[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2521-2522]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            BRING HADAR HOME

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Mast) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MAST. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share the story of Hadar 
Goldin.
  Hadar was born in the Galilee region of Israel in 1991. He was a 
gifted young man--a happy person with a lively personality. He was an 
accomplished painter and, I am told, an inspiration to everybody that 
knew him. He served as a lieutenant in the Givati Brigade of the IDF.
  Mr. Speaker, I did not know Hadar personally, but, during my time 
serving alongside the IDF, I knew so many who were just like him. I met 
some of the most humble and compassionate people that I have ever 
known. I chose to serve alongside the IDF because our friends in Israel 
fight for the same values that we fight to protect in our country: 
human dignity, freedom, and liberty.
  I can tell you from experience that we soldiers often label our 
uniforms with sentiments that are important to us. Hadar had his rifle 
belt embroidered with the words ``strength and humility.'' He fought 
not out of hatred for his enemy but to protect his homeland

[[Page 2522]]

and his family. He used the embroidery as a reminder that a soldier has 
the courage to use his weapon when needed, but even more importantly, 
has the humility to restrain from its use in the name of peace.
  But on August 1, 2014, when Hadar was only 23 years old, he was 
killed by Hamas terrorists, just 2 hours after a ceasefire had been 
declared in the Operation Protective Edge war in Gaza. Hamas terrorists 
maliciously dragged his body away from his home and into an underground 
tunnel. They stripped and left his clothing and have held his corpse 
ever since.
  Americans are no strangers to the term ``missing in action,'' as we 
still have, shamefully, thousands unaccounted for in Southeast Asia. 
This is a painful and uncertain future that no family deserves. This 
should never, ever be condoned.
  Last week, I had the opportunity to meet with Hadar's family. They 
are unable to give their son the proper burial because Hamas is holding 
his body hostage.
  Mr. Speaker, we know that Hamas does not value human life. They seek 
to destroy all that Israel and the United States hold dear. Even the 
last administration called for the condemning of this action in the 
strongest possible terms. They called it barbaric. We must now enter 
into a new chapter--one where we support our Israeli allies and stand 
side by side with them in the fight for freedom.
  This was a ceasefire that Israel entered into at the urging of former 
Secretary of State John Kerry and the United Nations. They should bear 
some responsibility for ensuring his body is returned home.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge the United Nations to step up for what is right. 
Show some spine, show some resolve, and stand against Hamas. Do not be 
a rug that Palestinians trounce across as they shop the United Nations 
to fulfill their agenda while never being held accountable for their 
acts of terrorism and their acts against basic human dignity.
  I urge the new administration to take the necessary steps to help 
bring Hadar home and ensure his family can finally give him a proper 
burial--the kind of burial that every soldier, regardless of their 
uniform, deserves.

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