[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 15]
[House]
[Pages 20869-20873]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         U.S.-ISRAEL RELATIONS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Sodrel). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 4, 2005, the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. 
Foxx) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority 
leader.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I think I will be joined by some colleagues 
shortly, I hope.
  Congress recently returned to Washington following a busy month of 
work in the district. For a majority of August, I traveled throughout 
North Carolina's 5th District and conducted scores of meetings with 
veterans, teachers, and many other constituent groups.
  During this time, I gained valuable insight into the needs of the 
people I serve and look forward to continuing to address their 
concerns. The needs of my home district have always been and continue 
to be my number one priority.
  However, as a Member of Congress, it is my duty to educate myself on 
internal affairs and foreign policy, especially when it pertains to the 
Middle East. While our foreign neighbors may be far away from northwest 
North Carolina, our relationships with them affect everyone.
  For 1 week in August, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to 
travel to Israel with several colleagues. This educational trip gave me 
the opportunity to witness how America's national security interests 
are directly tied to developments in the Middle East, and specifically 
to Israel's own security.
  Strategic cooperation between our country and Israel, in 
intelligence-sharing, fighting the war on terror, strengthening 
homeland security, promoting democracy, and increasing technology 
development is vital to the well-being of my constituents and, indeed, 
all Americans.
  For most of the 1,500 years before the Roman destruction of Jerusalem 
in AD 70, the land of Israel was the independent home of the Jewish 
people. Since then, it has been occupied by many powers, from the 
Romans to conquering Arab armies to the Ottomans to the British.
  Despite these periods of foreign occupation, there has always been a 
continuous Jewish presence, and the land of Israel remained the focal 
point for the Jewish people.
  The United States and Israel have long maintained a strong friendship 
since the modern Jewish state was founded in 1948. In fact, we were the 
very first Nation to recognize Israel, just 11 minutes after its 
founding.
  Our two countries share much more in common than many realize. We 
believe in freedom and equality and share many basic rights, such as 
free elections, a free press, and freedom of religion. We were both 
founded by people seeking freedom from tyranny, and we both continue to 
serve today as symbols of liberty in a world plagued by oppression.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like now to recognize my colleague, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Marchant), who has joined me and allow him to 
share some of his perspectives on this trip that we took in August, and 
then I will come back to the podium and speak some more.
  Mr. MARCHANT. Mr. Speaker, last month I was fortunate as a Member of 
Congress to travel to Israel and witness firsthand the peace process 
that is currently taking place.

                              {time}  1900

  The trip was a unique opportunity to learn more about relations 
between the United States and Israel. This country

[[Page 20870]]

