[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 19]
[Senate]
[Page 25777]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE RESOLUTION 310--HONORING THE LIFE, LEGACY, AND EXAMPLE OF 
 ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER YITZHAK RABIN ON THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS 
                                 DEATH

  Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mr. Voinovich, Mr. Biden, Mr. Lugar, Mr. 
Chafee, and Mr. Brownback) submitted the following resolution; which 
was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 310

       Whereas Yitzhak Rabin was born March 1, 1922, in Jerusalem;
       Whereas Yitzhak Rabin volunteered for the Palmach, the 
     elite unit of the Haganah (predecessor of the Israeli Defense 
     Forces), and served for 27 years, including during the 1948 
     War of Independence, the 1956 Suez War, and as Chief of Staff 
     in the June 1967 Six Day War;
       Whereas, in 1975, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed the 
     interim agreement with Egypt (Sinai II) which laid the 
     groundwork for the 1979 Camp David Peace Treaty between 
     Israel and Egypt;
       Whereas Yitzhak Rabin served as Ambassador to the United 
     States from 1968-1973, Minister of Defense from 1984-1990, 
     and Prime Minister from 1974-1977 and from 1992 until his 
     assassination in 1995;
       Whereas. on September 13, 1993, in Washington, D.C., 
     Yitzhak Rabin signed the Declaration of Principles framework 
     agreement between Israel and the Palestinians;
       Whereas, upon the signing of the Declaration of Principles, 
     Yitzhak Rabin said to the Palestinian people: ``We say to you 
     today in a loud and clear voice: Enough of blood and tears. 
     Enough! We harbor no hatred toward you. We have no desire for 
     revenge. We, like you, are people who want to build a home, 
     plant a tree, love, live side by side with you--in dignity, 
     empathy, as human beings, as free men.'';
       Whereas Yitzhak Rabin received the 1994 Nobel Prize for 
     Peace for his vision and bravery as a peacemaker, saying at 
     the time: ``There is only one radical means of sanctifying 
     human lives. Not armored plating, or tanks, or planes, or 
     concrete fortifications. The one radical solution is 
     peace.'';
       Whereas, on October 26, 1994, Yitzhak Rabin and King 
     Hussein of Jordan signed a peace treaty between Israel and 
     Jordan;
       Whereas, on November 4, 1995, Yitzhak Rabin was brutally 
     assassinated after attending a peace rally in Tel Aviv, where 
     his last words were: ``I have always believed that the 
     majority of the people want peace, are prepared to take risks 
     for peace . . . Peace is what the Jewish People aspire to.''; 
     and
       Whereas Yitzhak Rabin dedicated his life to the cause of 
     peace and security for the state of Israel by defending his 
     nation against all threats, including terrorism, and 
     undertaking courageous risks in the pursuit of peace: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) honors the historic role of Yitzhak Rabin for his 
     distinguished service to the people of Israel and extends its 
     deepest sympathy and condolences to the family of Yitzhak 
     Rabin and the people of Israel on the tenth anniversary of 
     his death;
       (2) recognizes and reiterates its continued support for the 
     close ties and special relationship between the United States 
     and Israel;
       (3) expresses its admiration for Yitzhak Rabin's legacy and 
     reaffirms its commitment to the process of building a just 
     and lasting peace between Israel and its neighbors;
       (4) condemns any and all acts of terrorism; and
       (5) reaffirms unequivocally the sacred principle that 
     democratic leaders and governments must be changed only by 
     the democratically-expressed will of the people.

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