[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 34 (Thursday, March 21, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2243-S2245]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      VIOLENCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to express my concern and 
dismay at the news of yet another suicide bombing in Jerusalem. My 
thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.
  Israel, a democratic state and a staunch friend and ally of the 
United States, has a simple desire that all sovereign nations share: 
that it may live in peace within secure and stable borders, free from 
the terror and senseless acts of violence.
  I condemn this terrorism and those who carry it out. How many more 
innocent lives must be lost before Chairman Arafat takes decisive and 
concerted action to reign in the terrorists and put an end to their 
brutal campaign? He made a commitment at Oslo to settle the differences 
between Palestinians and Israelis peacefully and he must live up to 
that pledge.
  I am pleased that President Bush has sent General Zinni back to the 
Middle East to broker a cease-fire and get both sides to adhere to the 
Tenet Plan. To put it mildly, he has a long road ahead of him and there 
is a lot of work to be done.
  Three articles discuss the situation in the Middle East: one by 
Washington Times columnist Mona Charon, another by Libby Werthan from 
the Nashville Jewish paper, the Observer, and finally an article by 
Naomi Regan called ``Living in Parallel Universe.''
  Each article in its own way describes some of the pain, anguish, and 
despair that Israelis feel over the continuing acts of violence and the 
collapse of the peace process. I urge my colleagues to read these 
articles and take their message to heart. Israel wants peace. Israel 
needs peace. Israel deserves peace.
  I hope the day will come when I will not have to come to the Senate 
floor to condemn yet another bombing. Enough is enough. I urge General 
Zinni and the administration to do all that they can to help bring 
about an end the violence and the resumption of peace talks.
  I ask unanimous consent to print in the Record the articles I cited.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

              [From the Augusta Chronicle, March 9, 2002]

                    Flawed Saudi Peace Plan Exposed

                            (By Mona Charen)

       Imagine for a moment that all reporting about the U.S. war 
     on terrorism was presented without reference to Sept. 11. 
     American attacks from the air using B-52s and F-16s against 
     fighters armed with small weapons would seem quite 
     disproportionate. Our stated intention to kill as many 
     members of al Qaida as possible might be condemned, by our 
     own Department of State, as ``excessive'' and ``contributing 
     to the cycle of violence.''
       But U.S. actions are never presented that way, because 
     everyone acknowledges that we have the perfect right to 
     defend ourselves against those who have done us grave harm. 
     Nor are we asked to sit by and wait for our enemies to do us 
     even more catastrophic damage if they get the chance. But 
     when it comes to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, the 
     context is removed. Bleeding Israel is daily exhorted to stop 
     contributing the cycle of violence. Her teen-agers are blown 
     to bits at discotheques. Her babies are approached outside a 
     synagogue by a suicide bomber who

[[Page S2244]]

     waits until he is next to the strollers before blowing 
     himself apart. Her adolescent boys who wander off in the 
     desert and get lost are torn to pieces. And all of this is 
     applauded and celebrated by Yasser Arafat and most of the 
     Arab governments in the region.
       Some Arabs (those among the minority who acknowledge that 
     Arabs are responsible) condemned the bombing of the World 
     Trade Center. But not a single Islamic scholar or cleric has 
     condemned the systemic policy of blowing up Israeli 
     civilians. Israelis are demoralized and terrified. 
     Restaurants and shops are nearly empty. And, alone among 
     nations apparently, Israel is not permitted to engage in 
     simple self-defense.
       Nearly every dispatch from the Middle East lacks basic 
     context. Here are some of the facts to keep in mind when 
     reading these flawed reports.
       The PLO was not formed in order to secure a Palestinian 
     state on the West Bank and Gaza. It was created in 1964, when 
     both territories were under Arab sovereignty. Jordan and 
     Egypt did not create a state for the Palestinians because 
     they preferred to keep the refugees angry and homeless.
       It is not ``Palestinian land.'' There has never been an 
     independent Palestinian state on the land between the 
     Mediterranean and the Jordan River. The area--which always 
     contained Arabs and Jews--was under Ottoman control for 
     several hundred years until World War I, then British control 
     under the League of Nations Mandate and finally under United 
     Nations control.
       The United Nations approved a partition plan in 1947 that 
     would have created two states, on Jewish and one Arab. The 
     Jews accepted this arrangement. The Arabs refused. Five Arab 
     armies invaded the new state of Israel. In the ensuing war, 
     thousands of refugees fled. Jews fled Arab nations for 
     Israel, and Arabs fled Israel for Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon. 
     The Jewish refugees became full citizens of Israel. the 
     Palestinian refugees became pawns. Israel came into 
     possession of the West Bank and Gaza only because she was 
     attacked again by five Arab armies in 1967.
       If the Palestinians are fighting for a state on the West 
     Bank and Gaza, why do their maps show Palestine as filling 
     the entire territory that is now Israel? Why do they marinate 
     their people in Hitlerian anti-Semitism and anti-Anercianism? 
     Further, why--when Ehud Barak offered just such a state, or 
     95 percent of it--did Arafat walk away and start this latest 
     round of violence? Palestinian spokesman say it wasn't 
     everything they wanted. But if they truly want a separate 
     state on so-called ``occupied territory,'' why did Barak's 
     offer not form the basis for further talks?
       The Palestinians are said to be chafing under the 
     ``occupation.'' But in obedience to the Oslo process, Israel 
     has given administrative authority over 98 percent of the 
     Palestinians in the disputed territories to Arafat. Israel 
     has further permitted the Palestinian Authority to arm 40,000 
     ``police.''
       If the Saudi ``peace plan'' were serious--and not an 
     attempt to divert attention from the Saudi role in Sept. 11 
     and its sponsorship of Islamic extremism worldwide--why 
     didn't Saudi Arabia offer it before?
       Why is it impossible for the Palestinian Authority to give 
     Israel what Sharon has demanded--just three days of respite 
     from terror attacks?
                                  ____


