[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8195-8199]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            ISRAEL'S BORDERS

  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to 
visit with one of my true heroes, Benjamin Netanyahu, who was here and 
graced us with his presence this week. Last March, I was in Jerusalem, 
had some quality time with him, and we kind of relived the experiences 
we have had in the past when he was Prime Minister before. That was 
back in the middle 1990s. I had a chance to talk to him. As I recall, 
his concern at that time--what he said at that time--two major 
concerns. One is, what is happening in Iran, and then, of course, 
making sure that the land in Israel right now will stay there.
  Recently, I had a chance to visit with him again. I was quite 
surprised when he came here and he was met with this suggestion that 
things are going to change and that maybe we would encourage Israel to 
go back to their 1967 borders.
  I can assure you that we will do everything we can to keep that from 
happening. I want to make sure we get the message out there, that this 
may be President Obama talking, it is not the majority of people in 
America, as was witnessed by the 30 standing ovations that Prime 
Minister Netanyahu got in his joint speech.
  It sounded familiar when we are talking about this, about the land. I 
remembered that it was 10 years ago--10 years ago right now, 2001--that 
I made a speech, and it jogged my memory when I heard the President 
talking about going back to the 1967 borders. So I dug up that speech. 
I found it, and I found that it is so appropriate today.

[[Page 8196]]

