[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 162 (Monday, November 2, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H7360-H7363]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
EXPRESSING CONCERN OVER ANTI-ISRAEL AND ANTI-SEMITIC INCITEMENT WITHIN
THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree
to the resolution (H. Res. 293) expressing concern over anti-Israel and
anti-Semitic incitement within the Palestinian Authority, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 293
Whereas the 1995 Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip, commonly referred to as Oslo II, specifically
details that Israel and the Palestinian Authority shall
``abstain from incitement, including hostile propaganda,
against each other and, without derogating from the principle
of freedom of expression, shall take legal measures to
prevent such incitement by any organizations, groups or
individuals within their jurisdiction'';
Whereas the Oslo II agreement further states that Israel
and the Palestinian Authority ``will ensure that their
respective educational systems contribute to the peace
between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples and to peace in
the entire region'';
Whereas Palestinian Authority incitement against Israelis
has continued unabated for many years despite periods of
negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority;
Whereas this incitement takes on many forms, and has
included the glorification of terrorists who have murdered
Israeli civilians; advocating struggle against Israel despite
entering into negotiations with Israel; the demonization of
Jews and Israelis, including by the use of anti-Semitic
motifs; the denial of Israel's existence and its
delegitimization as evidenced by the absence of Israel on
official maps used in Palestinian Authority institutions; and
false claims that Israel or the Jews are endangering Muslim
holy sites, such as the Al-Aqsa mosque/Temple Mount in
Jerusalem;
Whereas in June 2013, Abbas referenced Israeli acts which
``indicate an evil and dangerous plot to destroy Al-Aqsa and
build the alleged temple'';
Whereas on September 16, 2015, Abbas stated on Palestinian
television that ``we welcome every drop of blood spilled in
Jerusalem. This is pure blood, clean blood, blood on its way
to Allah. With the help of Allah, every martyr will be in
heaven, and every wounded will get his reward'';
Whereas since mid-September 2015 there has been a wave of
Palestinian violence in Israel and the West Bank, including
stabbings, shootings, and other terrorist acts;
Whereas this situation has been inflamed by statements made
by Palestinian President Abbas, other Palestinian officials,
clerics, and official Palestinian Authority media, and
frequently amplified on social media platforms;
Whereas these statements have included repeated false
claims that Israel seeks to change the ``status quo'' on the
Temple Mount/al-Aqsa Mosque compound;
Whereas despite the incitement-induced wave of terrorism,
the Palestinian Authority security forces and the Israel
Defense Forces have continued security cooperation;
Whereas section 7038 of the Consolidated and Further
Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 states that ``none of the
funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act
may be used to provide equipment, technical support,
consulting services, or any other form of assistance to the
Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation'';
Whereas section 7040(e) of the Consolidated and Further
Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 requires the Secretary of
State, if the President waives section 7040(a) of that Act,
to ``certify and report to the Committees on Appropriations
prior to the obligation of funds that . . . the Palestinian
Authority is acting to counter incitement of violence against
Israelis and is supporting activities aimed at promoting
peace, coexistence, and security cooperation with Israel'';
and
Whereas the Palestinian Authority has not fully lived up to
its prior agreements with Israel to end incitement and should
do more to prepare the Palestinian people for peace with
Israel: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) expresses support and admiration for individuals and
organizations working to encourage cooperation between
Israelis and Palestinians;
(2) strongly condemns the wave of violent attacks in Israel
and the West Bank;
(3) reiterates the strong condemnation of anti-Israel and
anti-Semitic incitement to violence in the Palestinian
Authority as antithetical to the cause of peace;
(4) calls on the Palestinian Authority to--
(A) immediately discontinue incitement to violence in all
Palestinian Authority-controlled media outlets, and
officially and publicly repudiate attacks against Israelis
and engage in a sustained effort to publicly and officially
rebuke anti-Israel incitement to violence;
(B) continue important security cooperation with Israel;
and
(C) agree to unconditionally renew direct talks with the
Israelis, including the reconstitution of the Trilateral
Commission on Incitement;
(5) encourages responsible nations to condemn in the
strongest possible terms incitement to violence by the
Palestinian Authority;
(6) expresses support for the Government of Israel in its
fight against terror;
(7) directs the Department of State to regularly monitor
and publish information on all official incitement by the
Palestinian Authority against Jews and the State of Israel;
and
(8) calls on the Administration to continue publicly
repudiating and raising the issue of Palestinian anti-Israel
incitement to violence in all appropriate bilateral and
international forums.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) and the gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Florida.
