[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 120 (Wednesday, July 24, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5332-S5335]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 Israel

  Mrs. CAPITO. Madam President, earlier today, Members of Congress had 
the distinct honor of hearing from Binyamin Netanyahu, the Prime 
Minister of the State of Israel. He is a leader of one of our most 
steadfast allies in an unprecedented time of strife for his country.
  Prime Minister Netanyahu's message to Congress today was a snapshot 
into the reality that his nation is facing and what they have 
experienced since the morning of October 7. He spoke to the urgency of 
bringing our hostages home and received a standing ovation for that; 
the courage and bravery of his Israeli forces and citizens and received 
a standing ovation for that; and his vision to bring peace, prosperity, 
and security to the Middle East--again, standing room only.
  Israel is a country at war, and, as the only democracy in the Middle 
East and a friend of freedom, Israel deserves the unwavering support of 
these United States. That is why it is incredibly disheartening to see 
that many of our Democratic colleagues were absolutely absent from the 
address--especially the Vice President. Her absence unleashed a 
completely unnecessary discussion about who would join the Speaker to 
preside over the joint address. For a time, her seat behind the podium 
was just simply up for grabs.
  I extend my thanks to my colleague from Maryland, the chairman of the 
Senate Foreign Relations Committee, for welcoming Prime Minister 
Netanyahu on behalf of the Senate, and that was Senator Ben Cardin.
  But unfortunately public debate over the Vice President's absence is 
not the message that we should be sending to the world.
  It seems some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have 
forgotten that 291 days ago, on October 7, 2023, Israel was the victim 
of an unprovoked terrorist attack. The attacking force, Hamas, killed 
1,200 innocent Israelis, committed unspeakable acts of sexual violence, 
and took men and women and children as hostages. They also took 
Holocaust survivors. They even took an infant under 1 year old. Prime 
Minister Netanyahu mentioned that infant earlier today. That poor 
child, that poor baby, has now spent more of his life in Hamas 
captivity than in freedom.
  To this day, nearly 10 months later, hostages still remain in 
captivity, including American citizens, and they are being used as 
human shields at the same time. I was incredibly moved to see some of 
the hostages and their families represented in the House Chamber today.
  Hamas has proven itself to be a violent terrorist organization that 
continues to hide underneath schools and hospitals, intentionally 
putting civilians in harm's way. They have publicly called for the 
attacks of October 7 to be repeated again and again and again.
  The bottom line is this: Hamas has made it clear it has no interest 
in seriously negotiating a cease-fire, and they would rather engage in 
barbaric and, honestly, cowardly acts of terror, joining forces with 
terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and the Houthis, which continue 
their bombardment in bombarding Israel in every single direction. Just 
last week, Hezbollah fired 65 rockets into Israel. The Houthis 
conducted a deadly drone attack on Israel's soil as well as a ballistic 
missile that was thankfully intercepted by Israel's air defense. It is 
clear that Israel needs our support now more than ever.
  It is important that we take this moment to reflect on the 
longstanding ties that bind our country to Israel. The United States 
was the very first country to recognize the State of Israel. They have 
been our most stable and longest partner and ally in the Middle East. 
They have stood beside us in our Nation when we faced unprovoked acts 
of terror on our own soil. They have joined with us to develop ties 
with their neighbors through the Abraham Accords. They have been an 
essential ally in our efforts to dismantle Iran's nuclear program. This 
is a level of historic partnership that cannot be forgotten. Yet far 
too many in our country are willing to abandon our relationship with 
Israel, starting with this administration.
  Israel is in a fight for their survival against a terrorist 
organization that is not bound by laws. We know what it is like to be 
attacked in our country, but we don't know what it is like to be 
geographically surrounded by our worst enemies.
  Standing with Israel should not be an issue that divides us but, 
rather, one that unites us in defense of our longtime ally and friend.