                     Living in a Parallel Universe

                            (By Naomi Ragen)

       As an Israeli, I don't always feel I'm living in the same 
     universe as the rest of the world. We seem to be in parallel 
     universes.
       In my universe, Yasir Arafat has violated the Geneva 
     Convention on Human Rights--which calls the murder of 
     noncombatants a crime against humanity--in 11,326 terrorist 
     attacks over the last 18 months that has left hundreds of 
     Israelis dead and thousands injured. In my universe, that 
     makes him a war criminal.
       But in the parallel universe, it makes him a great freedom 
     fighter who deserves visits from diplomats, sympathy, and the 
     offer to head his own state where he can conceivably continue 
     his activities with a formal cache of even more deadly 
     weapons. In the parallel universe, the people who think this 
     way consider themselves liberals and humanists.
       In my universe, Saudi Arabia, is a totalitarian state which 
     cuts off the limbs of thieves and stones women suspected of 
     adultery, and drowns young daughters in swimming pools to 
     preserve family honor. In my universe, it is a place where 
     women are nonpersons who cannot work, or drive, or go out 
     unaccompanied by men. In my universe, its exhibited medieval 
     antisemitism: In Saudi Arabias government daily, Al-Riyadh, 
     columnist Dr. Umayma Ahmad Al-Jalahma of King Faysal 
     University in Al-Dammam, wrote on 13/3/02 that the special 
     ingredient in Jewish Purim holiday cake is human blood from 
     non-Jewish youth.
       In the parallel universe, this same Saudi Arabia has 
     suggested that Israel withdraw to its 67 borders for more 
     empty promises of peace and this is considered a serious 
     peace initiative which is soberly discussed by reporters, 
     politicians, talk show hosts, and editorial writers.
       In my universe, following ten years of talking peace, 
     signing agreements in which the Palestinians agreed to 
     renounce the use of terror in exchange for Israel turning 
     over 95% of the West Bank and all of Gaza to Yasir Arafats 
     Palestinian Authority, giving the Authority millions of 
     dollars and thousands of guns to control the terrorists, 
     Israelis were rewarded by having their children blown up in 
     pizza parlors, discos, bar mitzvahs, and cafes; being shot in 
     their cars, having rockets destroy their homes and watching 
     Palestinians, who were our peace partners, celebrate these 
     deaths in their streets. In my universe, after wringing its 
     hands, and risking our lives, and making useless appeals to 
     Arafat to reign in his terrorists, our government finally 
     sent in soldiers to gather up the weapons. These terrorists, 
     who are ready to make ``brave'' forays into Israel in order 
     to shoot nine month-old babies and grandmothers, engaged in a 
     short gun battle until forced to surrender when confronted by 
     armed combatants.
       In the parallel universe, Israelis are condemned for 
     ``humiliating'' Palestinians, and calls go out for 
     international observers to protect Palestinians.
       In my universe, the United States, which has always seen 
     itself as Israel's greatest ally, and which has itself 
     suffered thousands of casualties from terrorist attacks by 
     Muslim extremists, calls on Yasir Arafat to stop the terror 
     on Israelis, and is ignored.
       In the parallel universe, Israel's greatest ally reacts by 
     calling for the establishment of a Palestinian State, in 
     which Mr. Arafat, like any other head of State, can establish 
     his own army, airforce, and police force and import unlimited 
     amounts of arms. Where he can continue his present 
     educational system, encouraging toddlers to view themselves 
     as future Shahids, where present educational system, 
     encouraging toddlers to view themselves as future Shahids; 
     where his television and radio broadcasts can continue to 
     show blood libels, and revel in nonstop incitement. Where 
     instead of terrorist attacks, he can prepare himself to 
     launch all-out war.
       I invite all those who are convinced they know what Israel 
     should do, to visit my universe before giving advice.
                                  ____


