[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 45 (Thursday, March 20, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E537]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              DIVINITY, DIVERSITY, DIGNITY BOUND TOGETHER

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. J. RANDY FORBES

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 20, 2003

  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I rise to call to the attention of the House 
of Representatives the following article written by Rabbi Israel 
Zoberman, spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Chaverim in Virginia 
Beach. Rabbi Zoberman's editorial appeared in the Suffolk News-Herald 
on March 18th.

              Divinity, Diversity, Dignity Bound Together

       This is a time of decision beclouded by political 
     partisanship and posturing at home and in the United Nations. 
     Going to war for a democracy is not an easy undertaking as it 
     would be for a dictatorship. The value of human life weighs 
     heavily upon decision-makers in a nation such as ours whose 
     guiding concern is the individual's welfare. That is contrary 
     to a totalitarian regime where the individual is not an end 
     in itself but a means to goals serving the interests of an 
     autocratic ruler. There is thus a vast difference between the 
     conduct of George W. Bush and that of Saddam Hussein, both 
     representing diametrically opposing systems of government.
       America is on the verge of confronting Iraq primarily for 
     the sake of eliminating a growing danger to the world by a 
     leader who proved that he would not hesitate to use mass 
     destruction weapons even against his own people. Hussein has 
     not given up his dream of gaining hegemony over a region rich 
     in oil to be used for his own megalomaniac purposes as he 
     seeks to establish a nuclear option. He has only become 
     emboldened to get his way by his past defeat in the 1991 Gulf 
     War and consequent limitations posed on Iraq by the United 
     Nations. A wounded and humiliated lion is more dangerous than 
     an uninjured one. History taught us that dictators do not 
     willingly relinquish power.
       No doubt, the evil of 9/11 created a greater urgency to 
     respond to forces undermining the world's stability, 
     propelled by the global terrorism of uncompromising militant 
     Islam assailing the West and its values. It begrudges our 
     superior standing and their own longstanding inadequacies. 
     Its aim is tragically not dialogue but a deadly duel they are 
     bound to lose. Al-Qaida, now on the run following their 
     defeat in Afghanistan, was too successful for its own good. 
     It will be relentlessly pursued. Imagine if Osama Bin Ladin 
     invested his large finances in promoting cultural exchange 
     between civilizations! Hussein contributes to terrorism in a 
     variety of ways, including generous monetary rewards to 
     Palestinian families of suicide-homicide bombers who have 
     terrorized Israel, the West's frontier, for over two years, 
     wrecking havoc that no nation would have tolerated so long. 
     The last terrifying terror act in Haifa was in the 
     neighborhood where I grew up and it was Bus #37 and the stop, 
     which I used only a month ago. My sister, a ``Reali'' school 
     counselor, lost two young teenage students among the fifteen 
     dead.
       Another hopeful democracy in the making in the Middle East, 
     the first Arab one, alongside Israel's inspiring example, 
     would bode well for an essential transformation of a critical 
     part of the world once blessing humanity with the vision of 
     the sacredness of each human life and now breeding those who 
     violate it in God's name. America standing up for itself 
     would have a sobering effect on those who believe that it has 
     grown too weak to be the world's leader. That is a dangerous 
     scenario we cannot afford.
       Power to defend what we rightfully cherish, touching upon 
     our very security and basic way of life, is not to be 
     snickered at. As son of Polish Holocaust survivors I know 
     what the absence of power meant to the Jewish people in our 
     darkest period. Let us take pride in our hard-earned power 
     and in Hampton Roads' leading role in our nation's military 
     mission for freedom's sake, pledging to support all our 
     heroic servicemen and women as well as their families 
     awaiting their safe return. Eleven members of my own over 300 
     family unit synagogue are in the Persian Gulf arena. At this 
     trying juncture for humanity, America is called upon once 
     more to assert that divinity, diversity and dignity are bound 
     together.

  Mr. Speaker, I comment Rabbi Zoberman for his timely and thoughtful 
statement. As we appear on the verge of war with Iraq, Rabbi Zoberman's 
words serve as a strong reminder of the differences between the United 
States and the evil Iraqi regime.

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