  It is vital that the American public and my Democratic colleagues who 
missed the Prime Minister's speech today acknowledge the differences 
between Israel and Hamas. Israel is a bastion of freedom and 
democracy in the Middle East who is engaged in a war they did not 
start, by an organization whose only goal--only goal--is to destroy 
Israel. In keeping with their stated goal, Hamas has unleashed 
horrific, illegal, and unthinkable acts of violence on people simply 
because they are Jewish or Israeli.

  Hamas and their allies have made commanding use of the information 
space to sway public opinion here in our country, in the United States, 
in an attempt to make it appear that Israel is the aggressor in this 
conflict. My Republican colleagues, including those joining me here in 
these speeches today, know that claim is far from the truth.
  As the Prime Minister mentioned today, misinformation has long been 
used to target Israel and the Jewish people, and we have seen it lead 
to chaos on our college campuses and acts of aggression of anti-
Semitism I never thought I would see. We have protesters waving Hamas, 
Houthis, and Hezbollah flags on streets right here in the United 
States, including today, surrounding the Capitol. At Union Station, 
they are burning the American flag.
  After those protesters were publicly applauded and will be--the ones 
today will be publicly applauded by the Supreme Leader of Iran, we now 
know that Iran is working behind the scenes to fan the flames of these 
protests.
  We need to be honest with ourselves about what each side of this 
conflict wants. The actions of Hamas are indefensible, and protesters 
conveniently forget that there was a cease-fire in place on the morning 
of October 7.
  I would say to these protesters: If the Iranian Supreme Leader thinks 
that you are on the right side of history, that is a pretty clear sign 
that you are not.
  The reality is this: Both Israelis and Americans want the fighting to 
end. For that to happen, both sides of the conflict need to agree to 
stop. That means Israel, but it also means Hamas. And right now, we are 
missing that signal from Hamas.
  As the Prime Minister mentioned in his speech today, Hamas could end 
this right now. Hamas must surrender, and Hamas must return the 
hostages.
  Now more than ever, our Nation must reject terrorism and stand with 
our ally Israel. While the White House has left our relationship in 
limbo, Republicans will not let it falter. We will continue to push for 
true American leadership on the world stage that keeps our promises to 
our friends in their time of need, that strikes fear in our adversaries 
and those who wish to do our allies harm, and that returns the moral 
clarity that is deeply needed in moments like this.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.
  Mrs. BRITT. Madam President, I rise today in support of America's 
great ally, Israel. Israel is more than an ally; she represents hope in 
the Middle East, hope for the world.
  I actually visited Israel 2 weeks after October 7, after that attack, 
visited with a bipartisan delegation not only to Israel but throughout 
the Middle East.
  Remember that Israel was created after the Holocaust so that the 
Jewish

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people would never have to hide again. This is something that former 
Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer talked to us about 
during our visit.
  A colleague of mine shared that his daughter asked him right after 9/
11: Are we safe?
  The truth is that October 7 was similar to our 9/11. However, there 
is also a large difference. On October 8, Israel knew exactly who the 
perpetrator was. They knew exactly where they were. They were just 
miles away--their neighbor. It is like if we woke up on September 12, 
2001, and we had the terrorists who had masterminded the attacks of 9/
11 living next door in Brooklyn. Additionally, they said they would 
come back again and again and again and again until they eradicated the 
Jewish people and the State of Israel.
  That is the proximity and the gravity of the threat that Israel 
faces. It is literally at their doorstep. And, bottom line, they can't 
tell their daughters that they are safe right now.
  Madam President, 291 days--over 9 months--have passed now, but we 
can't forget what happened on October 7. Make no mistake, what Hamas 
did was pure evil.
  They murdered entire families, beheaded babies, dragged 
grandparents--some, Holocaust survivors--from their wheelchairs to a 
brutal death. They raped women. They took mothers and daughters hostage 
after slaughtering their fathers and brothers. They held innocent 
people hostage and used them as human shields.
