[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 51 (Thursday, April 30, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S3958]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        ISRAEL INDEPENDENCE DAY

 Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, today is Israel's Independence Day 
marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of the modern state of 
Israel. The last fifty years have fascinated and captivated many of us 
as we have watched and supported this country in its struggle for 
survival. Out of the ashes of the Holocaust, Jews from around the world 
converged on this small but holy land to build a modern state in a 
place where Jews had maintained a presence for thousands of years. From 
the first days of statehood in 1948 when its neighbors declared war and 
attempted to obliterate it from the map, Israel has defied the odds and 
endured in the most dangerous of neighborhoods. Each decade since 1948 
Israel has survived a major war with its neighbors: Suez in 1956, the 
Six Day War in 1967, the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the war in Lebanon in 
1982 and then the deadly Iraqi Scud missiles launched against its 
people in 1991. Yet in the midst of all these wars, tens of murderous 
terrorist attacks, and a crippling Arab economic boycott, Israel has 
built a vibrant democracy and a robust economy.
  The United States has not been a bystander in this remarkable 
transformation. We have provided needed assistance, in recognition of 
our shared democratic values, and we have benefited from a close 
strategic alliance. There is a special and enduring relationship 
between the United states and Israel dating back to the days when the 
United States was the first nation to recognize Israel when it declared 
its independence. As Israel marks its jubilee year, we celebrate that 
relationship.
  Mr. President, I want to salute the people of Israel for all they 
have achieved in the last fifty years. I join with the Jewish community 
around the world, which has provided support and received moral and 
spiritual sustenance from Israel, in wishing them well. May they go 
from strength to strength.

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