[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 62 (Monday, April 27, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H4757]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     DURBAN II HATE-FEST IN GENEVA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, last week's Durban II hate-fest in 
Geneva reminded us once again of the anti-Semitic, anti-Israel bias 
that pervades the United Nations, and reinforced why the United States 
and several other responsible nations were right to stay away.
  Given what amounted to a keynote speech, Iranian leader Mahmoud 
Ahmadinejad reminded us of his regime's goals when he savagely attacked 
the U.S. and Israel and called for radical political and economic 
upheaval on his terms.
  He added, ``World Zionism personifies racism'' and said that Israel 
is a ``totally racist'' regime.
  But such statements by Iran's Ahmadinejad come as no surprise. The 
Iranian leader frequently pushes for Israel's destruction, saying that 
this sovereign state should be wiped off the map, calling it a 
disgraceful blot on the face of the Islamic world and proclaiming that 
anyone who recognized Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic 
nation's fury.
  On May 8 of last year, he said Israel is a ``stinking corpse'' and is 
on its way to total destruction. A few months later, on August 20, he 
referred to Israel as a ``germ of corruption'' that will be ``removed 
soon.''
  A year prior, on June 3, 2007, Ahmadinejad stated, ``With God's help, 
the countdown button for the destruction of [Israel] has been pushed.''
  In October of 2005, he asked ``Is it possible for us to witness a 
world without America and Zionism? You had best know that this slogan 
and this goal are attainable and, surely, can be achieved.''
  Mr. Speaker, his words and actions do not merely reflect his own 
views or those of a few powerless extremists, but, rather, Iran's 
supreme leader, for example, said, ``This cancerous tumor of a state 
should be removed from the region.''
  Rafsanjani, the former Iranian leader who continues to hold 
significant influence and who some mistakenly call a moderate, has 
threatened Israel with destruction by nuclear weapons, going on to say 
that even the use of one nuclear bomb inside Israel will destroy 
everything, while it will merely harm the Islamic world. Ahmadinejad's 
hatred for Israel, for the Jewish people, for the Great Satan, that is 
the United States, for freedom, for democracy and all that the United 
States and Israel represent, transcends rhetoric into policies and 
actions that threaten vital U.S. security interests and pose an 
existential threat to Israel.
  Foremost are Iran's sponsorship of violent Islamic groups and its 
pursuit of nuclear, chemical, biological and missile capabilities. 
Responsible nations cannot accept the prospect of an emboldened nuclear 
Iranian regime. We must close loopholes in existing U.S. and 
international sanctions so as to deny the regime all remaining 
lifelines and compel it to abandon its destructive policies.
  Likewise, we must learn history's lesson that we will not achieve 
peace by embracing Islamic militant groups like the Iranian proxy 
Hamas, or by recognizing a Palestinian Authority government that 
includes Hamas.
  The proposed supplemental, which will be before the House in a few 
weeks, would provide hundreds of millions of dollars for assistance in 
Gaza. And this would amount to a bailout for Hamas, enabling them to 
divert their funds from reconstruction to the purchasing of arms.
  We have tried unconditional funding to an unaccountable Palestinian 
leadership again and again, and it has not worked. There is no reason 
to expect a different outcome now.
  Mr. Speaker, just today the Palestinian Authority leader Abu Mazen 
again refused to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. But the proposed 
supplemental before us would allocate $200 million in additional direct 
cash transfers to the Palestinian Authority.
  In short, as we craft policy to protect our Nation, we must reward 
those who stand with us, compel those who threaten us to change their 
course, and demand accountability in exchange for our hard-earned 
taxpayer dollars.

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