has maintained a longstanding friendship with the Jewish state since 
its creation in 1948. Today, cooperation between the U.S. and Israel is 
essential as we fight the war on terror and promote peace in the Middle 
East. Israel is, has been, and will continue to be an important ally in 
the goal to spread democracy worldwide and promote peace in the Middle 
East.
  I was privileged to have the opportunity to meet with many high-
ranking officials from the region, including Israeli Prime Minister 
Ariel Sharon, as well as Former Prime Minister BiBi Netanyahu and Vice 
Prime Minister Shimon Peres. Talking with these leaders provided me 
with valuable insight into the ongoing peace process and plans for the 
region. While their approaches are different, their common goal remains 
the same: peace and fulfillment of the Jewish homeland.
  On the final day I met with Mahmoud Abbas, Chairman of the 
Palestinian Authority. I, along with my colleagues, stressed with him 
how important it was to the United States that the terrorists be 
disarmed and that peace be advanced within the region.
  Mr. Speaker, my rigorous schedule included an extensive tour of this 
country. Although Israel is smaller than the State of New Jersey, I was 
thoroughly impressed with its infrastructure and potential for growth. 
In just over 50 years of existence, Israel has developed a remarkable 
highway system and infrastructure. As we visited universities, holy 
sites, military bases, it was easy to tell how modern and highly 
accomplished Israel is today and what an incredible potential that it 
has with its people.
  Throughout the country's history, the Israeli people have experienced 
violence and terror on their home soil. Normal citizens' lives have 
been threatened in schools, malls, and other public places at the hands 
of suicide bombers. Israel, though, is committed to combating terrorism 
and to world peace.
  During my trip I was able to attend various briefings and got to see 
the security fence that separates Israel from Palestine and other tools 
that have been effectively used by Israelis to deter the terrorist 
attacks.
  I traveled also to the developing Negev Desert area. This region has 
experienced a surge in development and opportunities with its diverse 
residents. The community is composed of Israelis, Arabs, and Bedouins. 
Its growing strength is vital to Israel's national security interests 
as well as an excellent place for new settlement. The United States 
needs to play a key role in the assistance of the development of this 
desert area.
  This trip was also especially important because it took place in the 
midst of the disengagement of Gaza and the northern part of the West 
Bank. I was one of the few Americans to be able to visit Israel during 
this very historic time. Over 8,000 Israelis were relocated from the 
Gaza Strip.
  The courageous decision to withdraw from Gaza carries serious risks 
for Israel. It proves the willingness of the Jewish state to take 
enormous chances for peace. Withdrawal provides Palestinian leadership 
the opportunity to curb terrorism and govern its people. Prime Minister 
Sharon explained that he believed the painstaking process is the best 
long-term decision for Israel. Only time will tell whether Gaza will 
become a catalyst for peace or the new headquarters of terrorism.
  Now more than ever, Israel needs America's support. Israel's 
commitment to peace is vital in this time of war and oppression in the 
Middle East. As America continues with its mission to spread freedom 
and democracy, the Israeli people have to be, and will be, our very 
important allies. They deserve our respect and our cooperation.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, we had a distinguished group with us on our 
trip, and I am very privileged to recognize the gentleman from Utah 
(Mr. Bishop) who is going to share some of his observations of the trip 
with us now.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentlewoman from 
North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) giving me this opportunity of sharing a few 
of the experiences that I had while visiting Israel with the 
distinguished group this past summer.
  I think there are four impressions that I will always take back from 
my short trip to Israel. The first one is how wonderful it was to be in 
a place where you saw a specific pro-American attitude from everyone, 
from the leaders of the country down to the people on the street, with 
whom you spoke.
  Secondly, I have to admit that even though I was in Israel, I felt 
like I was back in Utah because the topography is very similar. The 
mountains of Judea, I was right on the Wasatch Front again. Going to 
the desert was like going to Price, to Moab back in Utah. Whereas in 
Israel they have the Sea of Galilee that empties into the Jordan River 
and empties into a Dead Sea, the saltiest sea in the world, in my home 
State we have Utah Lake which empties into the Jordan River which 
empties into the saltiest sea in this hemisphere, the Great Salt Lake. 
So I was back home.
  Third, and perhaps for me most important, the ability of buying Dr. 
Pepper on the market in Jerusalem told me that I was in a country that 
was purely cultured and progressive, and I was extremely grateful for 
that.
  Finally, I was truly impressed by the size. I think one of the things 
that we Americans do not realize so fully is how our size has always 
been a defense. Perhaps as somebody from the West, I recognize that as 
well, when my county is the size of Rhode Island. Sometime we take size 
for granted. It is part of our mentality.
  But it is very clear in this country where you can go in a matter of 
hours from the mountains of the Golan down to the desert in Negev, that 
is not a large area. In fact, it takes me longer to drive from one end 
of my district to the other end than it does to go through the country 
of Israel.
  When I realized, as you were looking out at the horizon, you will see 
one mountain top that is Palestinian and the next mountain top is 
Israeli. And how close they are. We understand that security becomes 
the major concern of this people. And once again we have kind of a 
cavalier attitude in the United States about how important security is 
to those people who live in this particular area. We also understand it 
is very clear that if there is ever going to be a lasting peace between 
the Palestinians and Israelis, if there is ever going to be a permanent 
government between the Palestinians and Israelis in this area of the 
world, then terrorism has to stop, and that has to be the first and 
foremost priority.
  I think it is wonderful that we have this chance of exchanging ideas 
and changing institutions. I just gave a speech on this floor a few 
moments ago about the importance of foreign exchange students and 
having exchange students understanding American life. Taking it back 
becomes one of those things that will help us in the future in foreign 
affairs. I think this is the same way.
  There is much that we can learn about the experience of Israel. As we 
are going through the issues of border security in the United States, 
there is much that we can learn from how the Israelis have handled that 
particular situation, much we can learn as far as technology that may 
be one of those things that can help us in the future.
  I was also feeling especially important to be there, as some have 
mentioned, I think others will as well, to be there at the time of 
pullout from the Gaza Strip. Nothing, I think, that could ever happen 
has shown the commitment on the part of the Israeli Government to peace 
more than that. And everything happened with an ability of doing things 
in a peaceful and successful way. It showed that even though there was 
some protest, it was an orderly disengagement. Even though it may be 
strategic, it was still nonetheless a gamble on the part of the 
Israelis. It clearly illustrated that the ball is now in the court of 
the Palestinians and the Egyptians.
  I am very pleased that the Egyptians seemed to have moved up and 
stepped up to take their position in the patrolling of the Philadelphia 
Corridor. And the amount of troops they have moved

