[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 46 (Thursday, March 14, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2373-S2378]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 Israel

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I rise to speak today about what I 
believe can and should be the path forward to secure mutual peace and 
lasting prosperity for Israelis and Palestinians. I speak for myself, 
but I also speak for so many mainstream Jewish Americans, a silent 
majority whose nuanced views on the matter have never been well-
represented in this country's discussions about the war in Gaza.
  My last name is Schumer, which derives from the Hebrew word 
``shomer'' or guardian. Of course, my first responsibility is to 
America and to New York. But as the first Jewish majority leader of the 
U.S. Senate and the highest ranking Jewish elected official in America 
ever, I also feel very keenly my responsibility as a ``Shomer 
Yisreol''--a guardian of the people of Israel.
  Throughout Jewish history, there have been many shomrim and plenty 
who are far greater than I claim to be. But, nonetheless, this is the 
position in which I find myself now--at a time of

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great difficulty for the State of Israel, for the Jewish people, and 
for non-Jewish friends of Israel. So I feel an immense obligation to 
speak and to act.
  I speak as a member of a community of Jewish Americans that I know 
very well. They are my family, my friends. Many of them are my 
constituents. Many of them are Democrats, and many are deeply concerned 
about the pursuit of justice, both in New York and around the globe. 
From the Talmud--``Tikkun Olam,'' the call to ``repair the world''--has 
driven Jews around the globe to do what is right.
  We love Israel in our bones. What Israel has meant to my generation 
within living memory of the Holocaust is impossible to measure. The 
flowering of the Jewish people in the desert, from the ashes of the 
Holocaust and the fulfillment of the dream of a Jewish homeland after 
nearly 2,000 years of praying and waiting represents one of the most 
heartfelt causes of my life. And unlike some younger Americans, I 
remember how hard it was to achieve that dream. I remember clutching my 
transistor radio to my ear in James Madison High School, 1967, during 
the Six-Day War, wondering if Israel would be pushed into the sea.
  If the events of the last few months have made anything clear, it is 
that Israel is surrounded by vicious enemies, and there are many people 
around the world who excuse and even support their aims to expel and 
kill Jews living in their hard-won land of refuge.
  I will never underestimate the grave threats Israel faces and has 
faced for the entirety of its existence, nor will I ever underestimate 
the oppression the Jewish people have endured for millennia.
  It is precisely out of that longstanding connection to and concern 
for the state of the people of Israel that I speak today about what I 
view are the most pressing existential threats to Israel's long-term 
peace and prosperity.
  After 5 months of suffering on both sides of this conflict, our 
thinking must turn urgently to how we can achieve lasting peace and 
ensure prosperity and security for both the Jewish people and the 
Palestinian people in the Middle East.
  I believe that to achieve that lasting peace, which we so long for, 
Israel must make some significant course corrections, which I will 
outline in this speech.
  But, first, let's not forget how we arrived at this critical moment. 
What Hamas did on October 7 was brutal beyond imagination. I have sat 
with the families of those killed in the assault. I have seen the 
footage and heard the stories of innocents murdered and raped and of 
heartless cruelty. And as long as I live, I will never forget these 
images--this pure and premeditated evil.
  Many of my family members were killed by Nazis in the Holocaust. 
October 7 and the shameless response to support that terrorist attack 
by some in America and around the globe have awakened the deepest fears 
of the Jewish people: that our annihilation remains a possibility. 
Today, over 130 hostages remain captive in Gaza. I am anguished by the 
plight of so many hostages still being trapped deep inside Hamas's 
network of tunnels. I pray for them and for their families who have 
inspired me with their tenacious advocacy to ensure their loved ones 
are not forgotten. Many of them are Americans: Jonathan Dekel-Chen, 
Hersh Goldberg-Polin; and some are my constituents in New York: Omer 
Neutra, Keith Siegel, and Itay Chen, who we tragically learned this 
week was brutally killed on October 7 while serving near the Gaza 
border. Hamas still holds his body. His father gave me this pin, which 
I am wearing in remembrance of him. As well as those of Americans Judi 
Weinstein and Gad Haggai.