General Leave
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks
and to include extraneous material on the resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Florida?
There was no objection.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the esteemed chairman of our full
committee, Chairman Royce, and Ranking Member Engel, who is before us
today, for their leadership and for helping us to mark up and vote on
this resolution at the subcommittee and at the full committee, thereby
landing us right here on the floor this afternoon.
I would also like to thank my friend and dear south Florida
colleague, ranking member of the Middle East and North Africa
Subcommittee, Mr. Deutch, for joining me in introducing this important
resolution condemning the anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incitement from
within the Palestinian Authority.
Sadly, Mr. Speaker, as we have seen over the past 2 months in Israel,
violence and terror are on the rise, and hardly a day goes by when we
don't hear about yet another attack against innocent Israelis.
Since the most recent round of attacks began on the Jewish New Year
in mid-September, there have been nearly 60 stabbing attacks, 5
shootings, and 6 car-ramming attacks, resulting in 10 deaths and scores
more injured.
Let me repeat that again, Mr. Speaker: 60 stabbing attacks, 5
shootings,
[[Page H7361]]
and 6 car-ramming attacks, resulting in 10 deaths and many people
injured, not to mention the psychological toll that these acts of
terror have taken on Israelis.
Today--today--Mr. Speaker, there were two separate stabbing attacks
in two different cities. An 80-year-old woman was among the victims,
showing that these random attacks can happen anywhere, at any time, to
anyone.
When Israeli citizens cannot walk out of their homes to go to work or
they cannot walk out of their homes to go to the grocery store for fear
of yet another terrorist attack, we must hold the Palestinian
leadership accountable for its incitement and its unwillingness to ease
tensions in the region.
The resolution before us, Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 293,
unfortunately is the consequence of the continued failure of the
Palestinian leadership. Instead of working toward achieving lasting
peace with Israel, what is Abu Mazen, the leader of the Palestinian
Authority, doing? He is undermining the peace process.
Instead of encouraging the Palestinian people and leading them toward
a better future, Abu Mazen's divisive actions are tearing the
Palestinians apart, leading them into despair, into hatred, into
violence.
Instead of calling for an emergency meeting with Palestinian leaders
to discuss a way to walk back the rhetoric, a way to calm the tensions,
no, Abu Mazen called for an emergency meeting at the United Nations
Human Rights Council, the preferred platform to spew anti-Israel
hatred.
Why? In an effort to delegitimize the Jewish state where he further
fanned the flames of violence once again, as he has been doing, Mr.
Speaker, since he assumed leadership.
Already the perpetrators of these acts of terror are being
glorified--yes, glorified--hailed as heroes, hailed as martyrs.
Last week, in fact, the Palestinian Authority named a street after a
Palestinian terrorist. What did that person do? He fatally stabbed two
innocent Israelis in Jerusalem.
But where is the world's condemnation of this? What is the response
from the international community? Silence. Too often we see attempts to
place this false moral equivalence between the Israelis' actions and
the Palestinians' because too many are unwilling to accept the truth,
and that is that the Palestinian leadership is the problem, not the
solution, to the peace process.
We cannot allow Abu Mazen's words and Abu Mazen's actions to continue
to go unpunished because, as we have seen over the past month and a
half, they have consequences and innocent people have died.
Today, Mr. Speaker, we have an opportunity to send a clear message to
Abu Mazen, that his words and actions are unacceptable, that we condemn
these actions, and that we hold the Palestinian Authority responsible
for inciting these recent acts of terror against Israeli citizens.
Palestinian leaders have been indoctrinating the Palestinian people
with incitement against Israel for generations, and that is not
something that is easily reversed.
