[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 68 (Tuesday, May 5, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H5145]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       WE MUST NOT IGNORE CONTINUING THREATS TO ISRAEL'S SURVIVAL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Kissell). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, yesterday this House voted to 
commemorate the 61st anniversary of Israel's independence. However, 
even as we recognize this historic occasion, we must not ignore the 
continuing threats to Israel's very survival, the greatest dangers 
presented by the radical regime in Tehran whose leader, Mr. 
Ahmadinejad, has repeatedly denied the Holocaust, as all of us know, 
and has called for Israel to be wiped off the map.
  More recently, at last month's Durban II hate-fest in Geneva, 
Ahmadinejad reminded us of his regime's goals when he savagely attacked 
Israel, stating that ``world Zionism personifies racism,'' and called 
Israel the ``most racist'' regime.
  These are not mere idle words, Mr. Speaker. Ahmadinejad and his 
fellow thugs have long sought to make good on their call for Israel's 
elimination by sponsoring violent Islamic extremist groups and pursuing 
nuclear, chemical, biological and missile capabilities. In the face of 
such a menace to our strong, democratic ally, Israel, and to our vital 
interest in the Middle East, the U.S. and other responsible nations 
must not stand idly by. We cannot accept the prospect of an emboldened 
nuclear Iranian regime.
  We must close loopholes in U.S. and international sanctions so as to 
deny the regime all remaining lifelines for their economy and compel it 
to abandon its destructive policies.
  Further, we should realize that the existential threats to Israel, 
and the obstacles to peace, begin with Iran; but, sadly, they do not 
end there.
  We must learn history's lesson that we will not achieve peace by 
engaging with these Islamic militant groups like the Iranian proxy, 
Hamas, or by recognizing a Palestinian Authority government that 
includes Hamas.
  In standing with the Jewish state against those who seek to destroy 
it, we should above all do no harm. Unfortunately, proposed funding for 
the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and Gaza is included in the 
emergency supplemental, which would be before this floor in a matter of 
days; and it does not meet that standard of do no harm.
  It would provide, in fact, hundreds of millions of dollars of 
assistance in Gaza, thereby essentially providing a bailout for Hamas, 
enabling Hamas to divert its funds from reconstruction and put it, 
instead, to the purchase of arms. It would reward and bankroll a 
Palestinian Authority that has proven itself unwilling or unable to 
fulfill its responsibilities.
  When considering assistance to the Palestinian Authority, Mr. 
Speaker, we need to judge their leaders by their words, and by their 
acts as well. Just last week Palestinian Authority leader Abu Mazen 
reiterated his refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. He said 
the same thing last year and the year before that, and there is no 
reason to think that more U.S. assistance will cause him to have a 
change of heart in the future.
  Indeed, Abu Mazen and other senior Palestinian Authority officials 
have repeatedly emphasized that they do not expect Hamas or other 
violent Islamic groups to recognize Israel at all.
  Instead, Abu Mazen bragged last year about his many years of leading 
and supporting violence against Israel, claiming that ``I have the 
honor to be the one to fire the first bullet in 1965.''
  But this should come as no surprise, Mr. Speaker. In 2005, when 
campaigning for the leadership of the PA, he echoed Arafat and Hamas by 
referring to Israel as the Zionist enemy. A Palestinian transparency 
organization reported last month that many forms of favoritism, 
nepotism, misappropriation of public money and abuse of public position 
continued to impact many sectors of the Palestinian society.

                              {time}  1745

  If Palestinian leaders will not uphold their commitments to uproot 
violent extremism, to stop corruption, to recognize Israel's right to 
exist as a Jewish democratic state, they should not receive 1 cent of 
U.S. taxpayer dollars. The proposed supplemental, however, would 
provide $200 million in direct cash transfers to the P.A. Let's stop 
this bill, Mr. Speaker. It does not do justice to the U.S. nor to 
Israel.

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