[[Page 20871]]

in there, though it is still under 1,000, it still is a significant 
presence. I hope that signals something that will be positive in the 
future.
  It is also significant that the Palestinians have to make a positive 
response in the future to this particular situation. If they do not, if 
they simply say that permitting foreign civil war from taking place is 
sufficient, then they deserve the criticism of the world, for there 
will be no room for equivocation. Abbas has a choice in here of being a 
true hero of the future and moving the peace process forward or being a 
catalyst for the means of world chaos.
  I was happy that before I went I also had the opportunity of reading 
a history of the Six Day War. Once again we sometimes have illusions 
and misconceptions as Americans. One of the misconceptions is the 
Israeli Army and the Israeli defense forces are impregnable, they are 
impenetrable, and they will always win in every situation.
  Learning the details of the Six Day War and the places that we looked 
at when I actually got there, I realized that the victory of the 
Israelis in the Six Day War had as much to do with luck as it had to do 
with military ability. There were decisions that were made on both 
sides in that particular war, which if they had gone the other way, 
would have had an entirely different outcome.
  That also illustrated one more time how the Israeli situation is 
indeed tenuous. We cannot place any blame on the Israelis for being so 
concerned about their security in a land where an enemy sworn against 
them is so close and has so many terrorist activities, killing over 
1,000 people in the last 5 years. With those images coming back there, 
I am proud to be able to see the people who, perhaps even better than 
we do, understand the second amendment rights. And we need to fear the 
bad guys with guns, not necessarily the good guys with guns and people 
who are doing so much on their own for being responsible for their 
security and their future.
  It was a very positive experience. I think there is much to learn 
from the good and the determination of our good friends in the State of 
Israel. It was an enjoyable trip. I appreciate the opportunity of being 
able to have enjoyed it with my good friend from North Carolina.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman.
  We all know that it is important to have people from very different 
perspectives serving in the Congress, and I think that the points of 
view that will be presented here sound very similar, but also each one 
of us has our unique perspectives on what stayed with us as a result.
  One of the people who was with us on our trip was our distinguished 
deputy whip, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor), and I would like 
to ask the gentleman to share some of his views now.
  Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for organizing 
tonight's Special Order. I congratulate her on her outstanding 
leadership and her participation in the trip that we all were on.
  I have been to Israel many times. I went on this trip, and this 
particular trip was special, like most others, because there is always 
something going on with the people of that land and their neighbors. 
And there is a constant quest for peace and one that, unfortunately, 
has not come to pass in the half a century or so that that country has 
existed.
  One thing that strikes me always and struck me this summer was that 
Israel remains a beacon of freedom, remains our only democratic ally in 
the Middle East, and is proof of the survival of a people that have 
engaged in the war on terror that we here in America have found 
ourselves in, especially since 9/11.
  As the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop) before me stated, we were 
able to travel to or near the Gaza Strip as the pullout, disengagement, 
was taking place. One of the visions that I remember was one that will 
go down in history, I imagine, with the settlers that were leaving Gush 
Katif, the area of the Gaza Strip in which many Israeli communities 
existed. They were actually at one of the junctions in the road and 
were pulling down the traffic directional signs pointing to their 
community and putting the signs in the back of their truck, knowing 
probably that there would never be such a sign that existed again, 
because the community will not exist again. A very tragic moment in 
many families' lives, but I think something that reflects the bold move 
by Prime Minister Sharon in conducting the disengagement and 
formulating the policy of disengagement. It was a tremendous step. It 
was a tremendous step to create an environment where peace can 
flourish.
  The problem is, and I am troubled by the Palestinian response to Mr. 
Sharon's move, because as we saw the Israeli Army pull out of the Gaza 
Strip, we then saw gunshots from the Palestinians in so-called 
celebration in what they had termed a ``victory'' that they had driven 
Israel out. We saw the transfer of arms across the border with Egypt 
into Gaza.

