[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 17]
[House]
[Pages 23884-23887]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 CONGRATULATING THE STATE OF ISRAEL ON THE ELECTION OF AMBASSADOR DAN 
GILLERMAN AS VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE 60TH UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 368) congratulating the State of Israel on the 
election of Ambassador Dan Gillerman as Vice-President of the 60th 
United Nations General Assembly.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 368

       Whereas the 60th General Assembly of the United Nations 
     will be held in New York City from September through December 
     2005;
       Whereas the United Nations General Assembly is presided 
     over by a President and 21 Vice-Presidents, who are nominated 
     by the General Assembly's five regional groupings;
       Whereas prior to 2000, Israel was the only member of the 
     United Nations to be excluded from a United Nations regional 
     grouping;
       Whereas this exclusion was the result of the refusal by 
     Arab states to permit Israel to join the Asian group;
       Whereas this exclusion prevented Israel from serving as the 
     President of the United Nations General Assembly, or as a 
     member of any bureau in the General Assembly and its main 
     committees;
       Whereas in 2000, Israel was accepted as a temporary member 
     of the Western European and Others Group (WEOG), which 
     includes Canada, the United States, Australia, and New 
     Zealand, in addition to the countries of Western Europe, and 
     its temporary membership was extended in 2004;
       Whereas on April 21, 2005, the Western Europe and Others 
     Group nominated Israel as a candidate for Vice-President of 
     the 60th United Nations General Assembly;
       Whereas on June 13, 2005, the 191 member United Nations 
     General Assembly elected Ambassador Dan Gillerman, Israel's 
     Permanent Representative to the United Nations, as one of 21 
     Vice-Presidents of the 60th General Assembly;
       Whereas Israeli Ambassador Gillerman called the election 
     ``a historic moment for Israel'', which had last served as 
     United Nations General Assembly Vice-President in 1952;
       Whereas Ambassador Gillerman also said that the election 
     confirms that Israel is ``becoming a more active and normal 
     member of the [United Nations]''; and
       Whereas United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan 
     welcomed Israel's election to the Vice-Presidency of the 
     General Assembly: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
       (1) congratulates Ambassador Dan Giller-
     man, Israel's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, 
     and the Government and people of the State of Israel on 
     Israel's election as Vice-President of the 60th General 
     Assembly of the United Nations;
       (2) welcomes the nomination by the Western European and 
     Others Group (WEOG) of Israel for the position of Vice-
     President of the 60th United Nations General Assembly;
       (3) welcomes the election by the United Nations General 
     Assembly of Israel as Vice-President of the 60th General 
     Assembly;
       (4) supports continued expansion of Israel's role at the 
     United Nations;

[[Page 23885]]

       (5) notes with concern that Israel remains the object of 
     extreme vilification by many members of the United Nations;
       (6) further notes that Israel remains excluded from the 
     Asian regional grouping within the organization; and
       (7) calls upon United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan 
     to work to end the vilification of Israel at the United 
     Nations and to use his good offices to support Israel's bid 
     to join the Asian regional grouping.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. Chabot) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot).


