[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 123 (Monday, July 23, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H6633-H6634]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CUBAN HEROES OF THE ISRAEL WAR

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, in the seven decades since its 
independence, Israel has become a shining light in an otherwise dark 
region filled with human rights abusers all around her.
  That would not have been possible were it not for those who fought 
for their ancestral country, but also for our shared values of freedom 
and democracy.
  In fact, over 4,000 foreign individuals, Jews and non-Jews, from 58 
countries volunteered to fight in 1948 alongside

[[Page H6634]]

the Israeli forces. Machal, volunteers from outside the country, they 
are called.
  Amongst these mighty warriors, 23 Cuban Jews bravely answered the 
call to arms and left Cuba to come to Israel's aid and secure her 
independence.
  This Sunday, the Inter-American Chapter of Hadassah in my 
congressional district is honoring these courageous Cuban heroes, 
particularly the four remaining survivors.
  Mr. Speaker, the sacrifice and heroism of Cuban Jews during the 
Israeli 1948 War of Independence will never be forgotten by us.

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