Israel

Floor Speech

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Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. President, on September 11, 2001, even while smoke was still billowing from the wreckage of the Twin Towers, I knew deep within me that that attack on American soil would change not just my Nation's future but my own, and it did.

I rushed back to the assault helicopter company I commanded at the time, ready to seek out the terrorists who attacked my Nation and slaughtered civilians. I did it willingly, without hesitation, because every fiber in my being felt the need to defend my country when she was threatened.

So, today, let me be very clear. As a soldier and as someone who has always supported Israel, I strongly believe in Israel's right to defend herself and her people, especially when under attack from a terrorist organization like Hamas--a group that redefines the word ``cruelty,'' that seems to take pleasure in bloodshed, that refuses to adhere to the rule of law or international norms.

If I were an Israeli soldier--if I woke up two Saturdays ago to the sights and sounds of massacre like they did--I, too, would be desperate to defend my nation and my neighbors; I, too, would want to make sure that those who turned my children's playgrounds into battlefields, who turned the grass under my daughter's swing set from a rich green to blood red, were never able to inflict such horrors again.

I grieve for every Israeli life that was upended or, in too many cases, ended in such a horrific fashion.

There is never an excuse or justification for terrorism, none. And I will stay on this floor for as long as it takes, vote as many times as I have to, to ensure that our Israeli allies have the resources and support they need in time of war.

I am also clear-eyed about the fact that there is a humanitarian crisis unfolding just miles away in Gaza, and I recognize the urgent need to help the innocent Palestinians, who are also suffering as a result of Hamas's brutal attacks.

It is this simple: We should all be able to agree that no child deserves to starve to death or die of thirst. We should all be able to agree that no child deserves to be brutalized or burned alive, whether they live in Gaza or Tel Aviv. We should all be able to agree that no child deserves to be terrorized, whether their home is on a kibbutz or in Plainfield, IL, or behind a blockade.

Every time I have gone home from work since that awful Saturday morning, I have held my little girls as tightly as I could. I have given them one more squeeze than usual and held on to them for a couple more seconds than normal. My daughters are just 8 and 5. They don't understand why I am so upset. So I just tell them that Mommy's heart is hurting, that she is really sad right now, and that all she wants in that moment is just to hold them a little closer for a little longer.

I am haunted by the faces of the Israeli children whom Hamas terrorists abducted, just as I am by the conversations I have had with parents desperate to get their children home from the captivity of a terrorist organization.

I am haunted by the stories of the Palestinian children who have been buried in rubble, just as I am by the images of 6-year-old Wadea Al- Fayoume, who was brutally murdered by his landlord over the weekend in my home State of Illinois because he just happened to be a Muslim--a 6- year-old who loved playing with his LEGOs, a6-year-old who could have been any one of ours.

I know many others in this Chamber, across the country, and around the world are haunted, too.

So we must--must--act with urgency to secure the sustained flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

We must--must--restore essential services like water as quickly as we can.

We must--must--ensure hostages being held in Gaza receive urgent medical treatment and are safely brought home as soon as humanly possible.

Innocent life needs to be protected consistent with the laws of armed conflict. These actions mark both moral imperatives by helping innocent civilians but also are steps toward ensuring Israel's security.

I am grateful that the administration has been working around the clock on these priorities, and I will continue to do everything in my power to support them because, during a crisis that is almost always defined by lose-lose outcomes, this could be the rare step that would actually benefit all innocent parties. It would help to get those trapped innocent Palestinian families who are mourning their own lost loved ones and who have been living with no access to basic necessities. It would get assistance to the hostages from Israel, the United States, and other nations whom we are all praying for so desperately. It would send the message that the global community is unified in ending the suffering of innocent human souls.

As someone who was shot down by an insurgent in the Middle East, I know all too well that these are the kinds of moments when the next generation of insurgents get radicalized, as groups like Hamas thrive when people are suffering the most. They take advantage of the despair and the hopelessness that they themselves manufacture, that they themselves manipulate, and they use it to recruit more to their cause.

We cannot let Hamas succeed. We cannot let the blast of missiles drown out the voices of our better angels because our hearts are big enough and our perspectives wide enough to know that Hamas's reign of terror terrorizes the little girls and boys of not just Israel but Gaza, too, as they use them as human shields.

In this moment, it is hard not to feel the darkness weighing down upon us. But for all of those in harm's way, we must channel our devastation into motivation. We must use our voices to lift up the humanity of innocent civilians, not to dehumanize those who may look or pray differently than us. We must work as hard as we can to bring about a tomorrow for both Israelis and Palestinians alike, where their skies won't be marred with missiles, and their streets won't be scarred with blood.

That is exactly what I am going to do. I am going to roll out of this Chamber, head back to my office, and keep fighting to get our hostages home. I will fight to get our greatest ally in the Middle East, Israel, the aid and support they need, and I am also going to work to get basic humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Then, tonight, when I go home, I am going to hold my daughters in my arms until they wiggle free, and every moment that that hug lasts, I am going to be more aware than ever how lucky I am just to be able to squeeze them tight.

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