[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 50 (Monday, April 29, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3499-S3501]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        U.S. SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, there has seldom been a more 
important time for Congress to support Israel. Right now, both the 
United States and Israel are under attack, and we share a common 
enemy--terrorism.
  The goals of these terrorists are clear. They want to kill innocent 
men, women, and children to further their cause--whatever it may be. 
They want to strike at our democracies and test the freedoms of the 
United States and our greatest democratic ally in the Middle East, 
Israel. They are willing to train their sons and daughters to murder 
others by strapping explosives to their bodies and detonating 
themselves in civilian areas. But this is a test both nations will 
pass.
  Why is this so? I think it is because our shared ideals of respect 
for religion, freedom of thought, and peace throughout the world make 
us stronger than those who fly airplanes into buildings and blow up 
restarants. We will pass this test because the United States and Israel 
are united in our resolve that we will not change our ideals and our 
principles in the face of cowards. We can never be forced to surrender 
our freedoms.
  Why do I have such faith and hope that Israel will weather this 
current storm of violence? I simply look at the history of Israel since 
independence nearly 54 years ago. I am struck by the resolve of the 
Israeli people. After the long-fought War for Independence, Israel 
suffered more than 10,000 acts of terrorism prior to the 1956 Sinai 
Campaign. That number is remarkable given that the population of Israel 
at the time was just 2 million.
  In 1967, Israel overcame a hostile Arab alliance that threatened the 
existence of the nation from all sides. The early 1970s brought a 
massacre of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics and a surprise 
attack by Egypt and Syria on Judaism's most holy day. The 1980s were 
marked by the first intifadah, and the 1990s by Scud Missiles and the 
Gulf War.
  Today, no Israeli man or woman can get on a bus or walk in a 
marketplace