  I have sat with many of these families. I have wept with them. Each 
day that their loved ones don't come home carries enough anguish and 
grief to last a lifetime.
  I am working in every way I can to support the Biden administration's 
negotiations to continue to free every last one of the hostages. I urge 
every actor at the table--the Israelis, the Biden administration, the 
Qataris, the Egyptians, and anybody else at the table--to continue 
doing everything possible to get a deal. Hamas has been given a deal 
already. They should say yes. It is no time to waste.
  My heart also breaks at the loss of so many civilian lives in Gaza. I 
am anguished that the Israeli war campaign has killed so many innocent 
Palestinians. I know that my fellow Jewish Americans feel the same 
anguish when they see the images of dead and starving children and 
destroyed homes.
  Gaza is experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe--entire families 
wiped out, whole neighborhoods reduced to rubble, mass displacement, 
children suffering.
  We should not let the complexities of this conflict stop us from 
stating the plain truth: Palestinian civilians do not deserve to suffer 
for the sins of Hamas, and Israel has a moral obligation to do better. 
The United States has an obligation to do better. I believe the United 
States must provide robust humanitarian aid to Gaza and pressure the 
Israelis to let more of it get through to the people who need it.
  Jewish people throughout the centuries have empathized with those who 
are suffering and who are oppressed because we have known so much of 
that ourselves. As the Torah teaches us, every human life is precious; 
every single innocent life lost, whether Israeli or Palestinian, is a 
tragedy that, as the Scripture says, ``destroys an entire world.''
  What horrifies so many Jews especially is our sense that Israel is 
falling short of upholding these distinctly Jewish values that we hold 
so dear. We must be better than our enemies, lest we become them.
  Israel has a fundamental right to defend itself, but as I have said 
from the beginning of this war, how it exercises that right matters. 
Israel must prioritize the protection of civilian casualties when 
identifying military targets. I have repeatedly called upon the Israeli 
government to do so.
  But it also must be said that Israel is, by no means, the only one 
responsible for the immense civilian toll. To blame only Israel for the 
deaths of Palestinians is unfair, one-sided, and often deliberately 
manipulative. And it ignores Hamas's role in this conflict.
  Hamas has knowingly invited an immense civilian toll during this war. 
Their goal on October 7 was to provoke a tough response from Israel by 
killing as many Jews as possible in the most vicious manner possible--
by raping women, executing babies, desecrating bodies, brutalizing 
whole communities.
  Since then, Hamas has heartlessly hidden behind their fellow 
Palestinians by turning hospitals into command centers and refugee 
camps into missile-launching sites. It is well documented that Hamas 
soldiers use innocent Gazans as human shields. The leaders of Hamas, 
many of whom live lives of luxury in places far away from the poverty 
and misfortune of Gaza, do not care one iota about the Palestinians for 
whom they claim to nobly fight.
  It bothers me deeply that most media outlets covering this war and 
many protesters opposing it have placed the blame for civilian 
casualties entirely on Israel. All too often in the media and at 
protests, it is never noted that Hamas has gone to great lengths to 
make themselves inseparable from the civilian population of Gaza by 
using Palestinians as human shields. Too many news agencies, television 
stations, and newspapers give Hamas a pass by hardly ever discovering 
the shameful practice that is central to their fighting strategy.
  And this has led to an inaccurate perception of the harsh realities 
of this war. I believe stories that justifiably mention loss of 
innocent Palestinian life should also note how Hamas uses civilians as 
human shields. It almost never happens.