                             General Leave

  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on H. Res. 368.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it is sometimes said that there are three classes of 
members of the United Nations, permanent members of the Security 
Council, countries eligible to become nonpermanent members of the 
Security Council, and countries ineligible to become nonpermanent 
members of the Security Council.
  There is only one country in that third category, and that is, of 
course, the State of Israel. Israel has been the victim of an 
unfortunate impulse, rather widespread within the U.N., to isolate it, 
indeed to delegitimize it, that dates almost from Israel's 
independence.
  As Israel has been until recently completely excluded from the 
regional group system, it has been effectively unable to advance its 
candidacy for many of the posts that it should by right be able to 
aspire to. Indeed, Israel has much to contribute to the U.N. and to the 
world. It has achieved much in science, technology and social and 
economic development. It has famously ``made the desert bloom.''
  This phenomenon of isolating and vilifying Israel has called forth a 
response in some quarters of the international community and most 
clearly in the United States. The Congress and the American 
administrations of both parties have worked effectively with Israel to 
end its isolation.
  This effort has required some heavy lifting at times, but the efforts 
have begun to bear fruit. It is especially gratifying that one result 
of these efforts has been that Ambassador Dan Gillerman, the Israeli 
Permanent Representative to the United Nations, has been elected as one 
of the Vice Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly as a 
candidate of the Western European and Others Group.
  This resolution congratulates Israel for having achieved this 
landmark and calls for further efforts and further results in the 
effort to end Israel's isolation.
  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the efforts of the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Schiff) and also the distinguished gentleman from 
California (Mr. Lantos), who have worked diligently, very hard on this, 
and they have helped in crafting this resolution for the House.
  I also very much appreciate the assistance of the chairman of the 
committee, the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde), as well as the many 
others in this House who have worked on this resolution, and the House 
leadership as well for their assistance in arranging for consideration 
of this resolution.
  It is about time that Israel be treated with the respect that it is 
due.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. Mr. 
Speaker, first I want to thank my good friend from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) 
for his powerful and eloquent statement. I want to thank the chairman 
of the Committee on International Relations, the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Hyde), for working on this resolution and bringing it to 
the floor. But I particularly want to applaud our colleague, a 
distinguished member of the Committee on International Relations, the 
gentleman form California (Mr. Schiff), for drawing attention to this 
very positive development at the United Nations in New York.
  Mr. Speaker, for the first time in over a half a century at the U.N., 
the Democratic State of Israel, which has for decades been the only 
member state to be excluded from U.N. leadership positions because it 
has been shut out of its regional grouping as an act of blatant 
discrimination, has now been elected to a significant United Nations 
post. I am delighted to report that last month Israel's distinguished 
Ambassador Dan Gillerman, my good friend, became the Vice President of 
the General Assembly. Ambassador Gillerman has served as Israel's 
Permanent Representative at the U.N. for nearly 3 years.

                              {time}  1830

  Previously, he made his mark as one of Israel's top business leaders. 
Election of Ambassador Gillerman is a result of congressional and 
United States Government pressure on our allies in the Western European 
grouping to finally accept Israel as a full-fledged member to make up 
for the fact that Israel is denied its rightful seat in the Asian 
grouping by prejudiced members of the Organization of the Islamic 
Conference.
  This resolution is also important because it recognizes that despite 
this important development, Israel is still routinely vilified and 
singled out for political attack at the United Nations. Our measure 
calls on U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to work to end the continued 
attacks on Israel at the U.N. In fact, the timing of this resolution 
could not be more auspicious.
  The recently concluded U.N. summit provided Secretary General Kofi 
Annan with the authority to review all mandates and programs at the 
U.N. This review will finally provide Kofi Annan with the opportunity 
to recommend to the General Assembly that they dissolve several long-
standing preposterous committees within the Secretariat that are 
allocated millions of dollars on an annual basis for the sole purpose 
of pursuing one-sided, vicious propaganda aimed at Israel.
  Mr. Speaker, today we celebrate the election of a top Israeli 
diplomat to a position of responsibility at the United Nations. At the 
same time, we hope that Ambassador Gillerman's election is a harbinger 
of things to come and that the single-minded persecution of the State 
of Israel at the United Nations will cease from now on.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Schiff), the distinguished author of this 
legislation.
  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time 
and for his strong support of this resolution and all of his leadership 
on the Committee on International Relations. I feel deeply fortunate to 
have the chance to serve with the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Lantos).
  Mr. Speaker, on November 29, 1947, the United Nations General 
Assembly voted 33 to 13, with 10 abstentions, to partition Palestine 
into two States, one Arab and the other Jewish. With this historic 
vote, the U.N. assisted with the birth of the modern State of Israel, 
which proclaimed its independence the following May when Britain 
withdrew its forces from the region.
  For millions of Jews around the world, the partition vote and 
Israel's joining the United Nations in 1949 held forth the promise that 
the new country would be embraced by the international community and 
that the horror of the Holocaust would give way to a new era of 
acceptance for the Jewish people and their national aspirations.
  These hopes were quickly dashed, however, through the concerted 
efforts of the Arab members of the United Nations who denied Israel's 
right to exist. Israel's role in the world body became a Cold War 
sideshow; and for 5 decades, the combined efforts of the Arab States, 
the Soviet bloc, and the countries of the nonaligned movement prevented 
Israel from participating as a full member of the United Nations.

