[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 139 (Monday, September 9, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5864-S5865]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                 Israel

  Madam President, on another topic, last weekend we learned of even 
more

[[Page S5865]]

heartbreak in the Middle East--specifically, that six innocent Israeli 
hostages had been executed by Hamas, even as the talks were ongoing for 
their release.
  One of them was a young man in the prime of his life. We met his 
parents. He had ties to our State of Illinois--Hersh Goldberg-Polin. He 
was one of the young people at the music festival on October 7, in 
Israel, during the heinous Hamas attack that sparked so much death and 
destruction. He lost part of his arm trying to protect the others who 
were taken hostage from a grenade, only to find himself being taken as 
a hostage.
  His parents, Rachel and Jon, spent the next 329 days of his captivity 
crisscrossing the globe on a desperate effort to save their son and end 
this ghastly war. Can there be a crueler fate for a parent than 
suffering the daily plea and waiting for a horribly injured child's 
release?
  Hersh is no longer with us, but the heroic lengths his mom and dad 
made to save him touched many of us deeply, including me.
  The fate of these six hostages and the ongoing suffering and violence 
of the region are reminders of something that I said early in the 
conflict: Israel would be wise to learn from the United States' 
mistakes after 9/11 in responding amid unimaginable rage and pain.
  I believe this lesson has been lost on the current Israeli Prime 
Minister, who, with each passing day, seems to step deeper into the 
pernicious and ruthless trap set by Hamas. He seems to have no long-
term plan for stability. He has failed to secure the release of the 
hostages. He has created a terrible, terrible humanitarian crisis in 
Gaza, and appears more concerned with his far-right coalition's 
survival than a viable path forward.
  Let me be clear. There are those in the region who want to destroy 
Israel, and that nation has a right to exist and a right to defend 
itself. But I worry its current Prime Minister is pursuing a highly 
counterproductive strategy. He is alienating allies in the region and 
abroad who want to help with a path forward. He is creating even more 
suffering and animosity among the Palestinian people and pursuing 
political survival above all else.
  Or as Middle East expert Tom Friedman recently wrote:

       Netanyahu has one interest: his own immediate political 
     survival, even if it undermines Israel's long-term survival.

  Or the former Mossad chief, Meir Dagan, who, before his death some 
years ago, concluded that Israel, over the decades ``achieved a long 
string of impressive tactical successes but disastrous strategic 
failure.''
  It is long overdue that both sides reach an agreement on a cease-fire 
that leads to the release of the remaining hostages, greater 
humanitarian access, and a long-term, two-state vision that allows for 
both Israelis and Palestinians to live safely and in dignity.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. 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.