  And I believe that every protest that justifiably decries the loss of 
innocent Palestinian women, men, children should also denounce Hamas 
for their central role in the bloodshed. When protesters decry the loss 
of Palestinian life but never condemn this perfidy, or the loss of 
Israeli lives, it confounds and deeply troubles the vast majority of 
Jewish and non-Jewish Americans alike who support the State of Israel.
  Given that Hamas launched their attacks on October 7 to provoke 
Israel, given that Hamas sought the ensuing civilian toll in Gaza, 
given that Hamas wanted both Israelis and Arabs to be at each others' 
throats, tensions on both sides have dramatically intensified.

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  And, now, as a result of those inflamed tensions in both Israeli and 
Palestinian communities, people on all sides of this war are turning 
away from a two-state solution, including Israel's Prime Minister 
Binyamin Netanyahu, who in recent weeks has said out loud repeatedly 
what many have long suspected by outright rejecting the idea of 
Palestinian statehood and sovereignty.
  As the highest ranking Jewish elected official in our government and 
as a staunch defender of Israel, I rise today to say unequivocally: 
This is a grave mistake for Israel, for Palestinians, for the region, 
and for the world.
  The only real and sustainable solution to this decades-old conflict 
is a negotiated two-state solution, a demilitarized Palestinian State 
living side by side with Israel in equal measures of peace, security, 
prosperity, dignity, and mutual recognition.
  Both Jews and Palestinians have long historic claims to this land. 
Contrary to the unfounded, absurd, and offensive claims by some that 
the Jewish people are ``colonizers'' in their ancestral homeland, 
Jewish people have lived in the Holy Land continuously for more than 
three millennia--3,000 years.
  For centuries, Jews have made aliyah and gone to the land of Israel 
to live and settle. For centuries, at Passover, Jews at every corner of 
the globe have prayed: ``Next year in Jerusalem.''
  A Jewish homeland in Israel is no 20th-century contrivance. Israel is 
our historic home, a home for people oppressed for centuries.
  Now, the Palestinians too have lived on the land for generations, 
and, in past centuries, they have formed their own distinct culture, 
identity, cuisine, and literature. The idea espoused by some that 
``there is no such thing as Palestinians'' is inaccurate, offensive, 
unhelpful.
  The only just solution to this predicament is one in which each 
people can flourish in their own state, side by side. But for a two-
state solution to work over the long term, it has to include real and 
meaningful compromises by both sides.
  For example, too many Israelis who say they want a two-state solution 
don't acknowledge how the amount and extent of expanding settlements 
renders that a virtual impossibility. And too many Palestinians who say 
they want a two-state solution don't acknowledge how their insistence 
on an unequivocal ``right of return'' is a fatal impediment to 
progress. Both ways of thinking are impeding the peace process.
  And there are others on the left who view a two-state solution with 
skepticism as an ideal that will never happen, a far-off goal that 
allows for the continuation of the status quo in Gaza and the West 
Bank, where Palestinians face unique obstacles compared to their 
Israeli counterparts. As a result, they reject a two-state solution in 
favor of one state, where Palestinians and Israelis would supposedly 
live in democratic peace, side by side.
  I can understand the idealism that inspires so many young people, in 
particular, to support a one-state solution. Why can't we all live side 
by side and house by house in peace? I count at least two reasons why 
this wouldn't work and why it is unacceptable to most Jewish people.
  First, this combined state could take an extreme turn politically, 
putting Jewish Israelis in peril. This state would be majority 
Palestinian, and, in the past, some Palestinians have voted to empower 
groups like Hamas, which seeks to eradicate the Jewish people.
  It is longstanding American policy to support democracy overseas, but 
in this hypothetical single state, democracy could cost Israeli Jews 
their safety if extremists were to take control of this new state of 
affairs to ultimately achieve their true aim: the violent expulsion of 
Jews from the Holy Land.
  Now, this is no abstract fear. Thousands of years of Jewish history 
show that when things go badly, the people of the country in which Jews 
live, even in a democracy, all too often turn on them as convenient 
scapegoats.