But by passing this resolution tonight, Mr. Speaker, we are sending a
message to the Palestinian leader that this behavior will not be
tolerated and it will not be unaddressed. This is an opportunity to
start to hold Abu Mazen and the PA accountable for their words,
accountable for their deadly actions.
I urge my colleagues to join me in condemning anti-Israel and anti-
Semitic incitement in all of its forms.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise in support of this measure.
Let me start by thanking our former chair of the Foreign Affairs
Committee, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, for sponsoring this resolution. I agree
with every word she just said.
She has been a good friend to the state and people of Israel, and
this measure, which I am happy to cosponsor, shows once again that
support for Israel in Congress is not a partisan issue. Israel has much
bipartisan support in this Congress, and we intend to keep it this way.
As the Congresswoman has mentioned, the violence in Israel has gone
from bad to worse in recent days. Day after day, we hear new reports of
innocent Israeli victims of stabbings or shootings at the hands of
Palestinian terrorists.
I use the word ``terrorist,'' Mr. Speaker, because what they are
doing are acts of terrorism. If random people, average citizens, have
nothing to do with policy, have nothing to do with politics--they are
just civilians that are walking in the street--if they are attacked by
a knife or something else that harms them, that is a terrorist attack.
Imagine if we had such things going on in the United States. It would
have a chilling effect on what people can do, and whether they can move
around or can't move around as a result of it.
So this is not something that is random. It is not something that is
confined. It can strike anybody at any time, any place, and it is
terrorism.
I have often said that while I support a two-state solution, if the
Palestinians continue to use terrorism because they think it will get
them closer to their state, they are wrong. It will prevent them from
ever having a state if they don't renounce terrorism.
That is what this is all about. It is the incitement. It is the
encouraging of hatred for Israelis and the Jews and for the United
States as well.
This goes on time and time and time again, and then we wonder why we
have these acts of violence, because you cannot fan the fires and be a
leader in it and then suddenly look the other way and say, ``Well, you
know, we are not encouraging it.''
The Palestinian Authority has been irresponsible, and they have been
irresponsible for many, many years. So, as it has every right to do,
Israel has defended itself against these attacks, these stabbings and
shootings. But this bloodshed must be brought to an end.
I have no doubt, Mr. Speaker, that it could be in a hurry if
Palestinian leaders would do the right thing: repudiate the violence
and, most importantly, the ceaseless campaign of incitement that
demonizes Jews and Israelis and glorifies terrorists.
Chairman Royce and I will soon send a bipartisan letter signed by
more than 350 of our colleagues in both parties. I am very, very happy
with the overwhelming support we have gotten from our colleagues on
both sides of the aisle for this letter.
That is why Chairman Royce and I try to do things in a bipartisan
manner: because something like this is bipartisan; support for Israel
is bipartisan; support against terror is bipartisan.
We have to stand together as Americans, regardless of party
affiliation, and say: we will not countenance terror. And we are going
to point fingers at the Palestinian Authority, who has been utterly
irresponsible in this whole thing.
So if Palestinian leaders would do the right thing and repudiate the
violence and, most importantly, end the ceaseless campaign of
incitement that demonizes Jews and Israelis and glorifies terrorists,
this could stop.
This letter that Chairman Royce and I have done, signed by more than
350 of our colleagues, to Palestinian President Abbas urges him to take
that course, but I cannot say that I have high hopes. After all, this
type of rhetoric by Palestinians against Jews and Israelis and even
just Americans, in general, is nothing new.
In Palestinian books and newspapers, on the television and radio, we
see and hear a constant message of hatred and incitement.
From a young age, Palestinians are taught that the people of Israel
are their enemies and those who use violence are heroes, and this is
very, very infuriating.
It is the fuel that fires the violence we are seeing today, and it is
a roadblock, as I said before, on the path towards a two-state
solution.
Palestinians will never build their own state on the backs of
terrorists. It is a dead end for them, and it is counterproductive.
They ought to know it. They are doing their people a tremendous
disservice.
This resolution calls on Palestinian leaders to show real
responsibility to reject the violence and end incitement and to return
to the negotiating table with no preconditions, sit down and negotiate.
It reaffirms our commitment to our Israeli allies and our desire to
see
[[Page H7362]]
peace for both Israelis and Palestinians.
