[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 175 (Tuesday, October 24, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5132-S5134]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 Israel

  Mr. President, much has been said and written about the horrific 
Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7. The wanton slaughter of 
more than a thousand Israelis and an estimated 200 hostages still being 
held is hard to fathom. One fact tells the grim story. More Jews died 
on this day than any time since the Holocaust. It was not just another 
bad day in the Middle East. It was a premeditated slaughter of historic 
proportion.
  The crisis that has followed has touched many in my home State of 
Illinois who have family in Israel. On Friday, I was relieved to learn 
of the release of Natalie and Judith Raanan from Evanston who were 
being held as hostages by Hamas in Gaza. Another two women, thankfully, 
were released yesterday. Now the Hamas terrorists must release the 
remaining hostages captured on October 7. I pray every moment for their 
safe return.
  Throughout my career in Congress, I have supported U.S. assistance to 
help Israel defend itself from those bent on its destruction. I am not 
naive. I know the creation of the nation of Israel was controversial in 
its time. It still is to many today. Yet it struck me that the people 
of that region deserve an opportunity to live in peace, to find one 
refuge in the world they can count on. And I have always supported 
Israel because of that.
  I will strongly support the President's proposed supplemental request 
to help Israel, Ukraine, and other urgent humanitarian needs.
  The Hamas attack, which had nothing to do with solving the problems 
between the Jewish people and the Palestinians, was really not 
advancing a two-state solution or even seeking long-term peace. It was 
a reminder that there are still those in the region who refuse to 
accept Israel's right to exist--literally, their right to exist--and 
will take any actions to destroy it.
  But in acknowledging Israel's understandable rage and pain, I believe 
President Biden gave wise counsel to learn from America's mistakes made 
after the similarly traumatic attacks on 9/11. I remember that day. I 
was in this building, just outside the Chamber, 9/11/2001. I couldn't 
imagine what had happened to our Nation as we were evacuating the 
Capitol to stand out on the lawn and pray another airplane was not 
directed toward the Capitol or the White House.
  It changed America in some ways for the better. We were united. We 
were determined. We were really in focus with one another to try to 
make this a safe country for our kids and grandkids. And it divided us 
as well. We made some decisions which were thoughtful, wise, and stood 
the test of history and some that did not.
  Hamas, just like al-Qaida in those days, must be destroyed. But 
Israel should be wary of the kind of overreach we found after 9/11. You 
do not want an ill-thought occupation of Gaza to become your Fallujah. 
You do not want to dehumanize the innocents on the periphery who are 
not your enemy and will have to be your neighbors in the future.
  Hamas is a terrorist organization that has a long and cynical history 
of hiding its military essence among and around innocent civilians. 
They dare their enemies to attack, only to realize the collateral 
damage is going to be devastating. It makes any effort to root them out 
and rescue hostages extraordinarily difficult.
  Let us be clear, the Palestinian people are not Hamas. As a 
democracy, Israel must follow the rules of war and not target civilians 
or conduct disproportionate or indiscriminate attacks. We are already 
seeing a distressing humanitarian crisis building in Gaza, which has 
the potential to become worse.

  As such, I joined several Senate colleagues in calling for the U.S. 
humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people, a move President 
Biden made last week. The suffering of the Palestinians cannot be 
ignored. Tom Freidman said it even better last week when he said:

       Hamas has not only taken [Israel] hostage; it has taken 
     [Gaza civilians] hostage as well.

  The passions and pain from these events are not limited to the Middle 
East. They are manifesting in all of our Nation, even in my State of 
Illinois. Ten days ago, a 6-year-old Palestinian-American, Wadea Al-
Fayoume, was murdered in a suburb of Chicago in a mindless, 
heartbreaking act. Almost

[[Page S5133]]

