[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 172 (Thursday, October 19, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5097-S5098]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 ISRAEL

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, more Jews died on October 7 than have died 
since the Holocaust. As the war in the Middle East wages on, the world 
is learning more details about the horrors being unleashed by Hamas, 
which, as the world now knows, is a U.S.-designated terrorist 
organization. This has been going on for a long time.
  Over the past week and a half, we have heard horrifying stories of 
atrocities committed against the Israeli people. Last week, I met at 
Temple Emanu-El, a synagogue in Dallas, TX, and talked to a mom named 
Kim who has two sons who were born in Dallas. They are native Texans, 
American citizens, and are now fighting in the IDF, the Israeli Defense 
Forces.
  Another woman had been a teacher of a kibbutz in Israel but had 
recently relocated to the United States. She recounted watching her 
phone all of a sudden becoming deluged with messages from that kibbutz 
about Hamas killers coming in and indiscriminately killing babies, 
children, and other civilians.
  These terrorists have no conscience. They have no moral standards. 
They not only murdered babies and children, they raped, tortured, and 
beheaded other innocent civilians. They dismembered the bodies of their 
victims and captured hostages to use as human shields or human 
bargaining chips.
  It gives me no pleasure to recount the horrific evil that we are 
seeing played out in real time on our TV screens and in social media. 
But it is important that we acknowledge the reality of this evil 
because, if we don't--if we brush it under the rug and we act like, 
well, there is really some moral equivalency between the Palestinian 
cause and the Israeli nation and that somehow Hamas is justified in 
committing these acts--we will have bought the propaganda of Hamas 
hook, line, and sinker.
  Of course, we all know that Hamas is a proxy for the Supreme Leader 
in Iran and that the IRGC, the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the 
Quds Force has helped equip and train Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon in 
the northern part of Israel, and that this is part of a long-term 
effort to extinguish the Jewish State and to eliminate it from the map.
  This is not a spontaneous act. I know that written in many of the 
newspapers the news media has said: Well, Iran didn't know about this.
  Well, they may not have known the timing and they may not have known 
the scale of these attacks, but there is no question they enabled them. 
And it was their joint cause between Hamas and Iran to commit these 
atrocities against the people of Israel as part of their desire to 
extinguish them from the face of the planet.
  These terrorists were carrying documents that explicitly outlined the 
mission's objective: Kill as many individuals as possible and capture 
hostages. Those were the orders given to the Hamas terrorists. Other 
documents included detailed plans to target elementary schools--target 
elementary schools and a youth center in Israel, and specific plans to 
target the most vulnerable population--women and children.
  In an interview on CNN, Israeli President Isaac Herzog provided even 
more details about the instructions given to these killers. He showed a 
booklet that was found on the body of a terrorist. It is a pocket-sized 
pamphlet that provides step-by-step instructions on how to torture and 
kidnap innocent people.
  So the evidence is crystal clear. This is an evil terrorist group 
whose only goal is to eliminate Israel and the Jewish people and if 
they can't do that, to kill as many Jews as they possibly can.
  In the wake of these attacks, we have seen an overwhelming show of 
support--certainly here in Congress and across America--for the Israeli 
people and a powerful condemnation of Hamas.
  Here in the Senate, where disagreement seems to be the rule these 
days, I am glad this is an issue that has garnered overwhelming 
bipartisan support. In the coming days, I expect the Senate to pass a 
resolution affirming Israel's right to self-defense--literally its 
right to exist--and committing American support.
  I want to thank Leader Schumer, Leader McConnell, Chairman Cardin, 
and Ranking Member Risch for introducing this resolution in the Foreign 
Relations Committee. I am proud to be one of the 99 Senators who has 
cosponsored the resolution, and I hope we can advance it formally soon. 
It is important that the United States is the leader of the free world. 
It is important that we voice our clear and unwavering support for 
Israel in the face of this evil. It is important not only what we say, 
but it is important what we do.
  The administration, we know, is preparing a supplemental funding 
request to give Israel the weapons and the humanitarian relief they 
need to sustain themselves. I expect this will include weapons, 
intelligence support, humanitarian aid, and other various and sundry 
items. Given the constant threats they face from Hamas terrorists and 
the threat from a potential enlargement of the war if Hezbollah were to 
join in, it is absolutely critical that we treat this request with 
urgency. Israel is our closest ally in the Middle East, and it deserves 
our full support both in words and in action.
  While support for Israel has been overwhelming, a small but loud 
minority has tried to establish some false equivalency between Hamas's 
attack and Israel's defense. These individuals have offered bogus 
assessments that somehow Israel is to blame. Sadly, many of these 
individuals cannot even offer ignorance as an excuse because they are 
students and leaders at some of the most prestigious universities in 
America.
  A coalition of students at Harvard issued a statement, claiming that 
Israel is ``entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.''
  The president of New York University's Student Bar Association 
falsely claimed that ``Israel bears full responsibility for this 
tremendous loss of life.'' It is no surprise that this young woman's 
peers denounced this statement and her future employer rescinded its 
job offer.
  Leaders at Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, 
Stanford, and other elite schools have faced fierce and much-deserved 
backlash over their responses to this war.
  Fortunately, these views do not constitute a majority, and it is 
important that those who have the evidence to back it up speak out and 
call it what it is, which is Iranian propaganda.
  One prominent voice of reason among college administrators is our own 
former colleague Ben Sasse, who now serves as the president of the 
University of Florida. In a letter to Jewish students and alumni, he 
pointed out the truth, which is what his colleagues in ``elite 
academia'' could not bear to say. He called Hamas's actions evil, and 
he said there is no defense for terrorism.
  It is embarrassing that many students, faculty, and administrators at 
some of America's most prestigious universities cannot even acknowledge 
that simple fact. It is no wonder people begin to wonder what is being 
taught in our colleges and universities. Are our children who are 
attending these colleges and universities being brainwashed? being only 
told one side of the story? intimidating people who have different 
points of view and silencing them from speaking out and telling the 
truth? Unfortunately, I think that is happening on a regular basis at 
some of these most elite colleges and universities. Our kids are being 
brainwashed.
  While the rhetoric alone is deeply concerning, it is horrifying to 
see that some of this has turned into actual violence. An Israeli 
student at Columbia University was assaulted with a stick outside the 
university's library. Synagogues in Utah were forced to evacuate after 
receiving bomb threats, which, thankfully, were not credible but were 
disturbing nonetheless. Swastikas and Nazi flags have been spotted in 
cities across the country from California to New York.
  Let's just state the truth: There is no space, no room, no argument 
for hate or anti-Semitism in the United States, period.
  Now, we do believe in free speech. We do believe that those who have 
different points of view deserve the right, at some point, to speak 
their mind. But those of us who know better, who know what the facts 
are, who have the courage and backbone to stand up and tell

