[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 1735]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       PEACE FOR THE MIDDLE EAST

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. THELMA D. DRAKE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 18, 2007

  Mrs. DRAKE. Madam Speaker, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice 
recently announced that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and 
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas would meet with her to 
discuss how peace can finally be brought to the Middle East. I am 
pleased to hear of this three-way meeting and believe a meaningful 
resolution is long overdue.
  Since the year 2000, Israel has demonstrated a willingness to act 
unilaterally in the name of peace; only to have their enemies respond 
with more acts of violence. In 2000, Israel withdrew its forces from 
southern Lebanon, only to be followed by Hezbollah and its missiles. In 
2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza, only to be replaced by 
the militant wing of the Hamas party. These are just two examples of 
the terrorism the Israeli people have experienced over time.
  Madam Speaker, there will be no peace in the Middle East so long as 
these terrorist organizations insist on the destruction of Israel. 
There will be no peace, until Hamas agrees to curtail acts of violence 
and aggression and show that they are willing to work toward a two-
state solution.
  More importantly, there will be no peace in the Middle East until the 
world community speaks out against terrorism with one voice. And, when 
a world leader sways from this commitment, we take one step back.
  Madam Speaker, we took one step back from reaching peace in the 
Middle East when former President Jimmy Carter published his book, 
Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. In his book, Mr. Carter puts the onus 
for Middle East peace on Israel, stating that it is Israel who is 
keeping peace from occurring in the Middle East. I strongly disagree 
with this analysis.
  I was recently contacted by one of my constituents in Virginia Beach 
about this book. Rabbi Israel Zoberman, the founding rabbi and 
spiritual leader of Congregation Beth Chaverim, wrote:

       How disappointing that the distinguished author of 
     Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, Jimmy Carter, who served as 
     the 38th President of the United States, has written a book 
     that fails to promote the very goal of peace which he is no 
     doubt committed to. In fact, the title bluntly suggests along 
     with the very essence of the narrative that Israel's policy 
     vis-a-vis the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza is the 
     core obstacle to the elusive peace. President Carter thus 
     fails as the honest broker he proudly was when sponsoring the 
     1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty.
       The mere suggestion of practiced apartheid by Israel is 
     inflammatory enough in alluding to South Africa's overthrown 
     policy. Thus, the book's title with the word ``apartheid'' in 
     it and the cover's photo of the controversial security 
     barrier, which are surely designed for sales' purposes, are 
     irresponsible . . . To speak of Hezbollah and Hamas as if 
     they were representing freedom fighters only seeking to 
     remove Israel from the occupied territories is unfortunately 
     not so. The means employed by the terrorists disregard 
     civilian lives by using their own women and children as human 
     shields.

  Madam Speaker, in August 2005, I had the privilege of visiting 
Israel. It was truly a life-changing experience which helped put into 
perspective the crisis facing this generation of Israelis. Every 
generation is confronted with a moment of truth. We are at that moment 
now. Our duty as responsible statesmen and world leaders is to promote 
dialogue and action so that all families, whether they are Israeli or 
Palestinian can live without fear.

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