  As I think about this as a mom, I can't imagine the agony that 
parents were going through knowing that their children, their loved 
ones, are being held hostage and used as human shields. I think about 
the moment when they talk about parents being murdered in front of 
their children, children being murdered in front of their parents. How 
could anyone be so evil?
  There is no doubt that ``never again'' is now, and not just 
overseas--unfortunately, here at home. Look no further than the 
disgusting pro-Hamas anti-Semitic protests that have taken place on 
college campuses, in cities across our Nation, and today in our 
Nation's capital.
  Today, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu came before Congress 
and asked us to do what we promised: to stand behind Israel, to stand 
behind the Jewish people.
  America cannot be a country of broken promises. We cannot let our 
allies down. We cannot be viewed as a country that is weak and 
unreliable around the world. We must stand strongly with Israel and 
show her support not just in normal times, but when she needs us the 
most.
  Israel has more than a right to defend herself; she has an 
obligation. She has an obligation to freedom-loving people around the 
world, as a beacon of democracy in the Middle East, and to the very 
people that she serves.
  Israel must ensure that this never happens again. America can and 
must help Israel fulfill that mission, help to bring every single 
hostage home, and help to bring about sustainable peace and more 
prosperity there in the Middle East.
  Remember, Hamas doesn't just want to destroy peace in the Middle 
East; they want to destroy Israel and wipe the Jewish people off the 
face of the planet.
  We also have to remember who funds and fuels Hamas. It is time to use 
every tool in our toolbox to dry up Iran financially. We have done it 
before under the Trump administration, and I know we can do it again. 
This isn't complicated. The more money that Iran has--they use it for 
nuclear proliferation, and they use it to fund terrorism. They fund 
Hamas in Gaza; they fund the Houthis in Yemen; and they fund Hezbollah 
in Lebanon. We know what that means for Israel, and, frankly, we know 
what that means for America.
  It is past time to reestablish credibility in America and its 
deterrence. We will only achieve peace through strength, and that means 
giving Israel everything she needs to permanently end the threat of 
Hamas.
  As I listened to Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech today, I was in 
awe of the Israeli people's courage: the courage to fight for 
democracy, the courage to secure peace in the Middle East, and the 
courage to fight for their very existence.
  Congress is behind Israel. Alabama, the first State in America to 
call for the establishment of the Jewish State, stands behind Israel. 
And the United States of America is behind Israel.
  As a Christian, as an American, as an Alabamian, I firmly support 
Israel, and I am incredibly proud to do so.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Dakota.
  Mr. HOEVEN. Madam President, I rise to join my colleague from Alabama 
and other colleagues and outline the importance of maintaining and 
continuing to strengthen our Nation's support for our essential ally in 
the Middle East, Israel.
  The U.S.-Israel partnership is vital for Israel. It is vital for the 
United States. It is vital for security in the world. It is vital in 
this global fight against terror.
  Israel needs our help. It needs our help to fend off numerous attacks 
from Iran and its proxies, and I am proud of the contributions our 
Armed Forces have made in helping defend Israel from a wide variety of 
drone and missile attacks. The skill of our committed airmen, airwomen, 
soldiers, sailors, marines, special forces--their skill, unbelievable; 
their bravery, courage under fire; the technology that we have 
utilized, it is just incredible. The things that they have been able to 
do in terms of helping Israel, it is just beyond belief. And so we 
commend all of them.

  But we need to continue. We need to continue. We need to help Israel 
defeat Hamas. They need our help to completely destroy Hamas's military 
capability, and we can't relent until that is done. This is not a one-
way partnership. This is not just the United States supporting our ally 
Israel. Israel is really the tip of the spear.
  Israel plays a vital role in standing against terror and deterring 
Iranian aggression across the Middle East. When you look at Hamas, 
Hezbollah, Houthis, and other groups, these are terrorists that are 
financed, trained, sponsored, and directed by Iran. We need to 
recognize that. We need to take a tough stance on sanctions and other 
measures against Iran and recognize that these proxies for Iran are 
conducting its missives, its directions.