  There is no guarantee this wouldn't happen again in a single Israeli-
Palestinian state. To have Palestinian voters be the protectors of 
Israeli Jews would be a bridge too far to accept.
  Second, and even more important, the Jewish people have a right to 
their own state. It is so troubling to me that many people, especially 
on the left, seem to acknowledge and even celebrate this right to 
statehood for every group but the Jews.
  If a national homeland for all peoples of the world has been the 
driving goal of the anticolonial movement of the last century, then why 
are only Jews seemingly penalized for this aspiration?
  Jews have a human right to their own state, just as any other people 
do, Palestinians included.
  As I have said, there are also some Israelis who oppose even a two-
state solution, with a demilitarized Palestinian State, because they 
fear that it might tolerate or be a harbor for further terrorism 
against a Jewish State.
  I understand these fears, but the bitter reality is that a single 
state, controlled by Israel, which they advocate, guarantees certain 
war forever and further isolation of the Jewish community in the world, 
to the extent that its future would be jeopardized.
  Let me elaborate. They say the definition of insanity is doing the 
same thing over and over and expecting a different result. If Israel 
were to not only maintain the status quo but to go beyond that and 
tighten its control over Gaza and the West Bank, as some in the current 
Netanyahu administration have suggested--in effect, creating a de facto 
single state--then what reasonable expectation can we have that Hamas 
and their allies will lay down their arms? It would mean constant war.
  On top of that, Israel moving closer to a single state entirely under 
its control would further rupture its relationship with the rest of the 
world, including the United States. Support for Israel has declined 
worldwide in the last few months, and this trend will only get worse if 
the Israeli Government continues to follow its current path.

  I appreciate that so many Israelis cannot contemplate the possibility 
of two states right now because they remain so traumatized and so angry 
by what Hamas did on October 7--the brutality, the viciousness, the 
sexual assault, the imprisonment, and the abuse of hundreds of 
hostages. I am, of course, sympathetic to this point of view. I am 
upset; I am angry, too.
  We will never forget what happened on October 7. But even while we 
carry that anguish in our hearts, we have to think ahead to the 
future--the medium, the long term--how we can ensure that something 
like October 7 never happens again. We cannot let anger or trauma 
determine our actions or cloud our judgment.
  A two-state solution may feel daunting, especially now, but I believe 
it is the only realistic and sustainable solution--on the basis of 
security, on the basis of prosperity, on the basis of fundamental human 
rights and dignity.
  But in order to achieve a two-state solution, the reality is that 
things must change. Right now, there are four--four--major obstacles 
standing in the way of two states, and until they are removed from the 
equation, there will never be peace in Israel and Gaza and the West 
Bank.
  The four major obstacles are Hamas and the Palestinians who support 
and tolerate their evil ways, radical rightwing Israelis in government 
and society, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and Israeli 
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. I will explain each in detail.
  The first major obstacle to peace is Hamas and the Palestinians who 
support and tolerate their evil ways. Hamas is for the destruction of 
Israel, and, in past decades, it undermined any hope for peace at every 
turn.
  It was Hamas who began its vicious campaign of suicide bombings 
against innocent Israelis to derail the nascent peace process in Oslo. 
It was Hamas who assassinated more moderate Palestinian political 
representatives in Gaza in 2007. It is Hamas who has held Gaza under 
repressive, undemocratic rule for close to two decades. And it is Hamas 
who targeted those brave Gazans who have spoken out against its actions 
or tried to bridge the divide between Israelis and Palestinians.
  Jewish Americans and Israelis alike have been appalled and hurt at 
efforts to rebrand Hamas, which is designated by the United States as a 
terrorist organization, as noble resistance or freedom fighters. 
Attempts to excuse their horrific actions against both Israelis and 
Palestinians are morally repugnant.
  A permanent ceasefire, effective immediately, would only allow Hamas 
to

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regroup and launch further attacks on Israeli civilians. There can 
never be a two-state solution if Hamas has any significant power.