I urge my colleagues to support this measure.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman
from Texas (Mr. Poe), who is the chairman of the Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade.
Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Florida
for yielding on this important resolution.
Mr. Speaker, the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians
has reached new levels of terror. Over the past month, Palestinians
have stabbed, shot, or run over innocent Israelis almost every day. The
cause of these tragedies is simple: the incitement by Palestinian
leaders.
Of course, our government is on the wrong side of this issue. Our
government stands by while Palestinian Authority President Abbas
praises violent riots on the Temple Mount.
But the problem is bigger than speeches. Palestinian leaders have
turned their schools into terrorist breeding grounds that teach hate.
{time} 1700
Israel reacted to this violence how any other country should react;
but the United States State Department callously calls Israel's self-
defense executive force. Like I said, the State Department has got it
wrong.
The Palestinians should be called out for what they are doing:
inciting violence and committing violence. They are responsible for
their criminal acts, not the Israelis. We can stand side by side with
Israel by condemning these terrorist acts, and the Palestinian leaders
should be held personally accountable for inciting violence in the
Palestinian community. The State Department and the world need to quit
making excuses for Palestinian terrorists and hold them accountable for
the crimes that they commit.
I am glad to be an original cosponsor of House Resolution 293. I urge
its passage so that America and the rest of the world understand that
we stand by Israel and not by the terrorists.
And that is just the way it is.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Deutch), the ranking member of the Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa.
Mr. DEUTCH. I thank my friend, Mr. Engel.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel
and their staffs for working to bring this bipartisan resolution to the
floor. I want to thank my friend and colleague and neighbor,
Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, for partnering with me on this
effort.
In the month of October, there have been more than 50 stabbings in
Israel, there have been attempted stabbings, there have been shootings,
there have been cars rammed into civilians. Terrorists have killed 11
and have wounded more than 10 times that number. In a span of just 12
hours today, there were 4 separate terror attacks.
This resolution is important because these attacks aren't a protest
or a political statement about holy sites or politics. It is terrorism,
and it flows from incitement at the highest levels of the Palestinian
Government.
Now, I have said many times that all attacks on innocent civilians
should be condemned and that they should be condemned regardless of who
commits them. Yet I have to point out that, when a revenge attack
occurs, committed by Israelis, the Prime Minister of Israel himself
condemns that action on national television; but when there are
attempted stabbings every single day for nearly 8 weeks, Palestinian
leadership does not condemn even one single attack. Instead, we
continue to see officials trying to justify acts of terror as an
expected part of a religious conflict.
False accusations about changes at the Temple Mount, when they have
been repeatedly denied by Israeli leadership, send a very dangerous
message that violence is necessary to preserve Muslim holy sites when,
in fact, those holy sites are not threatened at all.
Unfortunately, incitement from officials within the Palestinian
Authority is not new. Despite statements from President Abbas that he
is committed and has been committed for years to nonviolence, there are
still countless examples in official textbooks, on social media pages,
and in television speeches that call for an armed conflict and that
depict Jews as dirty pigs.
Mr. Speaker, Secretary Kerry was right when he recently said,
``President Abbas has been committed to nonviolence. He needs to be
condemning this loudly and clearly, and he needs to not engage in the
incitement that his voice has sometimes been heard to encourage; so
that has to stop.''
If President Abbas remains committed to his stated vision of a
peaceful, stable Palestinian state, living side by side with a safe and
secure Israel, then now is the time for real leadership. Now is the
time to go on national television and condemn these attacks. Now is the
time to accept the Jordanian plan for surveillance at the Temple Mount
to ensure that religious freedom is, in fact, being protected.
Now is the time to stop dangerous rhetoric, like when he said that he
would ``welcome every drop of blood spilled in Jerusalem'' or when he
accused Israel of the ``summary execution of children'' when, in fact,
the 13-year-old whom he referenced was receiving medical care in an
Israeli hospital after he stabbed two Israeli teenagers.
Even before these recent terror attacks, incitement within the
Palestinian Authority has been well documented. If these are the
messages that are sent to Palestinian youth, if they never see the
State of Israel on a map in their textbooks or if they watch television
programs that glorify attacks on Israelis and Jews, how can we ever
expect him to be committed to peace?