                              {time}  1915

  We saw the Palestinians conducting the burning of synagogues there in 
the communities that had been abandoned, and we saw and we read in the 
news while we were there that there were rockets being launched from 
the Gaza Strip into Israel, all in response or all coinciding with the 
Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
  So it just troubles me that we did not see an in-kind gesture by the 
Palestinian Authority, by Mahmoud Abbas and others in his 
administration, that would show some type of gesture of goodwill to 
reflect the Israeli disengagement and withdrawal from the Gaza Strip; 
but if we look throughout what has happened over the past decade or 
more, we see that there is a continued pattern of this type of response 
from the Palestinian Authority.
  Way back in the beginning of the last decade, in the early 1990s, 
with the formulation of Oslo, there was a lot of hope, hope among a lot 
of people that the Oslo process would bring a long-sought-after peace 
between Israelis and the Palestinians. In fact, what happened after the 
devolution of that period was the intifada which was the killing of 
many innocent people on both sides.
  We saw the occurrence of the Wye Accords in 1998 with Arafat and 
then-Prime Minister Netanyahu, where Israel agreed to withdraw from 
Hebron, and it was a very holy place for the Jewish people; and the 
Palestinians responded with violence.
  We saw in the year 2000, Camp David, potential of the accords between 
then-Prime Minister Barak and Mr. Arafat. It was at that time that 
Israel offered nearly 90 percent of the West Bank, offered sovereignty 
to the Palestinian people, offered east Jerusalem and the Temple Mount. 
What happened? Mr. Arafat walked away, and we have seen nothing but 
continued violence, continued terrorist attacks on the people of 
Israel.
  Yet, after all of that, we see Prime Minister Sharon conducting the 
policy of disengagement, again taking one last stab at trying to 
achieve peace between the Israeli and Palestinian people. So I think 
that we must recognize that bold step.
  Our President, who has been a terrific champion of a strong U.S.-
Israel relationship, understands the importance that Israel plays in 
our national security strategy, the fact that Israel is fighting the 
war on terror on the front lines while we, our young men and women in 
uniform, are fighting that same war on terror, not too far away in that 
region in Iraq and Afghanistan. This President understands the 
importance that Israel plays and has supported Mr. Sharon in his moves 
to try and move the peace process forward.
  Unfortunately, we just are not seeing any reciprocation on the part 
of the Palestinians. We now hear and read of the reports where Hamas is 
taking a part and intending to participate in the Palestinian elections 
that will occur soon. How in the world can we respect the participation 
of a professed terrorist group whose aim is to remove Israel from the 
map? How in the world does that help the Palestinian cause for peace?

[[Page 20872]]