[[Page S5098]]

the truth, need to speak out as well and just as forcefully so the 
American people can know the truth and our actions can follow the 
evidence.
  This is a time for moral clarity. We are watching a battle of good 
versus evil, and there can be no ambiguity about where America stands. 
President Biden traveled to Tel Aviv yesterday to affirm America's 
unyielding support for Israel as it defends itself. Good for him. I am 
glad he made the trip, and I hope the Israeli people can find some 
comfort and some confidence in the message of solidarity.
  If Israel needs weapons, which it does, particularly for the Iron 
Dome, which is the anti-rocket defense weapon that is designed to knock 
out these hundreds of rockets being launched from Gaza into Israel--
they need the Iron Dome in order to stop those rockets from hitting 
innocent civilians. But, of course, they need increased access to our 
intelligence capabilities to supplement their own, humanitarian aid, 
diplomatic support. Whatever it is, the United States will provide it. 
Israel has our complete and unwavering support.
  As each of us knows, support for Israel is only part of the equation. 
America cannot relinquish its leadership role in the world, which means 
we cannot simply replenish Israel's arsenal or bolster its efforts to 
defend itself. We must also adopt a new approach to deal with those who 
are spreading terrorism in the Middle East--namely Iran. Iran is the 
leading state sponsor of international terrorism, and it has bankrolled 
and trained Hamas.

  Again, I am troubled by this idea that somehow Iran was not involved 
in this attack. Of course, they were, by sending $100 million a year to 
Hezbollah and Hamas with which to train them and then by providing 
weapons, with the objective of wiping Israel off the map. The blood is 
on Iran's, including the Supreme Leader's, hands, and he is proud of it 
because his goal is to wipe Israel off the map by any means necessary. 
Iran has provided Hamas and other terrorist proxies in the region, as I 
said, with funding, weapons, and training to enable the types of 
attacks we have witnessed.
  We should be absolutely clear. President Bush, some 20 years ago, 
made a fairly controversial statement at the time by identifying the 
axis of evil--he called it--which included Iran, Iraq at the time, 
which was under the rule of Saddam Hussein, and North Korea; but, 
today, that axis should include not only Iran but also Russia, which is 
more than happy to have its ally Iran distract the world from what they 
are doing in Ukraine, and, of course, the Chinese, who are more than 
happy, in exchange for the oil that they import from places like Iran 
and Russia, to provide support for their evil aims.
  The Supreme Leader of Iran once labeled the United States as Iran's 
``No. 1 enemy.'' There is no doubt that Iran has serious skin in this 
game, and it has a lot to gain from Hamas.
  President Biden needs to reassess his approach in dealing with Iran. 
Rather than appeasement, which has allowed them to circumvent the 
sanctions that we put on, for example, oil exports, they are now back 
in business, and their economy is booming as a result of the oil they 
are selling to countries like China and others. And the idea that 
President Biden would accept anything, any kind of deal--even a bad 
deal--on the Iranian nuclear weapon development is giving them the 
confidence that they can continue not only to negotiate a weak 
agreement but also continue to sell drones to Russia with which to kill 
Ukrainians. Eventually, they will be able to succeed in their No. 1 
goal, which is to develop a nuclear weapon.
  Can you imagine, given the death and destruction in the Middle East 
now that has been caused by Iranian-sponsored proxies like Hezbollah 
and Hamas, if that same country--the No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism--
got a nuclear weapon? That cannot happen. That must not happen. So I 
hope these events have caused the administration to reconsider its 
approach.
  The series of missteps has projected an image of weakness to our 
adversaries, who are eager to exploit any cracks in our defense. 
Appeasement, as we learned from World War II, is not a viable strategy 
because countries like Iran, led by the Supreme Leader and this 
theocracy which is bent on the destruction of Israel, can't be reasoned 
with. There is not really a cost-benefit analysis. They are not 
rational actors; they are ideologues determined to accomplish their 
goal, which is to wipe out countries like Israel.
  So we need to get to work and work together to confront the threats 
that Iran and its proxies present and reestablish a credible deterrence 
in the Middle East. Until that happens, we can expect assaults on 
Israel and other pro-democracy movements in the Middle East. They will 
be under constant and increased assault.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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