  However, a temporary ceasefire, such as President Biden has proposed, 
which would allow for the return of hostages and humanitarian relief 
for suffering Palestinians, is quite different and is something I 
support.
  But any proposal that leaves Hamas with meaningful power is 
unacceptable to me and most Israelis. So it goes without saying that 
Hamas cannot have any role in a future Gaza, if we are to achieve 
peace.
  The same goes for the minority of Palestinians who support Hamas and 
those who demonstrate other forms of extremism, even if they are not 
card-carrying members--the Gazans who ventured into Israeli territory 
on October 7 to loot and pillage, the people in the West Bank who 
flooded the streets and cheered from afar the cold-blooded killing of 
mothers and children.
  This is appalling behavior, and while it may fall short of terrorism, 
it has no place in a peaceful future for Israel and Palestinians, and 
it ought to be denounced by the Palestinian public and their leaders 
who believe in a more sustainable future beyond the cycle of revenge.
  The second major obstacle to peace is radical, rightwing Israelis in 
government and society. The worst examples of this radicalism are 
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Ministry of National Security 
Itamar Ben Gvir.
  Minister Smotrich has in the past openly called for the subjugation 
and forced displacement of all Palestinians in the West Bank. In the 
current crisis, he has used inflammatory rhetoric and called for 
punitive restrictions on Palestinian farmers in the West Bank during 
the olive harvest. He has prevented the transfer of funds to the 
Palestinian Authority, and he has opposed the provision of any 
humanitarian assistance to Gaza, going so far as to stop agreed-upon 
shipments of flour.
  Minister Ben Gvir is no better. When he was a young man, he was 
barred from the Israeli military service for his extremist views. Last 
year, in a move only intended to antagonize the Muslim population, he 
visited the Temple Mount with his supporters, as a brazen show of force 
toward Palestinians. And during this current conflict, he has 
facilitated the mass distribution of guns to far-right settlers, 
exacerbating instability, fueling violence.
  There is a nastiness to what Ministers Smotrich and Ben Gvir believe 
and how they use their positions of authority and influence, an 
eagerness to inflame and provoke that is profoundly irresponsible and 
self-destructive.
  In my conversations with Israeli leaders, I have urged them to do 
more, to clamp down on the unacceptable vigilante settler violence in 
the West Bank. And I have supported the Biden administration's efforts 
to impose consequences for extremist settler violence.
  But the unfortunate reality is that this violence is openly supported 
by Ministers Smotrich and Ben Gvir, and as long as they hold their 
positions of power, no true progress will be made.
  While not equivalent, extremist Palestinians and extremist Israelis 
seek the same goal, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, 
they aim to push the other from the land. Ministers Smotrich and Ben 
Gvir may not say they want to kill all Palestinians outright, but they 
are clear in their desire to displace them from their homes and replace 
them with Israeli settlers. This is also abhorrent. As long as these 
two hold their positions of power, peace will be difficult, if not 
impossible, to achieve.

  The third major obstacle to peace is the President of the Palestinian 
Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, who is beholden to his narrow political 
interests, to the detriment of both the West Bank and Gaza. Over the 
years, President Abbas has evaded the democratic process, declining to 
hold future elections for over a decade and failing to empower future 
leadership. Despite his long tenure leading the Palestinian Authority, 
he has achieved few of his self-proclaimed goals.
  The Palestinian Authority remains corrupt and continues to incite 
instability through the martyr payment system. Palestinians are no more 
prosperous, no safer, no freer than they were when Abbas first took 
power. As a result, President Abbas has lost the trust of the 
Palestinian people.
  Furthermore, he is a terrible role model and spiritual leader. In the 
past, he has participated in outright Holocaust denial, attempting to 
justify Nazi actions. This embrace of anti-Semitism extended to his 
refusal for weeks to condemn the loss of Israeli civilian life on 
October 7.
