[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 55 (Tuesday, April 27, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E668]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CONGRATULATIONS TO ISRAEL ON ITS NATIONAL DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 27, 2004

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the people of Israel 
who celebrate their Independence Day today in accordance with the 
Hebrew calendar. Fifty-six years ago, on May 14 1948, the Jewish people 
proclaimed the establishment of their own state and Israel was born. 
After hundreds of years of diaspora and persecution and three years 
after the full terrors of the holocaust were disclosed to the world, 
the Jewish people were finally able to return to the land of their 
biblical roots.
  The Israeli and the American people have had a special relationship 
ever since 1948. President Harry S Truman was the first head of state 
to recognize the new country. He had always seen the extraordinary 
connection of the American people and the Jewish population in the 
Middle East. In his memoirs he stressed that both the Americans and the 
Jews in the Near East were pioneers who turned unexploited lands into 
powerful engines of growth. Under the hard working hands and the sweat 
of the Jewish people, the bleak desert started to bloom and within 
years of its existence the state of Israel became an economical 
developed country which attracted immigrants from all over the world.
  Even before the state of Israel was established, President Truman 
foresaw that the Jewish state would be a stable democracy with values 
similar to those of the United States. Truman admired Israel's first 
President Chaim Weizmann as a great statesman and the relationship of 
these two men was one of mutual understanding and respect. These 
sentiments are still dominant between Americans and Israelis today.
  Israel has had to fight against external foes from the very beginning 
of its existence. With great bravery, the Israeli people have been 
defending their country for 56 years and have lost more than 21,700 
soldiers and thousands of civilians in this struggle. Yesterday, the 
Israeli people observed a special annual day of remembrance for the 
victims of this fight. I want to express my sympathy to the people of 
Israel for their human losses in the past and in the present. The 
American people are deeply concerned about the ongoing conflict between 
the Palestinians and the Israelis and hope that these two people will 
soon find a way to live together in peace.
  I wish the Israeli people a peaceful and cheerful Independence Day. 
They have every reason to be proud of their country.

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