[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 18, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E504]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  ISRAELI INDEPENDENCE IS 70 YEARS OLD

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                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 18, 2018

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this week Israelis celebrate 70 years 
of independence and success against all odds. In Israel, independence 
day is celebrated the day after the entire country solemnly remembers 
its fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism.


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  April 18, 2018, on page E504, the following appeared: Mr. POE. 
Mr. Speaker, this week Israelis celebrate 70 years of independence 
and success against all odds.
  
  The online version has been corrected to read: Mr. POE of Texas. 
Mr. Speaker, this week Israelis celebrate 70 years of independence 
and success against all odds.


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 

  The mingling of memorial and celebration in Israel is rooted in the 
country's history: from the very moment of its founding, Israel's 
enemies have tried time and again to wipe the Jewish state off the map.
  Israel was established in 1948 as a refuge for the Jewish people, 
after generations of oppression in all corners of the earth. After over 
2,000 years of exile, Holocaust survivors and persecuted Jews from 
Muslim lands miraculously returned to their ancient homeland to forge a 
new future together.
  These refugees went on to make the desert blossom and establish a 
prosperous, industrious, and free nation. Today, Israel stands as a 
stalwart American ally and an outpost of freedom and democracy in a 
region plagued with tyranny and fear.
  So today, we congratulate Israel for 70 years of defying the odds and 
tell the Israeli people: The United States will always stand by their 
side.
  And that's just the way it is.

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