  This was a speech, by the way--the research done for this speech was 
done by a guy named Willie George. He was a preacher, a pastor, but a 
historian. I want to put the same perspective on this we did 10 years 
ago and see how that applies today.
  First of all, I am going to do something that is unusual on the floor 
of the Senate; that is, I am going quote Ephesians 6. Listen carefully. 
It says: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against 
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this 
world, against spirit wickedness in high places.
  It is significant that we look at that, because make no mistake about 
it, the war that was started 10 years ago and the war we are in right 
now, that we are fighting now, is first and foremost a spiritual war, 
not a political war--never has been a political war. It is not about 
politics. It is a spiritual war. It has its roots in spiritual 
conflict. It is a war to destroy the very fabric of our society and the 
very things for which we stand.
  Many of the wars in history are wars where people are trying to take 
over something another country has. That is not what this is about. Not 
about getting mineral deposits, not about getting land from other 
countries. This is a different war.
  It is not simple greed that motivates these people to kill. One may 
ask, what is it about our Nation that makes them--here I am talking 
about some of the Hamas, Hezbollah, the terrorists--hate us so much? I 
suggest there are three things. First, in our country we have the 
freedom and the right to choose the kind of worship we want. I happen 
to be a Jesus guy, a born-again Christian, all that. I believe the way 
to the Lord God is through his Son.
  While I believe that, I believe every American has the right to 
choose whether he or she wants to believe that. Some people have the 
notion that if you are a Christian who believes in the Bible, you are 
totally intolerant, you do not allow other people to have a choice. 
Nothing can be further from the truth.
  The nations of this world where Christianity is the dominant way of 
worship, we also find Jewish synagogues, we find Islamic mosques, we 
find freedom of worship. You will not find the same kind of things in 
the militant Islamic nations of this world. They do not allow Christian 
churches. They do not allow synagogues to open freely. They do not 
allow people the freedom. They persecute people. So one of the reasons 
America is hated so much is that we have allowed people through the 
years to choose what they are going to do. It is their choice.
  The second reason we are hated so much is we have opened the door for 
people to achieve their God-given place on this Earth. We have not 
restrained people. We have allowed people freedom of expression, the 
freedom to pursue dreams, the freedom to pursue goals. This is not true 
in other places in the world. These freedoms are not found in every 
nation. America is great because we have magnified the rights of 
individuals, protected the rights of individuals in our culture. We are 
careful to allow people to have expressions in our society, and we are 
hated for it.
  The third reason we are hated by these people is because we are a 
nation of laws. We are a people ruled by laws. Lest one think that is 
common, go around the world and look at these other countries in the 
world. Most of the world's countries do not have a 200-year-old 
Constitution. They are ruled by dictators. They are ruled by the whims 
of those leaders or by political parties as they change. The rule of 
law is what makes civilization possible. The rule of law is what makes 
an orderly society work. If there is no rule of law, the strongest, 
toughest bully on the block is the one who is running the country. 
America is a country of law and order. Because of this philosophy of 
the people who founded our Nation, they believed in the rule of law 
because of what they knew from the Bible. Our Constitution and the 
constitutions of most governments around the world, similar to ours, 
are, indeed, based on the Ten Commandments. Our fathers knew the Ten 
Commandments and the laws of God should be a basis for all laws. They 
understood the concept of absolute right and absolute wrong. There were 
not many who believed in what we call today situational ethics or where 
things change according to our needs. They believed in absolute right 
and absolute wrong. That is the reason we are hated so much as a 
nation.
  We are hated because we are a beacon of light, a beacon of freedom 
all the way around the world. We know contemporarily what that means. 
One of the greatest speeches of all time that I remember is a speech 
that was made by Ronald Reagan. It is called a Rendezvous with Destiny. 
In this speech he talked about--this was back when Castro had first 
taken over Cuba. He talked about the atrocities in Communist Cuba, and 
people were trying to escape. One man escaped in a small boat, as many 
others did. He lived and reached the coast of Florida. As his boat 
floated up on the coast, he started telling the people who were there 
about the atrocities in Communist Cuba. A lady responded and said: 
Well, I guess we in this country do not know how lucky we are. He said: 
No. It is how lucky we are, because we had a place to escape to.
  What he was saying is we were that beacon of freedom. And we are 
hated because we are a beacon of freedom. That is the third reason for 
the rest of the world. We are hated because in America we have the 
freedom of choice, the freedom of worship; we have freedom of 
expression; we are a nation of laws.
  Why was America attacked on September 11? Why did they single us out? 
America was attacked because of our system of values. It is a spiritual 
war, not just because we are Israel's best friend. We are Israel's best 
friend in the world because of the character we have as a nation. One 
of the reasons God has blessed our country is because we have honored 
His people.
  Right up on there on your desk, Mr. President, you have a Bible. Look 
up Genesis 12:3. It says, ``I will bless them that bless you and curse 
him that curses you.''
  He was talking about Israel. One of the reasons America has been 
blessed abundantly over the years is because we as a society have 
opened our doors to the Jewish people. The Jewish people have been 
blessed in the United States of America.
  When the tiny state of Israel was founded in 1948, we stood in 
beginning with Israel. We were the first country to stand for Israel. 
And because we took a stand, other nations in the world took a stand. 
They followed quickly. The United States made it possible for there to 
be an Israel. We stood with Israel again and again in its fight to 
survive. Make no mistake about it, it is not just because of our 
support of Israel, it is what we believe as a nation that caused us to 
come under attack.
  Israel is under attack in the Middle East because it is the only true 
democracy that exists in the Middle East. There are more than 20 Arab 
countries that are in northern Africa and in the Middle East, and 
nearly every one of those is run by a dictator. Israel is the only true 
democracy that exists in the Middle East.
  Did you know, if you are an Arab in Israel, and you are an Israeli 
citizen as an Arab, you can vote in the elections? In fact, in the 
Knesset--that is their Congress--they have a political party that is 
for Arabs. They have their own party in the Knesset.
  Israel is the only true democracy that exists in the Middle East. It 
has a Western form of government based on the laws we see in the Bible. 
The laws of God our country is based on are the same laws from which 
Israel gets its laws--it represents the laws of God. That is the reason 
it is under attack.
  We ought to be Israel's best friend. If we cannot stand for Israel 
today, can we ever again be counted on as a beacon, a beacon of freedom 
for the oppressed nations? You may ask, what does this have to do with 
the attack on America that happened 10 years ago. We are under attack 
because of our character, and because we have supported the tiny little 
nation in the Middle East. That is why we are under