            [From the Observer (the Nashville Jewish paper)]

                           (By Libby Werthan)

       Last night as I lay in my comfortable bed in my lovely home 
     planning a pleasant night's sleep I could hear the guns in 
     Gilo. And I couldn't sleep; not because I was fearful for my 
     safety but because I couldn't help but think of all those 
     people living in Gilo (two neighborhoods away from us) and 
     how terrified they must be--especially the children. Thank G-
     d only three people were injured but fifty-two apartments 
     were damaged by terrorist machine gun fire.
       I would like to try to convey to you what life is like here 
     right now. I have told you long before that I thought the 
     Peace Process was just that a process that it wouldn't lead 
     to peace. And unfortunately, it has turned out that way. At 
     best, it was a holding period, a badly needed respite. In the 
     years following Oslo, we had a kind of freedom--a green 
     light, if you will; we could travel almost anywhere, enjoy 
     the country in relative safety.
       After Arafat rejected the best deal he would ever get and 
     the Peace process came to a halt we found ourselves under 
     constant attack--suicide bombers (whom one expert said was a 
     misnomer, that they should be called Islamakazes), mortar 
     attacks knifings, murders and drive-by shootings. Every 
     morning, we open our newspapers and tally up how many people 
     were killed (about 350 to date) and how many more people were 
     permanently damaged--losing limbs, being burned so badly that 
     they will never leave home, seeing loved ones murdered--they 
     are their families will never be the same. I am talking about 
     thousands of people in the last 16 months, mostly children 
     and young people under the age of thirty.
       What happened in America on 9/11 was horrifying. Over 3000 
     people lost their lives in the World Trade Center. America 
     has a population of 278 million. Israel has a population of 6 
     million. If you were to compare deaths per capita, Israel has 
     experienced almost 5 World Trade Centers in the last year and 
     a half. And that's only the deaths not the thousands 
     permanently injured. The majority have been civilians going 
     about their lives--mostly women and children. It's pretty 
     devastating when you think about it. You can imagine what 
     this has done to the psyche of our country.
       But what I find even more incredible is the response of 
     Israel to this assault. The Israeli Army, has the power and 
     ability to go in and take over the whole Palestinian entity 
     in a matter of days. But they haven't done it. Instead they 
     have targeted the ringleaders, the bomb makers and their 
     installations (and been criticized for it). They have 
     isolated Arafat, the Father of Terrorism, (and been 
     criticized for it). They have bombed the installations of the 
     Palestinian Authority but not without first telling them that 
     they are going to do it. So when they do bomb buildings, they 
     are empty. They make every attempt to avoid injuring any 
     civilians. When the army entered the two refugee camps (which 
     by the way are so vicious and independent that the 
     Palestinian police won't enter them), they gave the civilians 
     three hours to leave the camp to get out of harm's way. In 
     view of the horrors perpetrated against us ours is the most 
     measured of responses. And yet the media doesn't report it 
     that way--they can't if they want to continue to have access 
     to the Palestinians. So they talk about Israel's heavy-
     handedness, they talk about occupation, when 98% of the 
     territories are under Palestinian control, they highlight the 
     Palestinian deaths and over look many of ours. The media, 
     when being even-handed, will interview both a Palestinian and 
     an Israeli. But the Israelis they

[[Page S2245]]

