[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 9 (Monday, January 23, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H94]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WORDS MATTER
(Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address
the House for 1 minute.)
Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, a gentleman by the name of
Andrew Adler located in Atlanta, Georgia, and writing for an Atlanta,
Georgia, newspaper offered instructions to the prime minister of Israel
on how to protect that great nation. He suggested an attack on
Hezbollah and Hamas and an attack on Iran. And then he gave number
three: Give the go ahead for U.S.-based Mossad agents to take out a
President deemed unfriendly to the nation of Israel. That President, I
need not say, happens to be the President of the United States now.
Words matter.
Mr. Adler has been called upon to apologize, and he did. But he has
brought shame to Jewish Americans, to Americans and Israel. And,
frankly, the latitude in which he thought he could talk about
assassinating the President of the United States without in any way a
suggestion of, if you will, challenge, is an outrage and disgrace.
I believe in the First Amendment, but words do matter. We should come
together and be unified as a Nation, find ways to disagree with each
other without raising words that are hostile and devastating. I beg for
this Nation's leaders to stop calling names and talk about policies and
how to build this Nation up.
I'm outraged, Mr. Adler. An apology is not enough.
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