  We are deeply appreciative of Israel's efforts to push back on Iran, 
on the Houthis, on terrorists, and all those who seek to destabilize 
not only the Middle East region, but across the world.
  And as we have heard Prime Minister Netanyahu say many times of these 
extremists: If they are not stopped in the Middle East, they will set 
their sights on America. They will, and they have, and they will 
continue to do so.
  Our partnership with Israel is based on our shared values and our 
shared commitment to freedom. Without that partnership, terrorists, 
extremists, and authoritarians would run rampant across the Middle East 
and other parts of the world, threatening the global economy and 
positioning themselves to threaten the United States directly.
  And so the peace and stability we seek in the Middle East will come 
as the result of a strong U.S.-Israel partnership, and that is 
emblematic of the type of relationships that we must have with our 
allies. We must stand with our allies and stand up against our 
adversaries. And standing with our allies means not second-guessing 
them; for example, when Israel is conducting this war, they know how to 
defeat Hamas. And we need to help them do it, not second-guess how they 
are doing it.
  That is why it is so important that we heard from Prime Minister 
Netanyahu in person today. We needed to hear directly from him about 
exactly what is going on as Israel prosecutes this war and the support 
that they need to be successful in defeating Hamas. And now we need to 
move in a bipartisan fashion to continue to strengthen that 
relationship.
  There is really no time to lose. Iran's time to a nuclear breakout is 
down to a very short period. We need to stand together and prevent Iran 
from developing and, potentially, deploying a nuclear weapon.
  Hamas remains a dangerous terrorist organization. Hezbollah presents 
a growing threat in northern Israel. The Houthis, backed by Iran, pose 
a threat to Israel and the wider region in the

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Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf, attacking shipping from many different 
countries.
  So it is essential that we make sure that Israel has the military 
assistance required to stand against these threats. Again, they are the 
tip of the spear. They are doing the fighting, and we need to help 
them. We need to offer all the support we can in every form, and we 
must oppose anti-Semitism in all its forms and wherever we find it.
  I want to express my appreciation for Prime Minister Netanyahu's 
visit and for his remarks to our joint session of Congress today. I 
thought it was an incredibly powerful and moving speech and one that 
not only the Senators and the Members of Congress needed to hear but 
all Americans--all Americans--needed to hear. And I hope that we can 
respond to the Prime Minister's visit by continuing to move in a 
bipartisan way to work with Israel to defeat the threats it faces and 
affirm our shared values, our shared commitment to freedom, liberty, 
and democracy.
  Standing with Israel is good for the United States. It is good for 
the region. It is good for the world.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Kansas.
  Mr. MORAN. Madam President, this afternoon Prime Minister Binyamin 
Netanyahu, in his remarks to a joint session of Congress, reiterated to 
Congress; to us, the Senate; to the American people; and, really, to 
the world his determination to defend his country from terrorists 
supported by Iran who seek the elimination of the Jewish State of 
Israel.
  The United States must continue to provide Israel with crucial 
military and diplomatic support to make certain the dangers Israel 
faces can be deterred; and that, if possible, they are defeated, 
defeated those efforts to terrorize Israel.
  The horrific attack by Hamas 9 months ago remains vivid in our 
thoughts. A few weeks after that attack, I was in Israel to visit with 
the Prime Minister, to hear firsthand the circumstances that Israel and 
its citizens faced.
  In addition to those killed, the widespread instances of sexual 
assault and taking hostage of elderly and infants--under these 
circumstances, no person, no person of conscience, can fail to 
understand the desire to eliminate Hamas as a threat to the people of 
Israel.
  Our continued assistance to Israel is in our own national interest 
because the threats our friends face are also threats faced by the 
United States. This conflict may seem distant from our shores, but make 
no mistake that those who seek Israel's destruction, aspire to harm 
American citizens wherever they may be, including here at home.
