[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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