[[Page 8197]]

attack. If we do not stand for this tiny country today, when do we 
start standing for tiny little countries in the world?
  Many years ago, Yasser Arafat and others did not recognize Israel's 
right to the land, very much like our President Obama. Even today, many 
do not recognize Israel's right to exist. There are seven reasons I 
consider to be indisputable and incontrovertible evidence and grounds 
to Israel's right to the land. You have heard this before, because you 
heard it from me 10 years ago. It was similar. It is in the Record now. 
I kept it.
  Most know this, that they are going to be hit by skeptics who are 
going to say we are being attacked all because of our support for 
Israel, and if we get out of the Middle East, all of the problems will 
go away. That is not so. It is not true. We all know in our hearts it 
is not true. If we withdraw, it would come to our door. It would not go 
away.
  I have some observations to make about that in a minute. But first, I 
am going to tell you the seven reasons that Israel has the right to the 
land. I am saying this because I am still in shock over what happened 
this last week. But I am relieved from the response we got from this 
great man, Prime Minister Netanyahu.
  Israel has the right to the land--reason No. 1--because of all of the 
archeological evidence. This is reason No. 1. It supports it. Every 
time there is a dig in Israel, it does nothing but support the fact 
that Israelis have had a presence there in that land for over 3,000 
years, the coins, the cities, the pottery, the culture. There are other 
people and other groups there, but there is no mistaking the fact that 
the Israelis have been present for 3,000 years. It predates any claim 
any other people in the region might have. Ancient Philistines are 
extinct. They are not around anymore. Many other ancient people are 
extinct. They do not have an unbroken line to this day that the 
Israelis have.
  Even the Egyptians of today are not racial Egyptians of 2,000 years 
ago. They are primarily an Arab people. The land is called Egypt, but 
they are not the same racial and ethnic stock as old Egyptians of the 
ancient world. The Israelis are, in fact, descended from the original 
Israelites. The first proof then is the archeological proof.
  The second proof of Israel's right to the land is the historic one. 
History supports it totally, completely. We know there has been an 
Israel up until the time of the Roman Empire. The Romans conquered the 
land. Israel had no homeland. Although Jews were allowed to live there, 
they were driven from the land and dispersed in 70 AD and 135 AD. But 
there was always a Jewish presence in the land. The Turks who took over 
about 700 years ago and ruled the land up until about World War I had 
control. Then the land was conquered by the British. The Turks entered 
World War I on the side of Germany. The British knew they had to do 
something to punish the Turks and also to break up the empire that was 
going to be a part of the whole effort of Germany in World War I. So 
the British sent troops against the Turks in the Holy Land. This is a 
good one.
  Of the generals who led the British into the Holy Land was a guy 
named Allenby. He was a general. He was a Bible-believing Christian. He 
carried a Bible with him everywhere he went. He knew the significance 
of Jerusalem. The flight before the attack against Jerusalem, to drive 
out the Turks, Allenby prayed that God would allow him to capture the 
city without doing damage to the holy places.
  That day Allenby--this is World War I now, keep in mind. He sent a 
bunch of biplanes into the Holy Land as a reconnaissance mission. You 
have to understand, these Turks had never seen a biplane. They had 
never seen any kind of airplane. They looked up and they saw these cute 
little machines flying around. They are terrified.
  Then they were told that they were being opposed by a man named 
Allenby. This is a true story. History supports it. Allenby--in their 
language--means ``man sent from God'' or ``prophet from God.'' They 
dared not fight against a prophet from God. So the next morning, when 
Allenby went into Jerusalem, he went in, he captured it without firing 
a shot. And that is history. That is actually what happened. That is 
the history we are talking about.
  Out of gratitude to the Jews, and out of gratitude to the Jewish 
bankers and the financiers and others who lent the financial help on 
the homeland, the Jewish people--the homeland that is now Israel, and 
all of what was then the nation of Jordan, was given to the Jewish 
people.
  The homeland that Britain said it would set aside consisted of what 
is now Israel and what then was Jordan, the whole thing. That was what 
the British promised the Jews in 1917. In the beginning, there was some 
Arab population there and some Arab support for this gift. There was 
not a huge Arab population in the land at the time. There was a reason 
for that. The land wasn't able to sustain any kind of a large 
population. The people didn't have the development needed to handle any 
kind of population of the land. It wasn't wanted by anyone at that 
time. Can you believe it wasn't wanted at that time by anyone?
  You remember Mark Twain--Samuel Clemens--who wrote ``Huckleberry 
Finn'' and ``Tom Sawyer.'' He took a tour of the Holy Land in 1867. 
This is what he said about Israel:

       A desolate country whose soil is rich enough but is given 
     over wholly to weeds, a silent mournful expanse. We never saw 
     a human being on the whole route. There was hardly a tree or 
     a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast 
     friends of worthless soil, had almost deserted the country.

