[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 51 (Thursday, April 30, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3956-S3957]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       ISRAEL'S 50TH ANNIVERSARY

   Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate the 
people of Israel and all my friends in the American Jewish community on 
the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the creation of the State of 
Israel.
  This significant milestone in Israel's history offers all of us an 
opportunity to reflect on what makes that country so special. Israel 
remains the most important U.S. ally in the Middle East and the only 
multiparty democracy in the region. The strong and stable friendship 
between our two countries, built on a solid foundation of shared 
values, mutual support and trust, is in the fundamental interest of 
both nations. Ensuring the security of Israel will remain one of our 
most important foreign policy priorities.
  Transcending political considerations, however, are the profound ties 
with Israel and pride in its accomplishments felt by Jews worldwide. 
The State of Israel was created in the wake of the Holocaust and the 
tragic deaths of more than 6,000,000 Jews. Israeli society and its 
democratic institutions have been forged under the most difficult 
historical circumstances imaginable. Israel continues today to embody 
the aspirations of Jews from the northernmost villages of the Newly 
Independent States of the former Soviet Union to the tip of South 
America. The struggle of all Jews helped to create the State of Israel, 
and all Jews have reason to celebrate the country's 50th birthday.
  It is my hope that Israel's next 50 years will see the establishment 
of a

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permanent and secure peace in the Middle East, with Israel and its Arab 
neighbors working together to build a better future for all the 
citizens of the region. This would truly fulfill Israel's promise and 
its destiny. 

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