By passing today's resolution, the United States House of
Representatives is sending a message. It is a very simple message to
the world, that we stand with the people of Israel as they face this
onslaught of terror and that incitement spurred by inflammatory,
violent rhetoric will not be tolerated.
We won't tolerate officials using religion as a means to spur
violence, and we won't tolerate actions like the recent Palestinian-
backed resolution at UNESCO that attempted to rewrite history and
inflame tension on the ground.
Our resolution also expresses support for individuals and
organizations that are working to encourage cooperation between
Israelis and Palestinians. Unfortunately, President Abbas and his
government are doing just the opposite.
Mr. Speaker, there must be an end to this wave of terrorism. It is
time to stop the spread of incitement. This resolution puts the House
on record that incitement leads to violence, and it must end if there
is to be a chance for peace.
I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from New York (Mr. Zeldin), who is a member of our
Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Mr. ZELDIN. I thank Ms. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen for her inspiring
leadership in bringing forth this bipartisan resolution.
I am inspired as I listen to the words of Mr. Deutch and Mr. Engel as
this is something that allows Americans to unite for a cause of
strengthening our relationships with our friends, like Israel, ensuring
that we treat our enemies as our enemies.
Mr. Speaker, according to the Maariv daily, Palestinian Authority
President Abbas said in a Ramallah address:
We will not forsake our country, and we will keep every
inch of our land. Every drop of blood spilled in Jerusalem is
pure. Every Shahid will reach paradise, and every injured
person will be rewarded by God.
The Palestinian Authority President said he would insist that a
future Palestinian state include East Jerusalem as its capital. He
said:
The Al-Aqsa Mosque is ours. The church is ours as well.
They have no right to desecrate the mosque with their dirty
feet. We won't allow them to do that.
A top Hamas official in the Gaza Strip called on all of the
Palestinians to turn their weapons against the Israelis, saying that
Allah created man only to wage jihad and to plunge knives into the
chests of the enemies.
We hear a lot of talk about the pursuit of a viable two-state
solution. It is not just about Israel and its recognizing the
Palestinians' right to exist.
[[Page H7363]]
It is also about the Palestinians and its recognizing Israel's right to
exist. Yet the Palestinian Authority, by the day, is under more and
more influence of an element that will not rest until the other side is
wiped off the map.
I was disturbed when the Secretary of State's spokesperson, John
Kirby, said:
Individuals on both sides of this divide are, have been
proven capable of, and, in our view, are guilty of acts of
terrorism.
Last month the State Department claimed that the Temple Mount status
quo was violated. I was just there a couple of months back. I was at a
place called Decks Restaurant in Tiberias. It is right on the Sea of
Galilee.
The owner of the restaurant got on the microphone--the place was
crowded with locals--and she started preaching about her love of
America, about her appreciation of the strength of that bond between
the U.S. and Israel.
As she is saying this, a boat pulls in off the Sea of Galilee and
starts setting off fireworks. As the fireworks start blowing off, they
start playing ``God Bless America'' over the loud speaker. All the
locals stood up and were singing along, and if they didn't know the
words, they were lip-syncing it.
It was such a proud moment. Where else in the world can you go where
you will find a restaurant at which the owner will get on the
microphone and start talking about her love of America?
I value the relationship that we have with our friends, such as
Israel. We didn't see the Israeli Prime Minister going on international
TV trying to embarrass the President of the United States after there
was a hospital strike, which the President took responsibility for.
It is important that we don't embarrass our allies and that we stand
with them in tough times. Right now we stand with innocent victims in
Israel, who are being targeted by terrorist attacks through the
incitement of violence by the leadership of the Palestinian Authority.
That is why I am so proud to stand here today with Ms. Ileana Ros-
Lehtinen for, again, her consistent and strong dedication and
leadership and for her determination in ensuring that this body stands
united with Israel every single day.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
In closing, as you have heard from everyone who has spoken, the
recent surge of Palestinian violence against Israel must stop. It must
stop to save innocent lives. It must stop so that negotiations can go
forward. It must stop because acts of terrorism are not to be
tolerated.