  Madam President, 12 Americans were taken hostage by Hamas on October 
7, and 8 still remain held in captivity. Many hostages have died in 
captivity these last 9 months, making it imperative that Hamas 
immediately free our citizens.
  Hezbollah continues to menace Israel on the northern border with fire 
being exchanged daily, forcing the evacuation of thousands of Israelis. 
With more than 100,000 rockets aimed at Israel, Hezbollah, like Hamas, 
is a direct threat to American citizens living there. It is true there; 
it is true beyond Israel.
  The intelligence community's worldwide threat assessment released 
this year found that Hezbollah ``maintains the capability to target 
U.S. persons and interests in the region, worldwide, and, to a lesser 
extent, in the United States.'' That assessment warns that that group 
will ``continue to develop its global terrorist capabilities.''
  Our government--the United States of America--must commit, alongside 
our allies and our partners, to degrading Hezbollah's capabilities as a 
matter of international security.
  As we saw, as recently as last Friday's drone strike on a Tel Aviv 
apartment building, the Houthis in Yemen also pose a significant 
regional threat. Their slogan, of course, includes ``Death to America, 
Death to Israel.''
  Their capabilities are expanding and have disrupted shipping through 
the Red Sea by launching attacks on cargo vessels. In response, the 
U.S. Navy has worked the last 8 months to reestablish the freedom of 
navigation.
  All these attacks--these three groups--what they have in common, with 
their varying ideologies, is the support that is provided to them by 
Iran. It is financial aid. It is weapons. It is training. Iran sustains 
these groups at the expense of our friends in the region and at the 
expense of our own security and well-being.
  Almost exactly 1 year ago today, I stood on this Senate floor--I 
stood here in the Senate--and called on President Biden to enforce the 
bipartisan sanctions Congress had passed to choke off the resources 
Tehran uses to fund its activities. The regime has plotted terrorist 
attacks on our soil and threatens to assassinate former President Trump 
along with other officials from his administration. With its nuclear 
program now only weeks away from producing nuclear weapons, it is all 
the more imperative to take measures authorized by Congress.
  Israel's existence is nonnegotiable, and our shared adversaries must 
not doubt the resolution of American support. That is one reason why I 
viewed it as critical to pass the national security supplemental 
earlier this year, which provided Israel with $26 billion to bolster 
its military.
  Standing with Israel goes beyond a one-off piece of legislation, and 
I would remind my colleagues that we have begun the appropriations 
process here in the U.S. Senate. And I will continue this year to 
advocate for military assistance that strengthens Israel's abilities to 
defend itself.
  As the committee begins to mark up 12 bills for the next fiscal year, 
I remind my colleagues that it is important we quickly advance our 
appropriations legislation because of what is at stake for our Nation 
and for our allies and for those who support our friends.
  Support for Israel goes beyond Israel's security. That is an 
important goal in and of itself. But I remind my colleagues that 
support for Israel is support for the United States of America.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Mississippi.
  Mr. WICKER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
following Senators be permitted to speak, for up to 5 minutes each, 
prior to the scheduled rollcall vote: Senators Wicker, Barrasso, and 
Ricketts.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. WICKER. Madam President, we stand here today having had the 
opportunity in a joint session of Congress to hear one of the most 
powerful and profound and significant addresses that has ever been made 
to a joint session of Congress.
  We have a few people listening in right now. I notice we have a 
number of our pages on the floor. I am glad that our young people--our 
rising seniors in high school who work for us--were able to be there 
and to be here in Washington, in this Capitol, and see and listen to 
this magnificent speech today by Binyamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister 
of the State of Israel--our steadfast ally, the only democracy in that 
section of the world. And, I will say, I doubt if we will very often 
see remarks that were as powerful and as important.
  Israel has been our steadfast ally for over seven decades. It was a 
Democratic President, Harry Truman, postwar, who put his administration 
behind the recognition of the Jewish State in Palestine as Israel, and 
we became one of the earliest countries to recognize Israel. That has 
stood for over seven decades.