  Where was this great Palestine at that time? It wasn't there. The 
Palestinians weren't there. Palestine didn't exist. Palestine was a 
region named by the Romans, but at the time it was under the control of 
the Turks. There was no population there because the land would not 
support it. There was the Palestinian Royal Commission that was created 
by the British. It quotes an account of the conditions on the coastal 
plain along with the Mediterranean Sea in 1913. This is what they said 
about Israel at that time:

       The road leading from Gaza to the north was only a summer 
     track, suitable for transport by camels or carts. No orange 
     groves, orchards, or vineyards were to be seen until one 
     reached the Yavnev village. Houses were mud. Schools did not 
     exist. The western part toward the sea was almost desert. The 
     villages were few and thinly populated. Many villages were 
     deserted by their inhabitants.

  The French author Voltaire described Palestine as ``a hopeless, 
dreary place.''
  In short, under the Turks, the land suffered from neglect and low 
population. It is a historical fact. The nation became populated with 
both Jews and Arabs. The land came to prosper when Jews came back and 
began to reclaim it. Historically, they began to reclaim it. Even if 
there had never been any archeological evidence to support the rights 
of the Israelis to the territory, it is important to recognize that 
other nations in the area have no longstanding claim to the country 
either.
  This may surprise you. I will say that Saudi Arabia was not created 
until 1913, Lebanon, in 1920, and Iraq didn't exist as a nation until 
1932, Syria until 1941. The borders of Jordan were established in 1946 
and Kuwait in 1961.
  Any of these nations that would say Israel is only a recent arrival 
would have to deny their own rights, as they were recent arrivals as 
well. They didn't exist as countries. They were all under the control 
of the Turks. Historically, the land was given to the Israelis in 1917, 
and then, of course, we know Israel gained its independence in 1948.
  So we have the archeological reasons. We have seven reasons. Here is 
the third reason. The third reason the land belongs to Israel is 
because of the practical value of the Israelis being there. Israel 
today is a modern marvel of agriculture. Israel is able to bring more 
food out of a desert environment than any other country in the world. 
The Arab nations ought to make Israel their friend and import 
technology from Israel that would allow all the Middle East, not just 
Israel, to be exporters of food. So Israel, unarguably, has success in 
agriculture. They have been able to develop when nobody else has.

[[Page 8198]]