[[Page 23886]]

  Happily, albeit slowly, Israel's fortunes are beginning to change; 
and on behalf of the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) and 79 of our 
colleagues, we bring this measure to the floor, and we hope that it 
will highlight the progress that has been made to date and presage a 
new chapter in the relationship of Israel and the United Nations.
  For the past 5 weeks, the U.N. General Assembly has been meeting in 
New York. As in past years, the president of the General Assembly has 
been assisted by 27 vice presidents chosen by regional groupings at the 
United Nations. This year, however, is slightly different because one 
of the vice presidents is Israel's permanent representative to the 
U.N., Ambassador Dan Gillerman.
  Ambassador Gillerman's election is historic. On September 20, he 
became the first Israeli to preside over the General Assembly since the 
legendary Abba Eban served as General Assembly vice president in 1953. 
Throughout most of the intervening 5 decades, the State of Israel has 
been the subject of unrelenting, and oftentimes grotesque, criticism at 
the United Nations.
  Because of opposition from its Arab neighbors, Israel has been 
blocked from joining the Asian regional grouping at the United Nations; 
and until 2000, Israel was the only member of the U.N. to be excluded 
from joining any regional grouping. Under the U.N. structure, 
membership in a regional group is a prerequisite to service as 
president or vice president of the General Assembly, as well as 
membership in a host of other U.N. bodies.
  In 2000, Israel was accepted as a temporary member of the Western 
Europe and Others group, which removed the bar to further Israeli 
participation at the U.N. Israel's membership was renewed in 2004.
  In March of this year, the Western European group, which includes 
Western European countries, the U.S., Canada and New Zealand and 
Australia, nominated Israel for the post of vice president for the 
historic 60th General Assembly that is ongoing in New York.
  The Israeli vice presidency is a small, but important, step towards 
better relations between the U.N. and Israel; and the Israeli 
Government and people are excited about the role their nation is 
playing in New York this fall. Ambassador Gillerman called the election 
``a historic moment for Israel'' and said that it signaled that Israel 
is becoming a more active and normal member of the U.N.
  Our resolution congratulates Ambassador Gillerman and Israel on the 
historic occasion of Israel's vice presidency. It welcomes the Western 
Europe and Others group, and it welcomes the General Assembly's 
election of Israel as a vice president. It supports the continued 
expansion of Israel's role at the U.N. It notes the House's continued 
concern that Israel remains the object of extreme vilification at the 
U.N. Finally, it calls upon Secretary General Kofi Annan to work to end 
the vilification of Israel and to work to gain Israel's admittance to 
the Asian regional grouping.
  Throughout the last year, the Congress has discussed ways to reform 
the United Nations, to make it less corrupt and more responsive to the 
needs of a changing world. Many Members, myself included, have voiced 
consternation at Israel's marginalization at the U.N. as evidence of 
the U.N.'s failure to live up to its founding principles.
  Israel's vice presidency, along with other steps, some initiated by 
Israel and others facilitated by Secretary General Annan, have 
initiated a thaw in the relationship between Israel and the world body. 
Much more remains to be done; but Israelis, their friends here in 
America, and true friends of the U.N. can take satisfaction in Israel's 
role at this fall's General Assembly.
  I would like to thank, again, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) 
for all of his work on the resolution. I am very grateful to the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hyde) and to the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Lantos) for their strong support. This is truly something worth 
celebrating, and I urge my colleagues to join in support of the 
resolution.
  Mr. CARNAHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution today 
to commend the great State of Israel on being selected as the Vice 
President of the 60th UN General Assembly.
  When Israel became a vice president last month, the significance of 
Israel's first selection to the vice-presidency in 53 years was noted 
by all.
  It Is a reflection of each nominating country's confidence in 
Israel's commitment to peace in the Middle East, and a reflection of 
Israel's continued relation building with Muslim states throughout the 
region.