  Should Abbas remain, Palestinian people can have no assurance that a 
Palestinian State would be able to ensure their safety or prosperity, 
nor can they have any belief that the government would be free of 
corruption.
  For there to be any hope of peace in the future, Abbas must step down 
and be replaced by a new generation of Palestinian leaders who will 
work towards attaining peace with the Jewish State. Otherwise, the West 
Bank will continue to suffer, and Hamas or some similarly extreme 
organization will continue to maintain a foothold in Gaza.
  The Palestinian Authority, under new leadership, must undertake a 
reform process and emerge as a revitalized PA that can viably serve as 
the basis for a Palestinian State with the trust of the Palestinian 
people.
  The fourth major obstacle to peace is Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin 
Netanyahu, who has all too frequently bowed to the demands of 
extremists like Minister Smotrich and Ben Gvir and the settlers in the 
West Bank.
  I have known Prime Minister Netanyahu for a very long time. While we 
have vehemently disagreed on many occasions, I will always respect his 
extraordinary bravery for Israel on the battlefield as a younger man. I 
believe in his heart he has as his highest priority the security of 
Israel.
  However, I also believe Prime Minister Netanyahu has lost his way by 
allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best 
interests of Israel. He has put himself in coalition with far-right 
extremists like Ministers Smotrich and Ben Gvir, and as a result, he 
has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is 
pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows. Israel cannot 
survive if it becomes a pariah.
  Prime Minister Netanyahu has also weakened Israel's political and 
moral fabric through his attempt to co-op the judiciary, and he has 
shown zero interest in doing the courageous and visionary work required 
to pave the way for peace, even before this present conflict.
  As a lifelong supporter of Israel, it has become clear to me that the 
Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after October 7. 
The world has changed radically since then, and the Israeli people are 
being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the 
past.
  Nobody expects Prime Minister Netanyahu to do the things that must be 
done to break the cycle of violence, to preserve Israel's credibility 
on the world stage, and to work towards a two-state solution. If he 
were to disavow Ministers Smotrich and Ben Gvir and kick them out of 
his governing coalition, that would be a real meaningful step forward, 
but regrettably there is no reason to believe Prime Minister Netanyahu 
would do that. He won't disavow Ministers Smotrich and Ben Gvir in 
their calls for Israelis to drive Palestinians out of Gaza and the West 
Bank. He won't commit to a military operation in Rafah that prioritizes 
protecting civilian life. He won't engage responsibly in discussions 
about a day-after plan for Gaza and a longer term pathway to peace.
  Hamas and the Palestinians who support and tolerate their evil ways; 
radical, rightwing Israelis in government and society; President Abbas; 
Prime Minister Netanyahu--these are the four obstacles to peace. If we 
fail to overcome them, then Israel and the West Bank and Gaza will be 
trapped in the same violent state of affairs they have experienced for 
the last 75 years.
  These obstacles are not the same in their culpability for the present 
state of affairs, but arguing over which is the worst stymies our 
ability to achieve peace. Given the complexity and gravity of this 
undertaking, many different groups--many different groups--have a 
responsibility to see it through.
  The Palestinian people must reject Hamas and the extremism in their 
midst. They know better than anybody how Hamas has used them as pawns, 
how Hamas has tortured and punished Palestinians who seek peace.

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  Quite frankly, I haven't heard enough Palestinian leaders express 
anguish about Hamas and other extreme elements of Palestinian society. 
I implore them to speak up now, even when it may be hardest, because 
that is the only true way to honor the lives of all those lost--by 
transcending the enmity and bloodshed and working together in good 
faith for a better future.
  Once Hamas is deprived of power, the Palestinians will be much freer 
to choose a government they want and deserve. With the prospect of a 
real two-state solution on the table and, for the first time, genuine 
statehood for the Palestinian people, I believe they will be far more 
likely to support more mainstream leaders committed to peace.

