[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13764]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        CLOSE WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH ISRAEL NEEDS TO CONTINUE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Kentucky (Mr. Comer) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COMER. Mr. Speaker, at the beginning of August, I was able to 
join the majority leader and a number of my fellow freshmen on an 8-day 
trip to Israel.
  I would like to thank Leader McCarthy for organizing this informative 
and memorable visit, which taught me so much about the importance of 
the U.S.-Israel relationship and the numerous challenges and 
opportunities facing our two countries and our other allies in the 
region.
  It is impossible to visit Israel without feeling the weight of 
history, from Biblical times to modern day. Staying in Jerusalem, 
seeing Bethlehem up close, viewing Israel from atop the Golan Heights, 
and traveling all along the Jordan River, all made a lasting 
impression.
  My time in Israel also impressed me on Israel's undeniable security 
needs in the face of the persistent threat from Iran and its proxies in 
Syria and Lebanon, as well as the instability and violence stemming 
from the long-running conflict with the Palestinians.
  Listening to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's presentation 
to our congressional delegation greatly enhanced my level of support 
for Israeli foreign aid, just as listening to the Palestinian 
Authority's presentation greatly enhanced my opposition to foreign aid 
for Palestine.
  For these reasons, I believe U.S. security assistance to Israel 
should continue to be a high priority, and I am proud that defense 
collaboration between our two countries has yielded many important 
developments, including the Arrow anti-ballistic missile system, which 
is among the top missile shield technologies in the world.
  Considering the growing threat of North Korea's nuclear missile 
program and Iran's ballistic missile development, it is clear that our 
efforts in this field are more important now than ever.
  In addition to our successful cooperation on defense, the U.S. and 
Israel also work together on many other issues. One of these issues 
that is of particular interest to me is agriculture. I never dreamed 
that Israel's agriculture industry would be as advanced as it was.
  Despite a very challenging ecosystem, Israel produces enough food to 
feed their entire country, as well as boasts a very impressive 
agriculture export market.
  In conclusion, I believe the close working relationship between our 
two governments will remain critically important for many years to 
come, and I am grateful for the opportunity to advance these ties in 
one small way through my visit last month.

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