Any way you look at it, these are terrorist acts, and the only way we
can have peace and the only way we can have a two-state solution is if
both parties sit opposite each other, with no preconditions, and start
negotiating.
I do support a two-state solution--a Palestinian Arab state and an
Israeli Jewish state--living together in peace and harmony; but it is
not going to happen if the Palestinian leadership, which is bankrupt in
more ways than one, refuses to teach its people the right thing, if it
refuses to repudiate acts of terror.
Mahmoud Abbas, or Abu Mazen--the leader of the Palestinians--is, I
think, on the eighth year of his 4-year term. He is not really
legitimate anymore. The more he talks with rhetoric and incitement, the
less relevant he becomes.
It is really a shame because I do think that the Palestinians deserve
better and I do think that, ultimately, they deserve their own state;
but they will not have their own state if they resort to terror. It is
bankrupt, and it is a dead end for them.
Instead of encouraging these kinds of acts of terror against innocent
civilians, the leadership of the Palestinians ought to be dismissing
it, ought to be condemning it, ought to be taking strong stands against
it. We have yet to hear, and that is why this resolution is so
important.
This resolution sends the signal that Palestinian leaders have a
responsibility to repudiate this violence and put an end to the
horrific campaign of incitement against Jews and Israelis.
Everyone who spoke today is saying the same thing. We are saying the
same thing because it is clear as night and day what is going on over
there. So I urge all of my colleagues to support this measure.
The United States will always stand with the people of Israel, and
the United States will always stand against violence and terrorism
wherever it rears its head around the world.
I again thank my good friend, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, for her leadership
and Mr. Deutch for his leadership as well.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I want to thank the chairman of our committee, Mr. Royce, for his
help in bringing this resolution to the floor after the markup in the
subcommittee and the full committee.
I want to thank Mr. Engel for his steadfast support of doing
everything that is humanly possible to support efforts in getting peace
in the Middle East and his support for the democratic Jewish state of
Israel.
I want to thank Mr. Deutch, who is my partner on the Middle East and
North Africa Subcommittee. He has been a person who understands the
many obstacles to peace that the Palestinians encounter because of
their failed leadership, and the responsibility lies in that
leadership. I have had the opportunity to travel to Israel with Mr.
Deutch, and I am very thankful for his friendship and for his guidance.
I also want to thank Mr. Poe and Mr. Zeldin--valued members of our
Committee on Foreign Affairs--for their perspectives on how to reach
peace, because, when all is said and done, this is what this resolution
is all about.
We are condemning the anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incitement to
violence by the Palestinian Authority, but we do so because this is
antithetical to the cause of peace, which is what this body is all
about and what the United States' foreign policy is based on in the
Middle East.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, securing a lasting peace between Israel and
Palestine requires a commitment to humanizing the experiences of both
peoples. Divisive rhetoric dehumanizes people and undermines the
prospect of long-term peace. This resolution is divisive.
Incitement by either party, including Palestinian Authority leaders,
is a serious issue and deserves to be condemned. But when we denounce
the Palestinians and leave no mention of divisive rhetoric by the
Israeli government, we do a disservice to Palestinians and Israelis.
Just two weeks ago, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said
``Hitler didn't want to exterminate the Jews at the time, he wanted to
expel the Jews.'' He laid the blame for the Shoa at the feet of a
Palestinian Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini. Al-Husseini
was a virulent anti-Semite. But Prime Minister Netanyahu's blaming the
idea of the Holocaust on a Palestinian, and by implication
Palestinians, deserves to be condemned by this body just as Palestinian
incitement does.
I oppose this resolution, not because the Palestinians are not
inciting, and not because I believe this incitement should not be
condemned. I oppose this resolution because any resolution that attacks
one side while ignoring the other can only further tension and
violence.
If Congress wants to be considered a legitimate arbiter of peace
between Israel and Palestine we must pursue a balanced approach that
calls for an end to incitement on both sides and both leaders to live
up to their obligations under the Oslo Accords.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Harris). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) that the
House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 293, as
amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the resolution, as amended, was agreed to.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________