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without fearing for his or her life. Israel and its people have always 
been faced with violence and terror, its very existence continuously 
threatened by its neighbors.
  But how has Israel responded? By developing a thriving democracy that 
respects human rights. By working hard to create an economy that has 
successfully operated in the face of hostile Arab boycotts. And by 
showing over and over again its commitment to peace by reaching out to 
the world to sign the Camp David Accords with Egypt, to engage in the 
Oslo process with the Palestinians, to unilaterally withdraw from 
Lebanon and even by reaching out two years ago to one of the most 
notorious state-sponsors of terrorism, Syria.
  And, today, in the face of everything, it is Prime Minister Ariel 
Sharon who is urging to a return to the peace table and laying out the 
roadmap that leads to peace.
  Unfortunately, Israel's courage to make peace has, in large part, not 
been reciprocated in these cases, and it has certainly not be 
reciprocated by Yasser Arafat.
  In 1993, Yitzhak Rabin took a bold step by entering into the Oslo 
Accords and beginning a process marked by the principle that peace in 
the Middle East could be achieved by trading land for peace. It's 
something that the Arab countries and the Palestinians said that they 
wanted. Did Israel live up to its commitments set out in the Oslo 
Accords? Yes, it did.
  During the 1990s, Israel transferred control of 40 percent of West 
Bank land and 70 percent of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian 
Authority. Yet Arafat was not able to, or did not want to, provide 
security and continuously violated the accords.
  Then, President Clinton put a plan on the table. After all the land 
was already transferred to the Palestinians, Israel was willing to give 
up a staggering 95 percent of the West Bank during the Camp David 
talks. But Yasser Arafat walked away from that too. And I remember the 
despair I felt when this happened. You had to wonder, at that point, 
what this was really all about.
  And not only did he walk away, Arafat started another intifadah. Now 
I want to take a minute to talk about a visit Democratic Senators had 
with Tom Friedman, a columnist who, over the years, has been very 
balanced in his approach to the Middle East. I cannot remember the 
exact conversation, so I will retell it to the best of my recollection. 
Mr. Friedman said that he was stunned that Arafat walked away after 
being offered 95 percent of what he wanted, he questioned the 
Palestinian leadership to learn why.
  And the answer came back from the Palestinians that they needed more 
time to look this over, to see the details of the plan.
  Mr. Friedman said that if that was all true why the intifadah. And 
the answer from the Palestinians was that they could not take one more 
day of the occupation.
  Mr. Friedman was incredulous. The Palestinians could not take one 
more day of the occupation, yet refused offers that would have ended 
occupation. Where is the sense in this?
  So this intifadah has been a calculated plan of violence. Mr. 
Friedman later wrote in a column that, ``the world must understand that 
the Palestinians have not chosen suicide bombing out of desperation . . 
. stemming from the Israeli occupation . . . [It] is because they 
actually want to win their independence in blood and fire. All they can 
agree on as a community is what they want to destroy, not what they 
want to build.''
  We are left to ask ourselves, does Arafat want peace? I say the facts 
dictate that he does not. Arafat is telling us that he wants peace on 
one hand, but on the other he is leading the Palestinian people away 
from what it is in their best interests, a lasting peace with Israel.
  A look back at history shows that Palestinian leaders have walked 
away from possible statehood and secure borders with Israel four times, 
once in 1937 and in 1947, and then twice under plans presented by Prime 
Minister Ehud Barak and President Clinton. How many times will it take 
before we realize that there is something else going on here. They were 
offered a homeland four times. The Palestinians need to understand: 
it's not about the homeland, it's about all the land.
  This strategy of suicide bombing is barbaric, it is to be condemned, 
and I am shocked at how little condemnation you hear around the world 
for this tactic.
  When I take this issue up with leaders from other Arab countries, the 
answer is ``well, people are desperate and they will do desperate 
things.'' When I bring up the issue of women and girls blowing 
themselves up, they just give me the brush off.
  We will never forget the Palestinian suicide bomber who killed 27 
Israelis as they were sitting down for the traditional feast marking 
the beginning of Passover. Zeev Vidor was one of he Israelis killed in 
the attack and today his kidney is keeping alive a Palestinian woman 
who was in need of a transplant.
  This is possible because the family of Zeev Vidor knew the value of 
using life to give life, whereas those who entice suicide bombers 
believe in using life to destroy life. And I think that whole story is 
a metaphor for what we are talking about. Since September 2000, 170 
Israelis have been killed by more than 60 suicide bombers.
  Last year I worked on a resolution with Senator George Allen right 
before September 11 to condemn suicide bombing. After September 11, the 
resolution was shelved briefly, but it eventually passed the Senate in 
October.
  Earlier this year, when we saw the women strapping on bombs, I went 
to all the women in the United States Senate, 13 of us, Democrats and 
Republicans, and got them to sign on to a resolution that passed 
earlier this year. Then, I wrote to Palestinian envoy Dr. Hanan Ashrawi 
and urged her to speak out clearly against this horrible escalation of 
violence.
  Women suicide bombers are a deadly tactic used by the al-Aqsa 
militant group that is linked to Yasser Arafat. An al-Aqas leader in 
Bethlehem has been quoted as saying that ``we have 200 young women, 
from the Bethlehem area alone ready to sacrifice themselves for the 
homeland.'' You notice that the older people don't do this, they just 
entice the young, which adds to the horror.
  One such suicide bombing by an 18-year-old Palestinian girl was 
responsible for the death of a 17-year-old Israeli girl named Rachel 
who was only on a quick errand to buy some herbs for the fish dinner 
her mother was preparing nearby. It is tragic when young women are 
willing to kill each other in this fashion. It is even more tragic that 
the people these women look to for guidance are actively encouraging 
these acts of terror. Earlier this month there was a story of one of 
the highest ranking Muslim leaders in Lebanon giving his blessing to 
female suicide bombers, calling them part of a ``new glorious history 
for Arab and Muslim women.''
  And what about Mrs. Arafat, telling an interviewer that if she had a 
son, she could conceive of ``no greater honor'' than having him strap 
on an explosive belt.
  I have to tell you, the truth we have to look at is horrible, but we 
better look at it. Believe me, I am the last one who wanted to be 
dismayed or discouraged. I am in politics because I want to see a 
peaceful world, because I want a healthy environment for everyone, 
because I want all children to have hope. But we have to look at this, 
and we have to be strong and clear. And I am going to be very clear.
  I am proud to be a cosponsor of the McConnel-Feinstein legislation 
that says that Arafat must meet his commitments or be sanctioned by the 
United States. And I am honored to be the author of the Syrian 
Accountability Act.
  This bill that I introduced would expand sanctions against Syria, a 
state sponsor of terrorism, if it continues to support groups like 
Hamas and Hisbalah, does not fully withdraw from Lebanon, continues to 
develop and deploy ballistic missiles, and remains in violation of U.N. 
Security Council resolutions.
  From the death of innocent civilians in Israel, to attacks on Jews in 
the former Soviet Union; from Daniel Pearl saying ``I am a Jew'' 
shortly before his execution to the leader of a French political party 
saying that the gas chamber is just a detail of history, we know that 
this is a difficult and trying time for people of the Jewish faith.

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  I believe the Senate must send a message of hope and a message of 
action. We have friends outside the Jewish community who are standing 
with us. We ought to thank them and embrace them. Just as we had 
friends during the Holocaust, we must always embrace them. We must 
always form those coalitions. I believe that Americans of all faiths 
and people of all faiths across this world understand what is at stake 
here. Because it really is about humanity. Israel will come out of this 
strong, and remain a beacon of hope in the Middle East with the United 
States standing by as one of its greatest allies.
  I agree with Prime Minister Sharon that the peace table must be 
rebuilt and there must once again be a process in place to resolve at 
long last the difficult challenges of the Middle East.

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