[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 172 (Thursday, October 19, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5098-S5099]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ISRAEL
Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. President, on September 11, 2001, even while smoke
was still billowing from the wreckage of the Twin Towers, I knew deep
within me that that attack on American soil would change not just my
Nation's future but my own, and it did.
I rushed back to the assault helicopter company I commanded at the
time, ready to seek out the terrorists who attacked my Nation and
slaughtered civilians. I did it willingly, without hesitation, because
every fiber in my being felt the need to defend my country when she was
threatened.
So, today, let me be very clear. As a soldier and as someone who has
always supported Israel, I strongly believe in Israel's right to defend
herself and her people, especially when under attack from a terrorist
organization like Hamas--a group that redefines the word ``cruelty,''
that seems to take pleasure in bloodshed, that refuses to adhere to the
rule of law or international norms.
If I were an Israeli soldier--if I woke up two Saturdays ago to the
sights and sounds of massacre like they did--I, too, would be desperate
to defend my nation and my neighbors; I, too, would want to make sure
that those who turned my children's playgrounds into battlefields, who
turned the grass under my daughter's swing set from a rich green to
blood red, were never able to inflict such horrors again.
I grieve for every Israeli life that was upended or, in too many
cases, ended in such a horrific fashion.
There is never an excuse or justification for terrorism, none. And I
will stay on this floor for as long as it takes, vote as many times as
I have to, to ensure that our Israeli allies have the resources and
support they need in time of war.
I am also clear-eyed about the fact that there is a humanitarian
crisis unfolding just miles away in Gaza, and I recognize the urgent
need to help the innocent Palestinians, who are also suffering as a
result of Hamas's brutal attacks.
It is this simple: We should all be able to agree that no child
deserves to starve to death or die of thirst. We should all be able to
agree that no child deserves to be brutalized or burned alive, whether
they live in Gaza or Tel Aviv. We should all be able to agree that no
child deserves to be terrorized, whether their home is on a kibbutz or
in Plainfield, IL, or behind a blockade.
Every time I have gone home from work since that awful Saturday
morning, I have held my little girls as tightly as I could. I have
given them one more squeeze than usual and held on to them for a couple
more seconds than normal. My daughters are just 8 and 5. They don't
understand why I am so upset. So I just tell them that Mommy's heart is
hurting, that she is really sad right now, and that all she wants in
that moment is just to hold them a little closer for a little longer.
I am haunted by the faces of the Israeli children whom Hamas
terrorists abducted, just as I am by the conversations I have had with
parents desperate to get their children home from the captivity of a
terrorist organization.
I am haunted by the stories of the Palestinian children who have been
buried in rubble, just as I am by the images of 6-year-old Wadea Al-
[[Page S5099]]
Fayoume, who was brutally murdered by his landlord over the weekend in
my home State of Illinois because he just happened to be a Muslim--a 6-
year-old who loved playing with his LEGOs, a6-year-old who could have
been any one of ours.
I know many others in this Chamber, across the country, and around
the world are haunted, too.
So we must--must--act with urgency to secure the sustained flow of
humanitarian aid into Gaza.
We must--must--restore essential services like water as quickly as we
can.
We must--must--ensure hostages being held in Gaza receive urgent
medical treatment and are safely brought home as soon as humanly
possible.
Innocent life needs to be protected consistent with the laws of armed
conflict. These actions mark both moral imperatives by helping innocent
civilians but also are steps toward ensuring Israel's security.
I am grateful that the administration has been working around the
clock on these priorities, and I will continue to do everything in my
power to support them because, during a crisis that is almost always
defined by lose-lose outcomes, this could be the rare step that would
actually benefit all innocent parties. It would help to get those
trapped innocent Palestinian families who are mourning their own lost
loved ones and who have been living with no access to basic
necessities. It would get assistance to the hostages from Israel, the
United States, and other nations whom we are all praying for so
desperately. It would send the message that the global community is
unified in ending the suffering of innocent human souls.
As someone who was shot down by an insurgent in the Middle East, I
know all too well that these are the kinds of moments when the next
generation of insurgents get radicalized, as groups like Hamas thrive
when people are suffering the most. They take advantage of the despair
and the hopelessness that they themselves manufacture, that they
themselves manipulate, and they use it to recruit more to their cause.
We cannot let Hamas succeed. We cannot let the blast of missiles
drown out the voices of our better angels because our hearts are big
enough and our perspectives wide enough to know that Hamas's reign of
terror terrorizes the little girls and boys of not just Israel but
Gaza, too, as they use them as human shields.
In this moment, it is hard not to feel the darkness weighing down
upon us. But for all of those in harm's way, we must channel our
devastation into motivation. We must use our voices to lift up the
humanity of innocent civilians, not to dehumanize those who may look or
pray differently than us. We must work as hard as we can to bring about
a tomorrow for both Israelis and Palestinians alike, where their skies
won't be marred with missiles, and their streets won't be scarred with
blood.
That is exactly what I am going to do. I am going to roll out of this
Chamber, head back to my office, and keep fighting to get our hostages
home. I will fight to get our greatest ally in the Middle East, Israel,
the aid and support they need, and I am also going to work to get basic
humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Then, tonight, when I go home, I am going to hold my daughters in my
arms until they wiggle free, and every moment that that hug lasts, I am
going to be more aware than ever how lucky I am just to be able to
squeeze them tight.
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