[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 7693]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     ISRAEL AND THE UNITED STATES ON ISRAEL'S 56TH INDEPENDENCE DAY

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                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 27, 2004

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I wish to congratulate Israel on its 
Independence Day, the 56th anniversary of the founding of the modern 
State of Israel. In 56 years, Israel has experienced more dangers and 
more triumphs, more success and more tragedy, more highs and lows than 
many states that have existed for many centuries longer. Throughout it 
all, Israel's indomitable spirit has conquered adversity.
  Israel has much for which to be grateful. Foremost, Israel has so 
often been blessed with great leaders, with wise and visionary 
leadership. This tradition goes back to Israel's modern origins. At the 
end of the nineteenth century, the founder of the modern Zionist 
movement Theodor Herzl made the most preposterous and prophetic 
prediction I know of, when he asserted that a Jewish state would be 
born within a half-century. He made that prediction in 1897, when 
virtually nobody took the idea seriously. Fifty-one years later, in 
1948, the state of Israel was founded.
  In statehood, Israel's leaders have been practical, humane, bold, and 
peace-loving. It is a pity that Israel's neighbors generally have not 
been blessed with leaders of a similar type.
  Mr. Speaker, David Ben-Gurion and the Zionist leadership were 
practical enough to accept the 1947 U.N. partition resolution, though 
they had hoped for much more. They were humane enough to treat their 
Arab citizens as equals when Arab leaders were threatening to drive the 
Jews into the sea. They and their successors were bold enough to do 
what is necessary to keep Israel and the Jewish people alive, 
regardless of what the rest of the world might think.
  Usually, the world decides much later that Israel was right after 
all. Remember the bombing--the then much criticized bombing--of the 
Iraqi nuclear reactor Osirak in 1981? How universally scorned it was at 
the time. At that time, I was the only Member of the Congress to 
commend Israel for its action. How grateful the civilized world is now 
for Israel's bold move in 1981.
  Once again, courageous Israeli leadership has come to the fore. As I 
speak, I have no idea whether Prime Minister Sharon's plan for 
unilateral redeployment from Gaza and parts of the West Bank will be 
accepted by the Israeli people, government, and Knesset. I do know that 
Prime Minister Sharon's plan demonstrates a clear commitment to 
establishing a structure of peace in the absence of a viable 
Palestinian peace partner. And I do know that the Israeli verdict on 
that plan will be arrived at democratically.
  Mr. Speaker, Israel also has been blessed with the great friendship 
and unswerving support of the United States. It has earned this 
friendship not only because of shared strategic interests but also 
because Israel has fashioned a society that embodies the same 
fundamental values as our own.
  Against impossible odds, Israel has established a vibrant, open, 
prosperous, free, and fully democratic society; a pluralistic society 
built by people from virtually every country in the world; a society 
that is politically, economically, and intellectually on a par with the 
best of the West. In fact, the Arab population of Israel enjoys 
incomparably more freedom and democratic rights than do those who live 
anywhere in the Arab world.
  Mr. Speaker, the past four years have been among the most dangerous 
in the history of the State of Israel. The scale of Israeli loss in the 
so-called intifada is staggering--much of it the result of suicide 
bombings.
  Israel should know that its friends in the United States stand in 
complete solidarity with it in its fight against terrorism. Its friends 
here will defend its right to protect itself against all forms of 
terrorism, against the scourge of those who place no value on human 
life. Its friends fully understand and support Israel's right to build 
a security fence to keep out suicide bombers. And Israel should know 
that its friends here won't be afraid to stand up to unjustified and 
disturbingly persistent criticism coming from Europe, from those who 
have managed to misunderstand the lessons of their own history.
  And Israel should rest assured that its friends here agree that 
violence must end before negotiations begin. You cannot negotiate with 
terror; you can only defeat it. Only when the Palestinians learn that 
they cannot exhaust Israel through violence will they be ready for the 
kinds of political compromises necessary for a lasting peace. Israel's 
friends understand that.
  Mr. Speaker, for Israel's friends, today is a day for joy, 
solidarity, and reflection. As we join with our Israeli friends to 
celebrate the remarkable story of Israeli independence, we take special 
pride in the role our nation has played and continues to play in 
supporting Israeli security and in promoting the special bilateral 
relationship from which our nations have derived great and mutual 
benefit.

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