    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book I)]
    [March 5, 1996]
    [Pages 374-375]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Memorial Service for Victims of Terrorism
    March 5, 1996

        Thank you, Mr. Ambassador. Rabbi Simon, Mr. Krauser, Cantor Tasat;
    to my fellow Americans and all the people of Israel: The American people
    join in this time of grieving and loss. We mourn Israel's loss--we mourn
    Israel's terrible loss, and we share your outrage. We stand with you in
    your determination to bring this terror to an end and to bring to
    justice those responsible for the senseless violence that has afflicted
    the land of Israel and taken the lives of innocent people.
        In moments such as these our anguish challenges our spirit.
    Daughters and sons, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, mothers
    and fathers, friends murdered--murdered solely for the blood running
    through their veins, solely because of where they live, solely because
    they wish to live in peace and harmony.
        Our faith may be shaken, but at times like this it is all the more
    important to persevere. These fanatical acts were not aimed simply at
    killing innocent people, they were clearly aimed at killing the promise
    of peace. Those responsible thrive on division and conflict. It is
    almost as if they cannot exist without someone to hate, someone to kill.
        They know a new day has been dawning in the Middle East. They know
    the vast majority of Israelis and Palestinians want a new day of peace.
    With every new step taken along the way, the harshest enemies of peace
    have grown more and more desperate. We must not allow them to prevail.
    The best way to defeat them is to first restore security and then
    bolster the peace they fear; that will take away their very reason for
    being.
        We will counter the threat of terror with unshakable resolve. As I
    have pledged to Prime Minister Peres, the United States is working with
    Israel to stop the killing, to bring the criminals to justice, to step
    up the struggle for peace. But just as important as the strength of our
    policies is the strength we must carry in our hearts.
        I remember the story of Daniel. Because his faith never wavered,
    even in the face of those who betrayed him and had him cast into the den
    of lions, God delivered Daniel. Have faith, and I believe God will
    deliver Israel from those powerful vipers who have the ability to turn
    young men into mad suicidal mass murderers, those awful people who would
    slaughter young children to defeat those who only want those children to
    grow up in peace, and who on this very night have succeeded in
    terrifying every young child in Israel who goes to bed tonight worrying
    about whether he or she will be the next to have their life cut short.
        One of Sunday's victims in Jerusalem was a Palestinian nurse. She
    reminds us that the people of Israel are not alone, not only beyond
    their borders but within the borders. She lived

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    and worked and ultimately died among her Jewish friends. I was struck by
    the words I read that her oldest son spoke. He said, ``I'm angry at
    every person who kills. I'm angry at people who make hate and destroy.
    All the people who were on that bus were peaceful. They were civilians.
    They only wanted to go to work. There's no difference between you and me
    because we're human beings. We have eyes and hearts and souls.''
        Around the world, the world we see today, I believe the fundamental
    differences are no longer between Jews and Arabs or Protestants and
    Catholics or Muslims and Serbs and Croats. We see all over the world
    what the real dividing line is--between those who embrace peace and
    those who would destroy it, those who look to a future of hope and those
    who are trapped in a past of hatred, those who open their arms and those
    who insist on clenching their fists.
        Once again under terrible burdens, the people of Israel must choose
    the fight against terrorism, to restore their security, to stand for
    peace. Once again as ever, the United States stands with you, shoulder
    to shoulder, heart to heart.
        Ha-zak, ha-zak, vuh-neet ha-zake. May God bless the victims and
    cherish their souls. And may God bless Israel with the faith and courage
    of Daniel.

    Note: The President spoke at 8:04 p.m. in Jerusalem Hall at the Embassy
    of Israel. In his remarks, he referred to Israeli Ambassador to the U.S.
    Etamar Rabinovich; Rabbi Matthew H. Simon, president, United Jewish
    Appeal in Washington, DC; Peter B. Krauser, president, Jewish Community
    Council of Greater Washington; and Cantor Ramon Tasat, Agudas Achim
    Congregation.