  I am here tonight to express some serious dismay at the response by 
the Palestinian Authority and to reflect and congratulate the policies 
of Israel and what they are trying to do to secure peace. 
Unfortunately, there again has been nothing in return that Israel has 
received, and I just encourage my colleagues to continue to monitor 
what is going on in that region and how it affects our security here in 
America and to, once again, commit ourselves to helping the security of 
Israel in its democratic way and to ensure its survival as our only 
democratic ally in the Middle East.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Cantor) so much. He has helped put many things that a lot of us are 
concerned about into perspective, and we are grateful to him for that.
  I am going to talk a little bit more about Israel and give some facts 
about what is happening in Israel in its short history, but let me say 
that we know that Israel is one of the only countries in the Middle 
East that the United States can truly count on. It is not a fair 
weather friend. When terrorists strike American targets in the Middle 
East, Israel always stands by our side. We are truly fortunate to have 
a strong friend in Israel.
  During our trip, we had the opportunity to travel to the countryside, 
visit military bases, universities, children's homes, holy sites, and 
strategic locations. One of the first things that struck me was just 
how much has been accomplished by the Israeli people in their nation's 
short history. I witnessed capitalism at work and saw how it has 
enabled the country to prosper. Israel has an amazing network of roads, 
a national water system, and has developed other impressive 
infrastructure. It is really hard to believe that they have 
accomplished so much in just 55 years.
  So often when we hear about Israel, it is only in conjunction with 
conflicts affecting Israel. My visit made me aware of so many facts 
that are never mentioned or discussed by the media. I want to share a 
few of those with my colleagues.
  The Middle East has been growing date palms for centuries. The 
average tree is about 18 to 20 feet tall and yields about 38 pounds of 
dates a year. Israeli date trees are now yielding 400 pounds a year and 
are short enough to be harvested from the ground or a short ladder.
  Israel, the 100th smallest country, with less than 1,000th of the 
world's population, can lay claim to the following: The cell phone was 
developed in Israel by Israelis working in the Israeli branch of 
Motorola which has its largest development center in Israel. Most of 
the Windows NT and XP operating systems were developed by Microsoft 
Israel. The Pentium MMX chip technology was designed in Israel at 
Intel. Both the Pentium 4 microprocessor and the Centrino processor 
were entirely designed, developed, and produced in Israel.
  Voice mail technology was developed in Israel. Both Microsoft and 
Cisco built their only R&D facilities outside the United States in 
Israel. The technology for the AOL Instant Messenger ICQ was developed 
in 1996 by four young Israelis. Israel has the highest percentage in 
the world of home computers per capita.
  According to industry officials, Israel designed the airline 
industry's most impenetrable flight security. U.S. officials now look, 
finally, to Israel for advice on how to handle airborne security 
threats.
  Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population 
in the entire world. Israel produces more scientific papers per capita 
than any other nation by a large margin.
  In proportion to its population, Israel has the largest number of 
start-up companies in the world. In absolute terms, Israel has the 
largest number of start-up companies of any country in the world except 
the United States.
  Israel is ranked number two in the world for venture capital funds, 
right behind the United States. Outside the United States and Canada, 
Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ-listed companies. It has the 
highest average living standards in the Middle East. The per capita 
income in 2000 was over $17,500, exceeding that of the United Kingdom.
  Twenty-four percent of Israel's workforce holds university degrees, 
ranking third in the industrial world, after the United States and 
Holland.
Twelve percent hold advanced degrees.
  In 1984 and 1991, Israel airlifted a total of 22,000 Ethiopian Jews, 
called Operation Solomon, at risk in Ethiopia, to safety in Israel. 
Relative to its population, Israel is the largest immigrant-absorbing 
nation on Earth. Immigrants come in search of democracy, religious 
freedom, and economic opportunity.
  Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century 
with a net gain in its number of trees, made more remarkable because 
this was achieved in an area considered mainly desert.
  Israel has more museums per capita than any other country. Israeli 
scientists developed the first fully computerized, no radiation, 
diagnostic instrument for breast cancer. An Israeli company developed a 
computerized system for ensuring administration of medications, 
removing human error from medical treatment. Every year in U.S. 
hospitals, 7,000 patients die from treatment mistakes.
  Israel leads the world in the number of scientists and technicians in 
the workforce with 145 per 10,000 as opposed to 85 in the U.S., over 70 
in Japan, and less than 60 in Germany. With over 25 percent of its 
workforce employed in technical professions, Israel places first in 
this category as well.
  An Israeli company was the first to develop and install a large-scale 
solar-powered and fully functional electricity generating plant in 
Southern California's Mojave Desert; and as other people have alluded 
to, all of the above things have been done while Israel has been 
engaged in creating a very strong national defense with an implacable 
enemy that seeks its destruction and an economy continuously under 
strain by having to spend more per capita on its own protection than 
any other country on Earth.
  Others have alluded to Israel's size. The entire country is smaller 
than the State of New Jersey. In fact, Israel is only 9 miles wide at 
its most narrow point. This helps illustrate how vulnerable the country 
is in terms of its security.
  This point was also emphasized when we visited the Golan Heights. 
Israel became painfully aware of the location's strategic importance 
during the Yom Kippur War in 1973 when over 2,000 Israelis were killed. 
From atop this high mountain, enemies can launch rockets and artillery 
fire on the villages below. Israel's control of this piece of real 
estate is vital to its security interests.
  We also had opportunities to walk the streets of Jerusalem and 
witness how closely the Jews and Arabs live together. This particular 
journey was also personally meaningful because I experienced the rich 
spiritual heritage of the Holy Land. It was humbling to see firsthand 
where Jesus Christ, King David, and King Solomon walked. I was also 
able to visit the sites of the Last Supper and Christ's crucifixion. 
These were very moving experiences.
  As my colleagues have mentioned, we met with a broad spectrum of 
Israeli and Palestinian officials, including Prime Minister Sharon and 
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. By talking to these 
leaders, we were able to gain fundamental insights on security, peace 
negotiations, and defense cooperation.
  Israel has proved that it is willing to form a lasting peace with any 
country that has extended its hand in friendship. Indeed, one of the 
things that struck me most is that Israel does not say that it has an 
army. The media says it has an army; but in Israel, the people who 
protect Israel are called the Israeli Defense Force. Defense force. I 
think that is so important. Words are significant, and by calling folks 
who protect the country its defense force, it emphasizes that it wants 
peace and is not a country that is bent on fighting with its neighbors.
  In the war on terror, American and Israeli interests are the same. We 
are