  When I traveled to Israel this past August, I was able to witness 
first-hand Israel's true dedication to achieving peace through a two 
state solution with the Palestinians.
  I believe that Israel's selection to the vice-presidency is a true 
testament to Israel's continued growth as a key country in the world's 
march towards peace.
  Once again, I congratulate Israel on its selection and current 
service as a vice president and look forward to the future as Israel 
continues to be a central figure at the United Nations.
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I want to offer my full support 
for this resolution to congratulate Ambassador Dan Gillerman, Israel's 
Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and the government and 
people of Israel on Israel's election as Vice-president of the 60th 
General Assembly of the United Nations.
  Since joining the United Nations on May 11, 1949, Israel has been 
singled out time and again for disproportionate criticism, 
underrepresented on important committees, denied full membership in 
regional groupings and constantly attacked by a bloc of Arab states and 
their supporters.
  From the time he assumed his post as Israel's Representative to the 
United Nation in January 2003, Mr. Gillerman has been a strong advocate 
of reforms at the UN that will give Israel more rights and will reform 
many of the wasteful and corrupt UN programs. In September 2005, Mr. 
Gillerman submitted Israel's first-ever candidacy for the Security 
Council, and Israel also recently proposed its first UN resolution.
  Mr. Gillerman has also supported ending four UN committees 
established specifically to aid Palestinians. The Committee on the 
Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, the 
Division for Palestinian Rights, the Special Information Program on the 
Question of Palestine and the Special Committee to Investigate Israel 
Practices are all biased committees that have long outlived their 
intended purposes and have added to the waste and anti-Israeli 
sentiments at the UN.
  In June 2005, Ambassador Gillerman was elected to serve as the Vice-
President of the General Assembly of the United Nations. He is the 
first Israeli representative to serve as Vice-President of the General 
Assembly in the past 53 years, since Abba Eban who served in this 
position in 1952.
  I congratulate Mr. Gillerman on his election as Vice-President of the 
60th General Assembly of the United Nations and urge my colleagues to 
join me in supporting House Resolution 368.
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House 
Resolution 368, congratulating the State of Israel on the election of 
Ambassador Dan Gillerman as Vice President of the 60th United Nations 
General Assembly. I am proud to be a cosponsor of this important 
resolution.
  In June 2005, Ambassador Gillerman was elected to serve as the Vice 
President of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Incredibly, 
Ambassador Gillerman is the first Israeli to serve as Vice President of 
the General Assembly in the past 53 years. The last Israeli to hold 
this prestigious post was the legendary Abba Eban, who served as Vice 
President in 1952. Ambassador Gillerman is bringing years of notable 
experience to this international body which historically has not been 
supportive of the State of Israel.
  Ambassador Gillerman has played a prominent role in helping to steer 
Israel towards economic liberalization and a free market economy. He 
has served on the Prime Minister's National Economic and Social 
Council, the President's Committee of the Coordinating Council of 
Israel's Economic Organizations, and as Chairman of the Israel-British 
Business Council, as well as being a member of the executive board of 
the International Chamber of Commerce.
  Most importantly, Ambassador Gillerman has been personally involved 
in the economic aspects of the Israeli/Palestinian peace process. He 
has honorably represented Israel during talks with Palestinian and Arab 
leaders trying to further economic cooperation within the region. I 
hope that his appointment at the United Nations will lead to further 
progress on

[[Page 23887]]

a final peace settlement between Israel and Palestine.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in congratulating Ambassador 
Gillerman and the State of Israel on this historic occasion.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Poe). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) that the House suspend 
the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 368.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will 
be postponed.

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