  The fourth reason I believe Israel has a right to the land is on the 
grounds of humanitarian concerns. There were 6 million Jews slaughtered 
in Europe in World War II. The persecution against the Jews was very 
strong in Russia since the advent of communism. Persecution was against 
the Jews even before that time under the czars.
  These people have a right to their homeland. If we are not going to 
allow them a homeland in the Middle East, then where? What other nation 
on Earth is going to cede territory? They are not asking for a great 
deal. The whole nation of Israel fits into my State of Oklahoma seven 
times. So on humanitarian grounds alone, Israel ought to have the land.
  The fifth reason I disagree with President Obama and think Israel 
should have the right to the land, without any changes and not going 
back to 1967, is because it is a strategic ally to the United States. 
Whether we realize it, Israel is a detriment, an impediment to certain 
groups hostile to democracies and to those things we believe in, 
hostile to the very things that make us the greatest Nation in the 
history of the world. Israel has kept them from taking complete control 
of the Middle East. If it were not for Israel, they would overrun the 
region. Israel is our only strategic ally.
  It is good to know we have a friend in the Middle East we can count 
on. They vote with us in the U.N. more than England, Germany, Canada, 
and France--more than any other country in the world. So they have been 
our consistent ally for strategic reasons.
  The sixth reason Israel should be entitled to the land is that Israel 
is a roadblock to terrorism. The war we are now facing is not a war 
against a sovereign nation, it is a fluid group of terrorists moving 
from one country to another. They are almost invisible. That is whom we 
are fighting against. We need every ally we can get. If we do not stop 
terrorism in the Middle East, it will be on our shores. I have said 
this and said this and said this.
  One of the reasons I believe that spiritual door was opened for an 
attack against the United States is because the policy of our 
government has been to ask the Israelis, and demand with pressure, that 
they not retaliate against the terrorist attacks that have been 
launched against them.
  Since its independence in 1948, Israel has fought four wars, and they 
were not the aggressor in any of them. Some people may argue that they 
were the first ones there with Egypt. Everybody knew what was going to 
happen in Egypt. Israel was attacked in all four cases. Israel won all 
four wars against the impossible odds. They are great warriors. I have 
spent some time over there. They consider it a level playing field when 
they are outnumbered 2 to 1. They are great people.
  There were 39 Scud missiles that landed on Israeli soil during the 
gulf war. Our President asked Israel not to respond. Our policy was 
trying to get them not to respond. We asked them not to respond. In 
order to have the Arab nations on board, we asked Israel not even to 
participate in the war. They showed incredible restraint, and they did 
not. We asked them to stand back and not do anything over these 
attacks.
  We have criticized them. They have been criticized in our media, 
local people in television and radio offer criticisms of Israel not 
knowing the true issues. We need to be informed.
  Years ago, I was so thrilled when I heard a reporter pose a question 
to our former Secretary of State, Colin Powell, during the gulf war. He 
said:

       Mr. Powell, the United States has advocated a policy of 
     restraint in the Middle East. We have discouraged Israel from 
     retaliation again and again and again, because we have said 
     that it leads to continued escalation--that it escalates the 
     violence.

  He said:

       Are we [the United States] going to follow that preaching 
     ourselves?

  Mr. Powell indicated we would strike back. In other words, we can 
tell Israel not to do it, but when it hits us, we are going to do it. 
That is one of the reasons I believe the door was opened--because we 
held back our tiny little friend. We have not allowed them to go to the 
heart of the problem. This was a mistake.
  Terrorism is not going to go away. If Israel were driven into the sea 
tomorrow, if every Jew in the Middle East were killed, terrorism would 
not end. You know that in your heart. Terrorism would continue.
  It is not just a matter of Israel in the Middle East; it is the heart 
of the very people who are perpetuating this stuff. Should they be 
successful in overrunning Israel--they will not be--but should they be, 
it would not be enough. They would never be satisfied. We learned that 
at Camp David.
  The seventh reason--and this will upset some people, but I have to 
say it, and it is printed up there--that Israel has a right to the 
land--and this is the most important reason--because God said so. As I 
said a minute ago, look it up in the book of Genesis. In Genesis 13, 
verse 14, 15 and 17, the Bible says:

       The Lord said to Abram, ``Lift up now your eyes, and look 
     from the place where you are northward, and southward, 
     eastward, and westward: for all the land which you see, to 
     you will I give it, and to your seed forever. . . . Arise, 
     walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth 
     of it; for I will give it to thee.
  That is God talking about Israel.
  The Bible says that Abram removed his tent and came and dwelt in the 
plain of Mamre, which is what we call the Hebron, and built there an 
altar before the Lord. Hebron is in the West Bank, right here on the 
map. It is this place where God appeared to Abram and said: ``I am 
giving you this land,'' the West Bank.
  Everybody will yell and scream because I am quoting the Bible, but 
that is their problem, not mine.
  This is not a political battle at all; it is a contest over whether 
the Word of God is true.
  The seven reasons, I am convinced, clearly establish that Israel has 
a right to the land.
  Years ago on the lawn of the White House, Yitzhak Rabin shook hands 
with PLO Chairman Yasir Arafat. It was a historic occasion. It was a 
tragic occasion.
  At the time, the official policy of the government of Israel began to 
be ``let us appease the terrorists. Let us begin to trade the land for 
peace.'' They tried. This process continued unabated. Here in our own 
Nation, at Camp David in the summer of 2000--I remember it so well--
then-Prime Minister Ehud Barak offered the most generous concessions to 
Yasir Arafat that had ever been laid on the table.
  He offered him more than 90 percent of all of the West Bank 
territory, sovereign control of it. There were some parts he didn't 
want to offer, but in exchange for that, he said he would give up land 
in Israel proper that the PLO was not even asking for. He also did the 
unthinkable--we cannot imagine it today. He even talked about dividing 
Jerusalem and allowing the Palestinians to have their capital in the 
east. Arafat stormed out of the meeting. Why would he do that? 
Everything he asked for was offered to him.
  A couple months later, there began to be riots and terrorism. The 
riots began when Ariel Sharon went to the Temple Mount--and we remember 
this. This was used as the thing that lit the fire and caused the 
explosion. This is the excuse the terrorists used.
  Did you know Sharon did not go to the Temple Mount unannounced? He 
contacted the Islamic authorities before he went. He secured their 
permission. He had permission to be there. It was no surprise. Their 
response was carefully calculated. They knew they would not pay 
attention to the details. So they would portray this in the Arab world 
as an attack on the holy mosque. They would portray it as an attack on 
that mosque and use it as an excuse to riot. We know what happened 
since that time. Over the following years, during the time of the peace 
process, where the Israeli public has pressured its leaders to give up 
land for peace because they are tired of fighting, there has been 
increased terror.
  It hasn't helped, hasn't worked. Nothing worked. It has been greater 
than at any other time in Israel's history. Showing restraint and 
giving in hasn't produced any kind of peace. It is so much so that the 
leftist peace movement in Israel didn't exist because the people felt 
they were deceived.

[[Page 8199]]

  They did offer a hand of peace, and it was not taken. That is why the 
politics of Israel have changed drastically. The Israelis have come to 
see that ``no matter what we do, these people do not want to deal with 
us. They want to destroy us.'' That is why even yet today the 
stationery of the PLO has upon it a map of the entire State of Israel, 
not just the tiny part they call the West Bank. They want it all.
  The unwavering loyalty we have received from our only consistent 
friend in the Middle East has to be respected and appreciated by us. No 
longer should foreign policy in the Middle East be one of appeasement. 
As Hiram Mann said:

       No man survives when freedom falls. The best men rot in 
     filthy jails and those who cried ``appease, appease'' are 
     hanged by those they tried to please.

  Islamic fundamentalist terrorism came to America on 9/11. We have to 
use all our friends and assets, all our resources, to defeat the 
satanic evil.
  Patrick Henry said:

       We will not fight our battles alone. There is a just God 
     who reigns over the destiny of nations who will raise up 
     friends who will fight our battles with us.

  He said:

       We are not weak if we make a proper use of those means 
     which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The 
     millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and 
     in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by 
     any force which our enemy can send against us.

  Listen to this:

       We will not fight our battles alone. There is a just God 
     who reigns over the destiny of nations who will raise up 
     friends who will fight our battles with us.

  He was talking about all of our friends, including Israel. That is 
what is happening. I thank God Israel is in the battle by our side. It 
is time for our policy of appeasement in the Middle East and 
appeasement to the terrorists to be over. With our partners, our 
victory must and will be absolute.
  I mentioned that a few weeks ago I was with Prime Minister Netanyahu 
in Israel. At that time, he had this growing concern for the land. We 
did not know what was coming. We did not know what was going to happen. 
We did not know that which did happen just a week ago was going to 
happen. I quote from the Associated Press. I am so proud of him. Think 
of the courage it took for Prime Minister Netanyahu to stand next to 
the most powerful man in the world and make a statement like this. He 
said:

       [He] sat alongside President Barack Obama on Friday and 
     declared that Israel would not withdraw to the 1967 borders 
     to help make way for an adjacent Palestinian state. Obama had 
     called on Israel to be willing to do just that thing a day 
     earlier.
       Prime Minister Netanyahu said his Nation could not 
     negotiate with a newly constituted Palestinian unity 
     government that includes the radical Hamas movement, which 
     refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist.

  And its commitment to Israel's destruction.
  Those are the seven reasons I believe the land belongs to Israel. We 
need to respect that, and we need to declare: God bless Israel.

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