[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 188 (Tuesday, November 14, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S5483]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            MARCH FOR ISRAEL

  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, on one final matter, today, our 
Nation's Capital will welcome a rally of Jewish Americans and friends 
of Israel. The participants in today's events are gathering in 
mourning, in worry, in fear, and in shared resolve.

  In the dark days since the terrorist massacre of October 7, their 
message has been crystal clear: There is no moral equivalence between 
terrorism and self-defense. Israel has a right to exist, and Jews 
everywhere have a right to live without fear.
  These basic truths should be obvious and unimpeachable. But if anyone 
failed to see the creeping advance of anti-Semitism across the West in 
recent years, if any corner of our society let itself believe that this 
unique hatred of Jews has been confined to history, that naive fiction 
was shattered on October 7 and swept away by the hate that has poured 
across college campuses and city streets throughout America and the 
West over the past month.
  In just the first week after Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad 
murdered 1,200 Israelis, harassment, vandalism, and assault against 
American Jews rose nearly 400 percent.
  But the peaceful people gathering in Washington today aren't here to 
ask for pity for themselves. They are here on behalf of the more than 
240 hostages, including a 3-year-old American boy and at least 8 other 
Americans who cannot speak for themselves. They are here with a clear 
message for our leaders: Stand with Israel.
  Since October 7, I have spoken repeatedly about the challenges Israel 
faces as it works to protect its people, bring the hostages home, and 
destroy Hamas's capability to wage war. I have talked about the 
terrorists' reprehensible record of systematically violating the 
customary laws of war; their expropriation of humanitarian aid; the 
cold-blooded practice of putting command centers and weapons caches in 
hospitals, schools, and even mosques; their grotesque penchant for 
using innocent Gazans as human shields; and, of course, the threat of 
further violence from the Iran-backed terrorists on the second front.
  This is why I have urged the Biden administration to give Israel the 
time, space, and support it needs to bring these savages to justice.
  How quickly some in the West have become confused about the crystal-
clear distinction between terrorism and self-defense. It is not the 
same thing.
  Hamas sought the conflict. Hamas perpetuates it by holding hostages 
and continuing its terrorism. And those of us who live out of range of 
terrorist rockets should pause before second-guessing Israel's 
response.
  This is the time that demands moral clarity on campuses, in 
newsrooms, in Congress, and at the sharp end of American military 
strength. It is also time to restore credible deterrence against Iran, 
the chief underwriter and architect of violence against Israel and 
against American forces in the Middle East.
  In less than 1 month, Iran-backed terrorists have targeted U.S. 
servicemembers in Iraq and Syria 52 times. From the abandonment of 
Afghanistan to the delisting of the Houthis, to our failure to respond 
to proxy attacks on our friends in the region, the Biden administration 
has made Iran's job actually easier.
  And now, as America dithers over support for their friends in 
Ukraine, Tehran has thrown itself firmly behind Putin's Russia. It will 
take more than demolishing a couple of warehouses to show our 
adversaries we are credible. Iran and its terrorist networks must know 
that violence against America or our allies will be met swiftly and 
overwhelmingly with lethal force.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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