[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 64 (Wednesday, May 11, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E858-E859]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          DR. ISRAEL ZOBERMAN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. E. SCOTT RIGELL

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 11, 2011

  Mr. RIGELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to enter a statement into the 
Record on behalf of my constituent, Dr. Israel Zoberman. Dr. Zoberman 
is the Founding Rabbi of Congregation Beth Chaverim in Virginia Beach, 
Virginia. He is also the president of the Hampton Roads Board of Rabbis 
and Cantors.
  Dr. Zoberman asked me to enter the following remarks into the Record 
regarding the 63rd anniversary of the State of Israel. Dr. Zoberman's 
statement follows:

       The 63rd Anniversary of the State of Israel is celebrated 
     against the backdrop of the monumental eruptions of Biblical 
     proportions in the Arab world, further highlighting the 
     uniqueness of the Jewish state in the Middle East where the 
     historical Jewish people came to make a difference for the 
     entire human family, through its transforming gifts of the 
     spirit and unparalleled endurance.
       The unfolding events make it amply clear that Israel is a 
     flourishing and enviable democratic oasis surrounded by a 
     vast wilderness that is crying for change. We are witness to 
     an amplified echo of the ancient Israelites' inspiring saga 
     of the Exodus, ironically from Egypt's House of Bondage, 
     instructing humanity through the ages to uphold freedom and 
     responsibility as non-negotiable divine gifts worthy of 
     sacrifice.
       This most noble mandate of replacing degradation with 
     dignity is reverberating throughout a troubled and stagnant 
     Arab world that has for so long been lagging behind the 
     West's progress, suffering from long-standing neglect 
     manifested in poverty, illiteracy, and the lack of economic 
     and social mobility, under authoritarian rule of fear and 
     intimidation with corrupt leaders unaccountable for the 
     public welfare. All that is being challenged in a world 
     becoming an interconnected and interdependent global village 
     with sophisticated communication that can mobilize the masses 
     like never before.
       However, there is a looming threat that extreme groups such 
     as the Muslim Brotherhood and Al Qaeda will take advantage of 
     the unrest for their own purposes, for they loathe a 
     representative democracy and the West as a whole, rejecting 
     the idea and presence of a Jewish state. After all, democracy 
     thrives best with well-developed democratic institutions 
     requiring time and experience, which rely upon progressive 
     education that respects and fosters human rights as well as 
     women's rights anchored in law.
       The peace treaties that Israel established with both Egypt 
     and Jordan should be enhanced and fortified by responding to 
     Israel's yearning for closer cooperation in all endeavors in 
     a context of a``warm'' peace. This historic crossroads is an 
     opportune and urgent time for all Arab and Muslim states to 
     finally join Israel in peace to transform in tandem the 
     Middle East, that the cradle of Western civilization may be 
     renewed as a flowing source of Shalom's blessings. Let the 
     campaign cease to de-legitimatize and demonize the only 
     sovereign Jewish state in the world through economic and 
     culture boycotts, utilizing the twin evils of anti-Semitism 
     and anti-Zionism. The attempt to thus divert attention from 
     the Arab states' dire predicaments of bankrupt regimes has 
     pointedly proven fruitless and counter-productive.
       It should be amply clear now that Israel is the only 
     democratic and stable ally that the United States enjoys in a 
     critical part of the world, through a special bond reflecting 
     shared values and commitments, and whose steadfast 
     preservation and cultivation is essential for both model free 
     nations with heroic legacies leading pluralistic societies.
       In the present complex scenario Iran's dangerous role 
     should not be lost as it is poised to take advantage of the 
     transitional uncertainty of the Arab world. Iran's tyrannical 
     theocracy, whose leaders are Holocaust deniers, remains a 
     mortal threat to the free world, still insisting on acquiring 
     a nuclear capability to conclude what Pharaoh began and 
     Hitler almost accomplished.
       Iran's proxy, Hamas, refusing to release Israeli soldier 
     Gilad Shallot who is both an Israeli and French citizen, 
     after more than five years in isolated captivity, the cold-
     blooded murder of five members of the Fogel family in Itamar, 
     including an infant, the bombing in Jerusalem, and the 
     relentless rocket and mortar, also on a school bus, from 
     Gaza, do not reflect peaceful Palestinian intentions. Let 
     Hezbollah, Iran and Syria's proxy in Lebanon, know along with 
     all of Israel's adversaries, that the Jewish state will fight 
     to ensure that its divine promise of survival is never 
     withdrawn, even as it struggles for Shalom's sake of healing, 
     hope and harmony.

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