every hour of every day, there has been a photograph of this beautiful 
little boy in a ``Happy Birthday'' hat standing, smiling, looking at 
the camera. It is hard to imagine he answered his door, and simply 
because he was a Palestinian descendant, he was attacked by a crazed 
man who killed him and then attempted to kill his mother. I was glad 
President Biden mentioned Wadea last week in an address to the Nation. 
I have that family in my thoughts and prayers as they grieve for the 
little boy and the mother who continues to recover. There have also 
been fears of a bomb threat at a synagogue outside of Chicago. A 
weekend protest in Skokie ended in shots fired.
  President Biden was eloquent when he reminded us such hate must stop 
and we are all Americans. I have my differences with George W. Bush, 
but I think one of the most profound things he said or did after 9/11 
was to announce publicly that he did not believe those who believed in 
the Muslim faith were wrong at the heart. He believed that it was a 
religion of peace that some were trying to corrupt. Those statements 
were so critical at the time when hatred could line up at just any 
moment. Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and anti-Arab hate have no place 
in America or anywhere in the world.
  During my time in Congress, I have been an advocate of a two-state 
solution, one that provides safe and secure nations for both the 
Israeli and Palestinian people. There have been attempts at peace and 
two states offered some hope--Israeli peace with Egypt and Jordan, and 
the Oslo Accords.
  Some leaders, such as former Israeli Prime Minister Rabin and 
Egyptian President Sadat paid with their lives pursuing peace. But for 
too long, spoilers on both sides undermined a peaceful two-state 
solution. They pursued narrow, selfish political goals, too often 
determined to stay in power above all else. Settlements have expanded, 
as have continued eruptions of violence.
  Regional powers have claimed to care about but only paid lip service 
to the Palestinian people. The Palestinian authority has been mired in 
corruption and a lack of new leadership for more than two decades, too 
often at the very expense of the Palestinian people.
  I know it will be hard, but I hope out of the ashes of pain of this 
crisis, there will be a renewed focus on a two-state solution. Out of 
the devastating Yom Kippur war came the unimaginable at the time--a 
historic peace treaty between Egypt and Israel that still endures. With 
the right leaders on both sides, it can be done.
  We here in the United States have a responsibility for a renewed push 
towards finding a solution that allows Israel and Palestinian children 
to, once and for all, live together safely and peacefully.
  I yield the floor.
  Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Mr. President, 10 days ago, the family of Omer 
Neutra lit 23 candles on his birthday cake. But unlike previous 
birthdays, the candles kept burning because Omer wasn't there to blow 
them out.
  Omer is one of the more than 200 people in Israel who were taken 
hostage by Hamas. The grandson of Holocaust survivors, he is an avid 
athlete and loves the New York Knicks.
  He deferred his acceptance to Binghamton University to spend a gap 
year in Israel before he joined the IDF. On the day of the attack, he 
was working as a tank commander defending the Gaza border. He was last 
seen being forcibly removed at the hands of Hamas terrorists.
  Since Omer's abduction, my office has been working with his family. 
We are doing everything we can to secure his safe release and the 
release of all the Americans who are still unaccounted for in Israel. I 
am grateful that the two American hostages released on Friday are doing 
well, but there are still several American citizens, many of whom may 
be injured or unwell, who remain in captivity. We must not stop 
fighting until all of them are safe.
  On Thursday, I met with the family of 3-year-old Abigail Mor Edan. 
Her family told me the harrowing story of her and her two siblings. 
Abigail's brother Michael and her sister Amalia locked themselves in a 
closet while their mother was slaughtered in their home. Abigail was 
with her father who was shot while holding on to her. His body was 
later found, but Abigail is still missing.
  I also met with the family of Keith and Aviva Siegel, grandparents 
who were kidnapped from kibbutz Kfar Aza. Keith is an American citizen 
and was seen being abducted with his wife.
  The family of Itay Chen has been in contact with my office too. Itay 
is a 19-year-old who was born in New York City and is now serving in 
the IDF. He was supposed to return home to his family in just a few 
days to celebrate his brother's bar mitzvah.
  Another hostage, named Sagui Dekel-Chen, is a U.S. citizen who was 
last seen fighting off the terrorists. His pregnant wife and two young 
daughters survived while hiding in their family's safe room.
  I have also heard from the family of Judy Weinstein, who was born in 
New York State. She and her husband Gad were on a walk when the air 
raid sirens blared. The couple hid face down in a field as hundreds of 
rockets rained overhead. Judy called an ambulance because she and her 
husband had been shot, but the ambulance was unable to reach them, and 
the couple is now missing.
  None of these people--these innocent people--deserve to be abandoned. 
They are Americans. We must fight for them as if they were our own 
sons, our own daughters, our own grandmothers and grandfathers. These 
people are our family, our lifeblood, our heart and soul.
  My commitment to these families is that we will not give up on them. 
We will go to the ends of the Earth to bring their loved ones home. And 
my message to the terrorists is: We will not give in. Your darkness and 
your evil will not destroy us.
  We will keep our hope alive and rally around these families. We will 
light our loved ones' candles and never blow them out.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 
up to 15 minutes prior to the scheduled rollcall vote.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, last week, the Biden administration 
proposed a spending package that included funding meant for 
humanitarian relief--$3.5 billion for migration and refugee assistance 
in Ukraine, Israel, and Gaza; $5.7 billion for the U.S. Agency for 
International Development. The Biden administration says that our money 
will pay for ``life-saving humanitarian programming in Israel and areas 
impacted by the situation in the West Bank and Gaza.''
  We have two problems to address. First, the U.S. Government is scared 
to call the terrorist attack a terrorist attack. Second, this is just 
one more embarrassing example of the Biden administration's two-faced 
approach to the people of Israel.
  I have spoken at length about the money pipeline between Iran and 
Hamas, but there is a similar pipeline that appears to be running 
between Hamas and the U.S. taxpayer. Every dollar we send that is 
earmarked for Gaza or the West Bank is another dollar Hamas can put 
into their pocket.
  Last week, I spoke about the U.N. Relief and Works Agency and how 
this false humanitarian mission has been corrupted by Hamas and 
terrorist sympathizers. This has been confirmed by multiple NGOs, the 
media, Joe Biden's own advisers, and whoever published and then deleted 
this post from the UNRWA Twitter account.
  Hamas stole those supplies and UNRWA covered it up. Remember, this is 
a U.N. body that pulls 93 percent of its funding from global 
government. In 2021 alone, UNRWA took $338 million from the United 
States, $118 million from the European Commission, and

