build Jewish housing in Har Homa, the 
resolution did not address the failure of the Palestinians to live up 
to many of their commitments under the Oslo accords. The resolution 
made no mention of the many steps Israel has taken for peace, including 
redeploying Israeli security forces in Hebron, releasing terrorists 
convicted of killing Israelis and proposing to cede additional lands in 
the West Bank. The proposed United Nations resolution would have been 
extremely damaging to the peace process. The American veto told the 
world that we would not let our friend and ally be bullied, nor our 
concern for rational discourse and diplomacy be railroaded.
  However, the actions this administration has taken since the U.N. 
veto--publicly criticizing Israel and agreeing to take part in an 
international conference in Gaza to which Israel was not even invited--
threaten to undermine not only the positive effects of the veto, but 
the honest broker role the United States must play to promote peace in 
the Middle East.
  Over the last week, the world has seen the President of the United 
States standing with Yassir Arafat and Egyptian President Mubarak, 
harshly criticizing Israel while ignoring the tangible risks she has 
taken. These public reprimands and actions do not serve the cause of 
peace and can only increase the potential for violent confrontation.
  Mr. Speaker, the administration needs to treat all of our allies 
fairly. It has not done so in this case.

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