  I think the same is true for the Israeli people. Call me an optimist, 
but I believe that if the Israeli public is presented with a path to a 
two-state solution that offers a chance at lasting peace and 
coexistence, then most mainstream Israelis will moderate their views 
and support it.
  Part of that moderation must include rejecting rightwing zealots like 
Ministers Smotrich and Ben Gvir and the extremist Israeli settlers in 
the West Bank. These people do not represent a majority of the Israeli 
public. Yet, under Prime Minister Netanyahu's watch, they have had far 
too much influence.
  All sides must reject ``from the river to the sea'' thinking, and I 
believe they will if the prospects for peace and a two-state solution 
are real.
  Beyond the Israeli and Palestinian people and their leaders, there 
are others who bear a serious responsibility to work towards a two-
state solution. Without them, it cannot succeed.
  Middle Eastern powers like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, 
Egypt, Jordan, and other mainstream Arab states can have immense power 
and influence with the Palestinians. Working with the United States, 
they must responsibly deploy their clout, their money, and their 
diplomacy to support a new, demilitarized Palestinian State that 
rejects terror and violence. I believe they have the leverage to do 
this with the support of the majority of the Palestinian people, who 
want what any other people want: peace, security, prosperity.
  I believe there is enough strength in the Arab world to get President 
Abbas to step down and to support a gradual succession plan for 
responsible Palestinian leaders to take his place.
  Hamas has so wrecked society in Gaza that it will take outside 
involvement of Arab countries to help rebuild something better and more 
sustainable. It may take some time to identify such leaders, but with 
the considerable resources of the Arab world backing them, I believe 
these leaders can and will emerge, knowing that they have support.
  The outlines of a deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel that were 
reported before October 7 still make a great deal of sense and can be 
the catalyst for the creation of a viable Palestinian State. Saudi 
Arabia and other Arab nations should continue to pursue normalization 
with Israel, and this should be the foundation of a grand bargain in 
the Middle East that will finally make meaningful Palestinian statehood 
a reality.
  For our part, the United States--the world's superpower--must work 
together with our allies to bring our immense diplomatic and financial 
power to bear on this situation. We can be a partner to a grand bargain 
in the Middle East by deepening our relationship with the Saudis and 
other Arab nations to induce them to make a deal--but only if they 
actively guide Palestinians to a more peaceful future.
  On the Israeli side, the U.S. Government should demand that Israel 
conduct itself with a future two-state solution in mind. We should not 
be forced into a position of unequivocally supporting the actions of an 
Israeli Government that include bigots who reject the idea of a 
Palestinian State.
  Israel is a democracy. Five months into this conflict, it is clear 
that Israelis need to take stock of the situation and ask: Must we 
change course?
  At this critical juncture, I believe a new election is the only way 
to allow for a healthy and open decision-making process about the 
future of Israel, at a time when so many Israelis have lost their 
confidence in the vision and direction of their government. I also 
believe a majority of the Israeli public will recognize the need for 
change, and I believe that holding a new election once the war starts 
to wind down would give Israelis an opportunity to express their vision 
for the postwar future.
  Of course, the United States cannot dictate the outcome of an 
election, nor should we try. That is for the Israeli public to decide--
a public that I believe understands better than anybody that Israel 
cannot hope to succeed as a pariah opposed by the rest of the world. As 
a democracy, Israel has the right to choose its own leaders, and we 
should let the chips fall where they may. But the important thing is 
that Israelis are given a choice.
  There needs to be a fresh debate about the future of Israel after 
October 7. In my opinion, that is best accomplished by holding an 
election.
  If Prime Minister Netanyahu's current coalition remains in power 
after the war begins to wind down and continues to pursue dangerous and 
inflammatory policies that test existing U.S. standards for assistance, 
then the United States will have no choice but to play a more active 
role in shaping Israeli policy by using our leverage to change the 
present course.