[[Page S5134]]

hundreds of millions of dollars from individual European nations.
  Since 2021, Biden has sent UNRWA a billion dollars. A billion 
dollars. USAID funds more than $21 billion worth of UN programming, and 
they sent millions of dollars to UNRWA. And now the President is ready 
to send them billions more. If the American people knew what their tax 
dollars were actually being used for, they would be outraged. And I 
believe it is time for them to know.
  We know that Hamas steals UNRWA money and supplies and stores their 
weapons in UNRWA facilities. We also know that they fill those 
facilities with human shields. But something that hasn't gotten nearly 
enough attention is how our tax dollars are radicalizing the next 
generation of Hamas extremists.
  UN Watch published a report in March exposing UNRWA-affiliated 
schools for what they are: indoctrination centers. Bear in mind, this 
is UN Watch that published this report and exposed the U.N. Relief and 
Works Agency for Palestinian refugees for what they were doing. One 
employee shared an Instagram post calling a teenage Palestine Islamic 
Jihad fighter who was killed in a shootout a ``little cub who fights 
like a thousand lions.'' That was an employee of the U.N. Relief and 
Works Agency who shared that Instagram post calling a teenage Jihadi 
fighter a ``little cub who fights like a thousand lions.''
  A teacher posted a picture of Hitler with the caption:

       Hitler, are you sleeping? Wake up, honey, there are still 
     some people you need to burn.

  UN Watch also found official curriculum from last year celebrating 
Dalal Mughrabi. In 1978, she led a band of PLO terrorists in a massacre 
that left 38 Israeli civilians dead. Thirteen of her victims were 
children. Another piece of propaganda written for ninth graders 
described the firebombing of a U.S. bus as a ``barbecue party.'' One 
UNRWA teacher assigned seventh grade boys anti-Semitic poetry that 
urged the students to expel Israelis ``with blood and flesh'' from 
Palestine. All of this was subsidized by the American taxpayer.
  Hamas is responsible for the October 7 massacre in Israel. But anyone 
who believes that Hamas is a solo actor is willfully ignorant. They 
have support. And right now, Biden's foreign policy is providing much 
of that support, not only through the money pipeline but through his 
absolute refusal to keep Iran in check. This isn't just a U.S. problem. 
It is a worldwide problem that we will not solve until the money stops 
flowing and Hamas is eradicated.
  Fortunately, at least when it comes to UNRWA, accountability is built 
in. Global governments provide that funding, which means we can take it 
away. The United States needs to step up and lead.
  I have introduced legislation to halt that funding until Iran is 
expelled from the U.N. and investigated for violations. We have to get 
this job done. Our legislation would accomplish two goals. It will 
destroy that pipeline of taxpayer dollars from the United States to 
Hamas and disrupt the Biden administration's policy of appeasement 
toward Iran.
  Everything President Biden has done has made this world more 
dangerous. But nothing has had more immediate and catastrophic 
consequences for our allies than his refusal to treat the Iranian 
regime like the dangerous adversary that it actually is. He sent Robert 
Malley, Ariane Tabatabai, and other Iranian assets to renegotiate the 
failed nuclear deal. Administration officials allowed Ms. Tabatabai's 
security clearance to stand even after it became clear she was 
operating under the advice of Iranian officials. He agreed to hand over 
a $6 billion ransom payment and then insisted that the world's most 
prolific state sponsor of terror would dedicate every penny to 
humanitarian aid.
  And in the hours following the worst massacre of Jews since the 
Holocaust, he insisted that there was no connection between Iran and 
Hamas and their terrorist acts. Never mind that a week later, Hamas 
leadership met with the Iranian foreign minister in Qatar.
  Biden's foreign policy is fatally flawed; that has become evident. 
And if we don't force him to reverse course, he will further endanger 
the American people and our allies and our safety and security.
  I yield the floor.