[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 110 (Wednesday, September 15, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1648]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        IN APPRECIATION OF AIPAC

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 15, 2004

  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, for more than half a century, the 
relationship between the United States and Israel has been a 
cornerstone of American national security and our commitment to freedom 
and democracy. During the cold war, Israel provided intelligence and 
support to our efforts to confront the tyranny of Soviet communism. The 
experience gained by Israeli soldiers, who fought three major wars 
against armies equipped with the latest Soviet military equipment, was 
invaluable to our efforts to devise equipment and tactics to maintain 
military superiority over the Soviet Union.
  Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, Israel has continued to act as a 
valuable partner in our efforts to bring stability and freedom to an 
increasingly volatile and unstable part of the world. In 1991, Israel 
absorbed numerous Iraqi SCUD missile attacks without retaliating, so as 
not to fracture the global coalition that was working to oust Saddam 
Hussein's troops from Kuwait. Throughout its history, but especially in 
the 1990s and into this decade, Israeli civilians have been killed in 
enormous numbers in an ongoing campaign of suicide bombings and other 
acts of terrorism by those who will never countenance the existence of 
the Jewish State. Even as they mourned their dead, Israelis worked for 
peace with their Arab neighbors and the Palestinian people.
  Most remarkably, despite these existential challenges, Israel has 
remained a democracy. Surrounded by autocracies, dictatorships and 
monarchies who have made its destruction a centerpiece of their 
national identity, Israel has continued to hold regular elections and 
its politics are some of the most spirited and free-wheeling in the 
world. Truly, Israel has remained ``a light unto the nations.'' Time 
and again, Israel has sacrificed its security for its values--most 
recently this summer when the Israeli Supreme Court ordered the 
government to reroute part of the security fence.
  For many in Congress, AIPAC has been an invaluable asset in helping 
us to understand the many dimensions of the American-Israeli 
partnership. AIPAC is effective because it has a long track record of 
providing policymakers and Members with accurate, comprehensive 
information about the Middle East. It is not surprising that AIPAC's 
annual meeting and dinner is an important event for Democrats and 
Republicans, Members of Congress and administration officials, 
presidents, governors and mayors. Our attendance is a testament to the 
esteem in which we hold AIPAC and the partnership between Israel and 
the United States that it seeks to advance.
  I have worked with AIPAC throughout my tenure in Congress and I have 
found AIPAC members to be dedicated, patriotic Americans who deeply 
believe that the security of the United States and the security of 
Israel are mutually dependent. And I look forward to many more years of 
working with AIPAC and its members to address common threats to our 
security and to freedom-loving nations around the globe.

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