  The recognition by the United States, on a bipartisan basis, has 
recognized an important fact: that the Jewish people are certainly not 
colonialists in the Holy Land. The place where Israel exists now is the 
place where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and Esau were born and lived in 
the era of 5,000 years ago.
  To say that the Jewish people are colonialists in Israel is the Big 
Lie. The Big Lie is something that our enemies have used down through 
the years. You say something so unbelievable and so unimaginable; if 
you say it long enough, people will start to believe it.

  The Jewish people are no colonialists in the Holy Land. The Holy Land 
is their ancestral home, and they deserve--the world's Jewish people 
deserve--a Jewish State so they can avoid the centuries of 
discrimination and anti-Semitism that they have endured over time.

[[Page S5335]]

  The Jewish people, as I say--the Israeli people--which includes, of 
course, people who are not Jewish by heritage, have had the only 
democracy in the area for the longest time. And they have been 
surrounded by people who want nothing less than the destruction of 
Israel, and they don't make any bones about it.
  Support in this Congress--support in the United States--for Israel 
has for these seven decades always been bipartisan. And it breaks my 
heart--and I think it should come as a shock to all Americans--that 
bipartisan support seems to be fracturing on the other side of the 
aisle among my Democratic colleagues.
  It is a shame that the Vice President of this country--the Vice 
President of the United States, Kamala Harris--declined to fulfill her 
duties to preside over the session. She found an excuse in another 
State to be at a meeting that could easily have been rescheduled. It is 
a shame that our Vice President--that the future nominee of her party 
for President of the United States--would make that statement that she 
was unwilling to preside over a joint meeting addressed by the Prime 
Minister of Israel.
  The President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate refused to attend. Many 
Members of this body on the Democratic side of the aisle and many 
Members of the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives 
boycotted this speech by our steadfast ally of 70 years or more.
  I noticed, when the Prime Minister of Israel came down through the 
center aisle there in the House of Representatives, shaking hands on 
both sides, and he rounded the corner, and the majority leader of this 
body, the senior Senator from New York, Senator Schumer, declined to 
extend his hand to the Prime Minister of this, our steadfast ally.
  We also need to remember, as my colleagues have stated already, that 
in the region where Israel is the only democratic government, in the 
Middle East, exists the Islamic Republic of Iran. They are a sworn 
enemy of Israel, and they are a sworn enemy of the United States of 
America. ``Death to America'' is what they say. And they want to start 
with ``Death to America'' by pronouncing ``Death to Israel.''
  More than that, they have proxies--at least three proxies--that we 
have been talking about recently: the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah to 
the north of Israel, and Hamas, the terrorist group that perpetrated 
the October slaughter on people near Gaza.
  Hamas has one reason to exist--one stated, admitted reason and one 
reason only: the complete destruction of Israel. And they demonstrated 
their ruthlessness on October 7: rapes, beheadings, babies being 
burned, unspeakable acts of violence. And Prime Minister Netanyahu was 
correct to point out that people protesting outside this building on 
behalf of Hamas should be ashamed of themselves in protesting on behalf 
of a group that was so violent.
  Hamas uses civilians as human shields. That is a violation of 
international law. By contrast--contrary to what people have been told 
in the press--Israel is doing the best job that any combatant has ever 
done in protecting civilians while trying to root out terrorist groups.
  I am calling on people on both sides of the aisle, in conclusion, to 
return to our bipartisan support of the right of a people to exist 
somewhere and to have one place on the face of the Earth where they 
know they can be safe in their own beliefs, in their own population, 
and, for the first time in centuries and millennia, to be safe and have 
their own homeland.
  So I congratulate the Prime Minister of Israel. I congratulate the 
Members of Congress who received him well. And I invite my colleagues 
on the other side of the aisle to remember the importance of bipartisan 
support for Israel.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Cortez Masto). The Senator from Wyoming.