[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 2670]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            OPPOSITION TO UNITED NATIONS CRITICISM OF ISRAEL

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                           HON. STEVE ISRAEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 17, 2011

  Mr. ISRAEL. Mr. Speaker, I am emphatically opposed to using the U.N. 
to single out Israel for criticism on the issue of settlements, whether 
that criticism is in the form of a resolution or a statement. Should a 
resolution criticizing Israel come before the Security Council, the 
United States should clearly veto it. To the extent that we have 
disagreements with Israel on policy matters, we should find a way to 
express those differences in private, just as we would with our other 
close allies. The Administration has to understand that we stand by our 
friends through thick and thin.
  Let's be clear; the issue isn't settlements; the issue is 
negotiations. Israel froze settlement construction for ten months last 
year. Israel has shown it is ready to take risks for peace. The onus is 
on the Palestinian Authority. If Palestinians object to settlements or 
oppose building permits--negotiate.
  Israel, a friend and ally of the United States, is located in a 
dangerous neighborhood. Anyone who has recently watched the news or 
read a newspaper has seen the collapse of multilateral talks on Iran's 
nuclear weapons program, Hezballah's successful effort to topple the 
government of Lebanon, and a wave of unrest spreading throughout the 
Middle East. Given the threats facing Israel, the long friendship 
between our two nations, and Israel's strategic importance to the 
United States, it is critical that the U.S.-Israel relationship is 
strong at all levels of our government.
  The United States is in the middle of a ten-year commitment of 
military aid to Israel and I hope that the long tradition of strong 
bipartisan support in Congress to fully fund this commitment, even at a 
time of fiscal constraint, continues.

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