[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 66 (Wednesday, May 24, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H3223-H3224]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




CORRECTION TO THE CONGRESSIONAL RECORD OF MONDAY, MAY 22, 2006, AT PAGE 
                                 H3003

  Mr. KUCINICH. I want to extend my condolences to the family of our 
colleague Mr. Cantor and also thank Ms. Ros-Lehtinen for her leadership 
and her commitment to attempting to create peace, as well as to speak 
directly to my dear friend, Mr. Lantos.
  I think it is fair to say Israel has no greater champion in the 
Congress, and the American people have no greater champion for human 
rights than Mr. Lantos. His escape from the Holocaust is a story worthy 
of being taught in all of our schools.
  I am here to ask: Is the past prologue? Is war and violence 
inevitable, or do we have the ability to create a new future where 
nonviolence, peace and reconciliation are possible through the work of 
our own hearts and hands?
  I would not take issue with my friend Mr. Lantos's informed 
experience, and I join him in defense of Israel's right to survive. Mr. 
Lantos is my brother. The Israelis are our brothers and sisters. The 
Palestinians are our brothers and sisters. When our brothers and 
sisters are in conflict, when violence engulfs them, it is our 
responsibility to help our brothers and sisters end the violence, 
reconcile and fulfill the biblical injunction to turn hate to love, to 
beat swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks.
  These are universal principles that speak to the triumph of hope over 
fear. We must call upon Hamas to renounce terror. We must call upon 
Hamas to disavow any intention for the destruction of Israel.
  This ought to be a principle of negotiation with Hamas, not 
separation from the aspirations of the Palestinian people to survive.
  I think we can speed the cause of peace by calling upon Israel to 
accept the Palestinians' right to self-determination and economic 
survival and humanitarian relief, for food, medical care, for jobs.
  I ask, how can we arrive at a two-state solution if we attempt to 
destroy one people's government's ability to provide? A two-state 
solution, I believe, can be achieved with our mutual, thoughtful 
patience and support.
  At a time when the U.N. is reporting a pending humanitarian disaster 
in the West Bank and Gaza, I believe this legislation would restrict 
U.S. assistance to the Palestinian people delivered through 
nongovernmental organizations. We know that, today, up to 80 percent of 
all Palestinians, particularly in parts of the Gaza Strip, live at

[[Page H3224]]

or below the poverty line. Unemployment stands at 53 percent of the 
total workforce.
  Just as I join my good friends on both sides of the aisle in speaking 
out against violence against Israel, I object in the strongest terms to 
any measure that will increase the humanitarian crisis of the 
Palestinian people. It is true that the recent Palestinian legislative 
elections have created a tense situation in the international 
community. It is a situation that demands thoughtful and deliberate 
action in pursuit of peace. Despite the best intentions of those who 
wrote this legislation, I do not believe this legislation will advance 
peace between the Palestinian and the Israeli people.
  There are people in this Congress of goodwill and good intention who 
want to see both the Palestinian people and the Israeli people survive. 
Let us continue to work towards that end.

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