  The United States' bond with Israel is unbreakable, but if extremists 
continue to unduly influence Israeli policy, then the administration 
should use the tools at its disposal to make sure our support for 
Israel is aligned with our broader goal of achieving long-term peace 
and stability in the region. I believe this would make a lasting two-
state solution more likely.
  Now, I know that there are many on both sides who question how we can 
discuss peace at a moment like this. So many Gazans are displaced from 
their homes and struggling to meet their most basic needs. Many are 
still burying and mourning their dead. Entire families have been wiped 
out. In Israel, everyone knows someone who was killed on October 7. So 
many Israelis feel that people around the world have no respect for the 
grief and rage unleashed by Hamas's vicious attack.
  So is there real hope for peace and a two-state solution? In the face 
of this atrocity, who could blame even the most hopeful among us for 
hardening their hearts, for giving up on the possibility of peace, for 
giving in to the hate?
  I seek my inspiration in the example of leaders who have come before 
us and worked for peace in the face of extreme circumstances. Some of 
Israel's greatest warriors and security experts have been staunch 
advocates for peace because they understand better than anybody that it 
is essential to Israel's security. David Ben-Gurion, Yitzhak Rabin, 
Ehud Barak--all of them sought peace with the Palestinians.
  On the Palestinian side, we don't have to look very far back to see a 
model of responsible leadership: Salam Fayyad, the former Prime 
Minister of the Palestinian Authority, who was clear in his 
condemnation of violence against the Israelis.
  For the Arab leaders of today, may they find inspiration in Anwar el-
Sadat of Egypt and King Hussein of Jordan, who had the courage and 
vision to seek peace with Israel.
  Before October 7, things were moving in the right direction. The 
United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia both were on the path to 
normalization with Israel and with conditions that would greatly 
benefit the lives of the Palestinian people. Many believe that Iran 
motivated Hamas to disrupt this process, and indeed there have been 
setbacks since October 7, but recent talks between Arab and American 
leaders suggest the desire is stronger than ever now to find a path 
forward.
  Arab leaders cannot lose their stomachs for peace now at this 
critical inflection point. They must continue to pursue the path to 
normalization of relations with Israel. The United States should use 
all of its power and influence to bring them to the table and make them 
cooperate constructively.
  If my speaking out today has any effect, it will probably have 
greater influence on the Israeli and Jewish side of things. But if this 
conflict is to be resolved, we need comparable Palestinian and Arab 
leaders to also speak responsibly to their people about the path 
forward to peace. Now is the time for courageous leadership.
  After Israelis and Palestinians have experienced so much horror and 
loss of

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life, to not have something meaningful come out of this war would be 
doubly tragic.
  History will look back on what we do here. Are we prepared together 
to have the courage to make an all-out push to bring about peace once 
and for all, to bring to this conflict what Dr. Martin Luther King, 
Jr., called the ``fierce urgency of now'' to end the cycles of tragedy 
and pain?
  I have always said that when horrific things happen, some turn 
inwards and let their grief consume them, while others light a candle 
and turn their grief into power. They are able to see hope in the 
darkness.
  In Scripture, we read about how God created the world from an 
infinite void, that out of the greatest darkness can come the greatest 
light. I hope and pray that from the brutal slaying of Israelis by 
Hamas and the harrowing civilian toll in Gaza, that a two-state 
solution where Jews and Palestinians can live in peace will prevail.
  I know I am not alone in this prayer. There are right now 
Palestinians in Gaza, some of whom are still pulling dead family 
members from the rubble, who are defying Hamas and their murderous 
ideology and calling for a pathway to peace. There are right now some 
families of the victims of October 7 in Israel who have been calling 
for peace, asking their government to transcend this cycle of bloodshed 
and revenge. If they can find in their hearts a path to peace, then 
surely we can also.
  From the ashes, may we light the candles that lead to a better future 
for all.
  I yield the floor.