[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 44 (Thursday, April 18, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E586]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        ISRAEL INDEPENDENCE DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. HENRY A. WAXMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 18, 2002

  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, this week we celebrate Israel Independence 
Day, paying tribute to the shared values and goals that are the cement 
of strong U.S.-Israel relations. We demonstrate our unwavering support 
for our staunchest ally in the Middle East. We express our solidarity 
with the people of Israel whose vibrant democracy and brave military 
stand beside us on the front lines of the war against terrorism.
  But even as we celebrate the miraculous achievements since the 
establishment of the Jewish State 54 years ago, we must recognize that 
Israel is still engaged in a fight for its survival.
  Since Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat rejected the tremendous 
proposals put forward at Camp David and unleashed the current Intifada, 
more than 460 Israelis have been murdered and more than 3,000 wounded 
by vicious terrorist attacks. Proportional to our own population, that 
figure is staggeringly more than three times the number of those killed 
in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the 
Pentagon.
  Daily life in Israel has been torn apart by the uncertainty of when 
another suicide bomber will strike against innocent civilians at a 
pizza store, a cafe, a grocery store, a disco, or on a bus. Families 
have been shattered by Palestinian terrorists who have targeted Bat-
mitzvah guests and mothers walking their children to synagogue.
  The reason there is no cease-fire is that Palestinian leader Yasser 
Arafat supports the violence. He was unwilling to stop Hamas and 
Islamic Jihad and the documents seized by the Israeli army from 
Arafat's headquarters and other Palestinian Authority offices 
demonstrate that he actively endorses and funds the terrorist 
activities of his Fatah militias--the Tanzim, Force 17, and the Al-Aqsa 
Martyrs Brigade, which was recently added to the U.S. list of Foreign 
Terrorist Organizations.
  The root cause of Palestinian terrorism is not settlements. It is the 
exhortation by the Palestinian leadership for its youth to sacrifice 
their own dreams of statehood to Arafat's quest for martyrdom.
  The underlying source of Palestinian hatred is not Israel's acts of 
self defense. It is anti-Semitism indoctrinated by Palestinian 
textbooks and television shows that glorify murder and exalt suicide 
bombers.
  It is shocking to me that those in Europe and at the United Nations 
who so harshly judge Israel have no sympathy for Israel as the victim 
of daily terrorism.
  The war between Israelis and Palestinians is not about Arafat and 
Sharon. It is about the refusal of a democratic society to reward 
terrorism with territory. It is about a civilized society unwilling to 
legitimize suicide attacks as a form of political negotiation.
  If Arafat can succeed, then Bin Laden can succeed. Not because they 
share the same goals, but because they share the same tactics.
  That is why it is so critical that the United States stand with 
Israel in this time of crisis, strong in our resolve against those who 
support and justify terrorism. Israel as a sovereign nation has the 
right to take all measures necessary to defend its citizens, and it is 
in the interest of the United States to support its ability to do so.
  Although President Bush has dispatched CIA Director Tenet, Senator 
Mitchell, General Zinni, Vice President Cheney, and now Secretary 
Powell to try and restore security and stability, it is clear that no 
one will succeed unless Chairman Arafat renounces terrorism and starts 
preparing the Palestinian people for peace instead of war.
  At a time when synagogues are burning in France, Saudi newspapers are 
launching 21st century blood libels, and a Passover Seder in Netanya 
can become the target of terrorist bloodshed, the existence of the 
State of Israel is more important now than ever.




                          ____________________