[[Page 20873]]

both committed to stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass 
destruction and curbing state-sponsored terrorism.

                              {time}  1930

  For years, we have worked together for a more stable and peaceful 
Middle East.
  Unfortunately, Israel has had to deal with war and terrorism since it 
was established in 1948, and has recently suffered through 4 intense 
years of violence that has targeted innocent civilians through suicide 
bombings on buses, in restaurants, and in shopping malls. I am saddened 
to report that Israel has endured more terrorist attacks than any other 
country in the entire world. The perseverance of the Israeli people, 
who constantly live their lives in the face of hatred and terrorism, is 
truly an inspiration to all of us who love freedom and democracy. The 
United States can learn a great deal from Israel's experience in 
fighting terror.
  As we have already spoken of, just prior to my arrival in Israel, 
Prime Minister Sharon made the decision to disengage from Gaza and the 
northern West Bank. Israel has withdrawn thousands of citizens from 
their homes and communities and relocated them at tremendous emotional 
and financial cost to the Israeli Government. Disengagement from Gaza 
and parts of the West Bank hold enormous potential in advancing the 
peace process if the Palestinians demonstrate they can govern 
themselves and curb terrorism. Yet, while this movement has been 
supported by a majority of the public, it has been an emotionally 
painful undertaking that carries great political and security risks for 
Israel. Prime Minister Sharon explained that he was willing to take 
these risks because he believes that disengagement is in the best long-
term interest of Israel.
  After my rigorous and informative experiences overseas, I am more 
convinced than ever that it is crucial that the United States continue 
our strong support for Israel. The country is a beacon of democracy in 
a sea of violence and hostility. Both of our nations have a mutual 
interest in deterring terror, promoting democracy and stability 
throughout the world, and seeking peace in the Middle East. Israel's 
ability to function and defend itself against terrorism is in no small 
part due to unwavering support from the United States. Our country has 
a moral obligation to strengthen our fellow democracies, especially 
when they are in turbulent and dangerous regions in the world. It is in 
our national security interest to continue to support Israel 
financially and morally.
  I want to end my remarks by quoting from a speech given by Prime 
Minister Sharon to the United Nations General Assembly on September 5, 
2005. His final remarks are those that I think all Americans can agree 
with. ``In a few days time on the Hebrew calendar, the New Year will 
begin, the 5,766th year since the Creation. According to Jewish belief, 
the fates of people and nations are determined at the New Year by the 
Creator, to be spared or to be doomed. May the Holy One, blessed be He, 
determine that this year, our fate and the fate of our neighbors is 
peace, mutual respect, and good neighborly relations.''
  That is a hope that all of us can share.

                          ____________________