[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 66 (Thursday, May 21, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5351-S5352]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               50TH BIRTHDAY OF THE ISRAEL'S INDEPENDENCE

 Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, in 1948 when Israel was fighting 
its most costly war ever--the war for independence--Israel's future 
Prime Minister was told by the greatest military experts in the world 
that his newly created State of 600,000 had no chance of surviving. 
Now, in 1998, Israel is celebrating its 50th year of independence.
  I commend the Jewish Federation of the Scranton-Lackawanna community 
for observing this historic occasion the weekend of May 1-3.

[[Page S5352]]

  The State of Israel became a home for Jews after more than 6 million 
European Jews were massacred during the Holocaust. Over the past 50 
years, Israel has acted as a refuge for thousands of Jews throughout 
the world and integrated them into their society, while rebuilding a 
nation and creating an active democratic political system.
  On May 17, I joined Mayor Edward Rendell and Israeli Consul General 
Daniel Ashbel in Philadelphia to celebrate Israel's 50th Independence 
Day birthday party. During the opening ceremonies, I thought of how 
Israel is a land of wonderful contrast. It is both a nation of great 
history and a nation of great accomplishment. From the historical 
perspective, the events that have sprung forth from that land over the 
centuries are overwhelming to even consider. No matter what religious 
tradition one might follow, the basic laws that went on to frame many 
of the tenants of our democratic form of government, and the rules of 
conduct in a civil society, came out of the land we have always called 
Yis-ra-el.
  Today, Israel has a growing economy, farms on land that were once 
claimed by the deserts, and high-tech companies producing cutting edge 
products for our global marketplace. No other society in the course of 
human history can claim such progress in 50 short years. No other 
nation can claim to have risen to these heights from the horrors of the 
Holocaust. That is why Israel is so unique, so special, and so 
deserving of our unyielding and unconditional support.
  The United States has always maintained a relationship with Israel 
that is based on mutual respect. America's commitment to Israel's 
security undergirds the entire peace process and provides Israel the 
confidence it needs to take very real risks for peace. I encourage the 
United States to continue to act in a respectable manner by not 
imposing a settlement on Israel that is contrary to its national 
security interests.

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