[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 147 (Tuesday, October 4, 2011)]
[House]
[Pages H6520-H6521]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           MIDDLE EAST PEACE

  (Mr. GARDNER asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. GARDNER. Over this past week, I was reminded that while my Jewish 
friends and colleagues were celebrating Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new 
year, members of the United Nations were considering a motion that 
would further jeopardize chances for Middle East peace. I'm very 
concerned, Mr. Speaker, that the willingness of the U.N. to consider 
Palestinian statehood, despite United States calls to halt such an 
action, will embolden Israel's enemies.
  This must stop now. We must send a message to the United Nations that 
their continued support for anti-Semitic and anti-Israel resolutions is 
unacceptable to the United States. As members of our House leadership, 
Republican and Democrat, recently said in a New York Daily News op-ed: 
``Congress will not sit idly by.'' Nor will I sit idly by. We simply 
cannot and will not allow Israel, a beacon of hope in a volatile area 
of the world, to be ignored and cast aside by the U.N.
  Lasting peace will only succeed if the Israelis and the Palestinians 
themselves come to the table for direct negotiations. Peace is not 
easy, as we

[[Page H6521]]

have seen. But it will not be achieved by unilateral decisions made by 
an international body that does not represent the interests of our 
friend and our ally Israel.

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