[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 141 (Wednesday, October 8, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H9363-H9364]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            PEACE IN ISRAEL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 7, 2003, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) is recognized 
for the remainder of the minority leader's hour, approximately 29 
minutes.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the chief deputy whip, 
the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Hill), not only for his extraordinary 
leadership on this mission to Israel and to visit with the leadership 
of the Palestinian authority, Mr. Abbas, but also I want to thank him 
for his being here this evening. I had intended to be here throughout 
the course of this special order, but the scheduling was such that I 
could not be. I thank the distinguished chief deputy whip from Indiana 
for standing in.
  Mr. Speaker, no region of the world in my opinion holds out more 
promise and presents more peril than the Middle East. Our Nation's 
security is closely tied to the developments there, from our efforts in 
post-Hussein Iraq where 130,000 American troops are on the ground 
today, to our desire to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, to 
the continuing hunt for al Qaeda operatives, to the ongoing Israeli-
Palestinian crisis.
  The United States, Mr. Speaker, has interests and allies throughout 
the region but we have only, in my opinion, one true friend there, the 
democratic state of Israel. As President Kennedy remarked 40 years ago, 
he said this, ``We will never turn our back on our steadfast friends in 
Israel whose alliance to the democratic way must be admired by all 
friends of freedom.''
  Today, Mr. Speaker, it is imperative that a new generation of 
American leaders recognize the special relationship that has developed 
between our two nations and understand why a free and secure Israel is 
vital to America's national security. Indeed, developing a deeper 
understanding of the U.S.-Israel bond was the purpose of a 
congressional delegation trip to Israel that I was pleased to lead from 
August 2 to August 10.
  In all, Mr. Speaker, 29 House Democrats made this trip. That is the 
largest congressional delegation to visit Israel in its history. Our 
delegation included Representatives from every region of the United 
States, as well as the territory of Guam. More than one-third were 
serving their first year in Congress.

                              {time}  1930

  Nearly one-third were women, and for many this was their first visit 
to Israel.
  This was my fourth trip to Israel as a Member of the House. I had 
been there before, and this was my sixth trip in all.
  We made this long journey to see and to learn. We traveled throughout 
Israel, and visited the Gaza Strip and West Bank as well.
  We were privileged to meet with Prime Minister Sharon and members of 
his cabinet; Labor Party chairman Peres, one of Israel's most 
distinguished statesman. We met also with Speaker Reuven Rivlin and 
members of the Knesset; and in addition to that, we met with the then-
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, who sadly, 
subsequently, resigned after being continually undermined by the 
purveyors of death and destruction in his authority. He led, I think, 
an effort for peace, but that effort was subverted by Arafat himself.
  We also, Mr. Speaker, were privileged to meet with representatives of 
the academic, religious, press, and medical communities. We saw 
firsthand the security challenges and realities that confront Israel 
and were left with several strong impressions.
  First, security is an absolute precondition for peace. The much-
discussed security fence was regarded as a reasonable attempt by our 
delegation to reduce terrorist attacks, and events, frankly, subsequent 
to our trip have not altered that view. However, Mr. Speaker, the route 
of that fence is an issue and properly continues to be examined.
  Secondly, the dismantlement of the Palestinian terrorist 
organization, all of us believe, was essential if security was going to 
be effected, which is a precondition for peace, as I have said.
  Thirdly, we cannot ignore, we must not ignore morally, politically, 
or intellectually the plight of the Palestinian people whose cause has 
been undermined, in my opinion, by the tactics of terror, the 
incitement to hate and refusal to seek peace.
  Our trip, Mr. Speaker, occurred during a 7-week period of relative 
calm in that troubled part of the world; but that calm, as all of us 
know, was shattered on August 19, just a few days after we left, when a 
Hamas homicide bomber in Jerusalem murdered 22 people, including five 
Americans, and injured 130 others.
  Since then, Mr. Abbas, as I said, has resigned. He resigned on 
September 6. A homicide bomber killed 19 people in Haifa last Saturday, 
and Israel retaliated 14 hours later by striking suspected terrorist 
camps inside Syria on the 30th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War.
  Mr. Speaker, it is clear that the continued, unconscionable violence 
by Palestinian terrorist organizations has left the President's so-
called road map for peace in tatters.
  I might say that I remember a conversation we had with Mr. Abbas, the 
prime minister then of the Palestinian Authority. It was on a Monday 
that we met with him. We met with him in Gaza, and he made the 
observation that there were thousands of Palestinians on the beach in 
Gaza enjoying a Sunday afternoon. He had said they had not done that in 
a very long time because they, too, like the Israelis, are concerned 
about security. They understand that terrorist attacks bring 
retaliation. They understand that the violence that the Palestinian 
terrorists perpetrate begets violence committed against them. The two, 
in my opinion, are not analogous. One is the cause of the other.
  Mr. Speaker, we responded not only deep into the heart of Afghanistan 
when we thought that they were providing a haven and training ground 
for terrorists; we destroyed their government and replaced their 
government and drove them from the land. The Taliban, of course, is 
what I am talking about; but we know that if terrorism would stop, the 
chances for peace would escalate geometrically.
  The Palestinian side must know the basic precondition for peace is 
and must be the unconditional cessation of the campaign of terror and 
violence against Israel. Not only does it undermine the security of 
Israel, but it undermines the security of the Palestinian people as 
well.
  The United States, Mr. Speaker, stands ready, I believe this Congress 
stands ready, to work with other nations to obtain a better life for 
the Palestinian people; but this Nation will always be committed to 
Israel's survival, security and success as the haven and homeland for 
the Jewish people. No people on Earth perhaps has been more savaged 
through the centuries.
  My friend, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers), will speak in 
just a minute. African Americans unfortunately and tragically fall in a 
similar condition. For us to allow any peoples, whether they be Jewish, 
African American or Palestinians, to be savaged in a world that calls 
itself civilized is unacceptable.
  We must call, therefore, we must urge, we must demand the cessation 
of

[[Page H9364]]

the use of terrorism perpetrated against Israel, the United States, or 
any other nation. At the same time, we must seek justice, for without 
justice, as the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers) knows so well, 
there will be no peace.

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