     pick are either to the far Left or the far Right and are 
     clearly not representative of main stream Israel. Last week 
     they ran a story about a Palestinian women coming into Israel 
     to give birth and being wounded in the shoulder when her car 
     ran a roadblock. The don't follow it up with the fact that 
     she was taken quickly taken to hospital where she gave birth 
     to a healthy baby and recovered from her wound. Nor do they 
     tell you that the very next day a pregnant Israeli woman was 
     ambushed on the highway and shot in the abdomen as a gift to 
     the Palestinian woman. We go after those who are killing us. 
     We do not respond by targeting civilians.
       I said earlier that for ten years we had a green light. We 
     no longer have that green light. It has been replaced by a 
     flashing yellow light. We still live our normal lives--go to 
     work--go to the mall--go to the movies--make gourmet 
     dinners--have weddings and bar mizvahs--work out--plant 
     gardens--go to lectures, concerts, and plays--all the normal 
     things one does. Except that flashing yellow light makes us 
     more aware of where we are and who's around us. When we hear 
     more than one siren, as we did last night, we run and turn on 
     the news--another suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowded 
     religious neighborhood. When we hear an explosion, it could 
     be something on a construction site or a car backfire, but we 
     think bomb. You might expect us to go around with long faces 
     and sometimes we do, but mostly not. Nevertheless we are 
     always hurting inside. We know so many are grieving. We see 
     the pictures of the beautiful young people who have been 
     killed and our hearts are breaking. The hardest part for me 
     and, I think, others is that there is no end in sight. How 
     long can this go on? What will happen next?
       The talk is always, let's achieve calm let's get back to 
     the negotiating table. But with whom are we going to 
     negotiate? Arafat? Arafat, the inventor of terrorism; the 
     consummate liar! A man who prays for the peace of the brave 
     on the New York Times Op Ed page and at the very same time 
     shouts Jihad, a million martyrs on to Jerusalem to his own 
     people in Arabic. A man who has not only abused the 
     opportunity offered him for peace but has brutally abused his 
     own people by manipulation and lies. he is every bit as 
     vicious as Ben Laden. Would America negotiate with Ben Laden? 
     With whom then are we going to negotiate? And if we do find 
     someone how meaningful will a signed piece of paper be? There 
     are three generations of Palestinians here who have learned 
     to hate Jews from birth; who's greatest mitzvah is to kill a 
     Jew. How can that change with a piece of paper?
       We are at a terrible impasse her. How do we protect 
     ourselves and at the same time create a Palestinian entity 
     that is self-sufficient and independent of us. This is it. 
     This is what every Israeli wants.
       And what about you? Where do you fit into this Jewish world 
     of ours? I have told you about Israel, but what about 
     Argentina where over half of the Jews there are not living 
     under the poverty line, or France where Jews are experiencing 
     a huge upsurge of anti-Semitism.
       And what about America? I don't know that much about 
     America; but what I do know disturbs me. I hear very little 
     raised in the way of protests against the biased media and 
     little rallying in support of Israel coming from the Jewish 
     communities in America. What I do know is that the Arab 
     propaganda is so strong and effective in the US that on the 
     college campuses your children and grandchildren have never 
     been more distanced from Israel and are in fact ashamed of 
     her. American Jewish visitors are so few here that we can 
     practically thank each one personally for coming. Our hotels 
     and restaurants are closing. Our tour guides and bus 
     companies are out of work.
       Where are you when we need you? Are you writing to the 
     Congress to thank them for their support? Are you writing to 
     the President? What about letters to the editor? Are you 
     countering Palestinian propaganda on the college campuses? 
     Are you writing to CNN and NPR when their reporting is 
     clearly biased? Are you letting people here know that you 
     care? Have you contributed to a victim relief fund? What's 
     happening, folks?
       When I was in America last month, I saw a lot of hand 
     wringing and got a lot of sympathetic comments. Mostly, 
     people wanted to know why I didn't come back and live there.
       And what did I answer? I told them that we have had the 
     most fabulous twelve years of our lives here. Grant you the 
     last months have been painful. But when I think about why I 
     am here, what is boils down to is that living her is the most 
     important statement that I can make with my life.
       Since I began this letter, the situation has become 
     increasing worse. While we apprehend and thwart countless 
     attackers, we cannot catch them all. Some slip through. On 
     Thursday, I sent Moshe down to the grocery (here the grocery 
     is so close you can walk) to pick up a few things I had 
     forgotten. When he arrived, the whole areas had been blocked 
     off, all traffic stopped. And police everywhere. Just minutes 
     before, a suicide bomber had entered a very popular outdoor 
     cafe but had been noticed by a customer who alerted a waiter 
     and together they pushed him out of the cafe and at the same 
     time ripped out the wires of the bomb--and saved the lives of 
     scores of people. These were just ordinary people, but they 
     performed an extraordinary task. On Friday the cafe was again 
     packed. Saturday night a bomber entering another packed cafe 
     in the center of town was not detected in time--13 were 
     killed and over 50 wounded.
       In about an hour, Moshe and I and many of our neighbors are 
     going to take a walk in the Jerusalem Peace Forest--a part of 
     the Promenade that looks out over Jerusalem. Perhaps you have 
     been there. It is a popular tourist spot. Some weeks ago in 
     this place, a young Israeli college student, a girl, was 
     attacked by a gang of Arab teenagers and stabbed to death. 
     Our walk is symbolic. It's our way of saying you can't take 
     our favorite places away from us. We won't give in to your 
     terror.
       I could tell you many, many stories but I think you get the 
     picture. This is a war that is difficult to win; if you 
     defeat your enemy, you wind up with a captive hostile 
     population and territories that you must occupy; if you make 
     an accommodation with the enemy, it won't assure you of 
     safety or that attitudes will change. It will only put you in 
     an even less secure situation.
       If you believe in prayer, please pray for us. Both the 
     Israeli and the Palestinian populations are victimized. We 
     are going through a living Hell.

                          ____________________