Standing with Israel As It Defends Itself Against the Barbaric War Launched By Hamas and Other Terrorists
Floor Speech
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this extraordinarily important resolution written with my friend and colleague, Chairman McCaul.
Mr. Speaker, 18 days ago, the State of Israel suffered the greatest mass murder perpetrated against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel by land, sea, and air.
Behaving just like ISIS, Hamas terrorists murdered and beheaded soldiers and civilians alike. Babies were shot and burned in their cribs and reduced to smoldering piles of ash--babies.
Children were murdered. Teenagers were murdered. Men and women were murdered. Elderly people, including Holocaust survivors, were murdered.
Hamas has also taken 200 of those who survived into Gaza as hostages, including unaccompanied children, Holocaust survivors, and many American citizens.
Mr. Speaker, Hamas' attack was truly unprecedented. When you consider the size of Israel's population, proportionately it would be like 30,000 people dying in New York on 9/11. Just let that sink in a little.
We must all acknowledge that Hamas is a cutthroat terrorist organization that exists solely to destroy Israel. Hamas' terrorism does not help the Palestinians. In this moment, it is critical for Israel to know that the United States of America stands firmly by its side in this battle against Hamas.
Mr. Speaker, what I am about to say next is also very important. There are innocent Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank who seek normal and free lives and want nothing to do with Hamas or other terrorist organizations. We cannot lose sight of this. We must keep them--many of whom are also children--and their safety and well-being in mind. In the immediate term, we must find a way to ensure the safety of those innocents who are in Gaza's war zone, and I support the Biden administration's efforts toward that goal.
The United Nations estimates that thousands of Palestinians have been killed since the terrorist attacks on October 7. We don't know for certain how many of those killed were civilians, but here is what we do know: We know that Hamas terrorists used Palestinians as human shields. We know that every single one of them would be alive today if Hamas had not launched its terrorist attack.
We must be aware and do all that we can to stop this war from expanding beyond its current scope. The administration and our allies are working around the clock to send messages and warnings to Iran and Hezbollah to stay out. President Biden underscored this message during his recent travel to Israel.
Do not test America's will. This Congress will have Israel's back as it degrades and eliminates Hamas' terrorist infrastructure. We know that it won't take a day. It will be difficult.
For too long, too many have been willing to contribute to the delegitimization of the State of Israel.
It is deeply concerning that even global leaders are already whitewashing one of the worst terrorist attacks in history while Hamas and its allies blanket cyberspace with misinformation about this war.
Just yesterday, Turkish President Erdogan said: ``Hamas is not a terrorist organization, it is a group of mujahideen defending their lands.''
This from the mouth of a NATO ally who has his own concerns about terrorists as an existential threat to his country.
President Erdogan's rhetoric is dead wrong. It is rank with hypocrisy, and its timing is extraordinarily dangerous.
The resolution before us is a bright spot of bipartisanship today during a very difficult time in American politics.
Mr. Speaker, 425 Members of this House of Representatives have cosponsored this resolution. There is no question in my mind that it will pass overwhelmingly, Democrats and Republicans alike. Most importantly, the American people believe in the Jewish state and believe in its survival.
In the days, weeks, and months ahead, I know the United States will continue to stand steadfastly with Israel to assure its defense and its long-term security.
We will also, as President Biden has outlined, remain committed to ensuring that civilians in Gaza have access to safe areas and continue to have access to food, water, medical care, and other assistance without diversions by Hamas.
We must also stay keenly focused on working to get United States citizens and their immediate family members to exit Gaza safely.
I conclude, Mr. Speaker, by raising an issue that the United States and Israel must address: What does a successful ground operation in Gaza look like, and how do we achieve the goal of leaving Gaza to a responsible Palestinian Government if Israel's effort to remove Hamas is successful?
One thing is for certain--the path to peace will require more Arab States to recognize that Israel has the right to exist and that we hold firm and will make sure that we could thereby have a two-State solution.
If you say Israel does not have the right to exist, you are saying that you do not want peace. I urge our Arab friends to join the Abraham Accords and acknowledge Israel's right to exist because that is the pathway to peace in the Middle East.
To the people of Israel, I hope you learn of the passage of this resolution today and know that the United States Congress and the American people have your back.
We mourn beside you and are working to provide the resources your government needs to defend you. We have deployed powerful military resources to the region to demonstrate just that support.
We are working all of our diplomatic channels to assure your success, and we are in this together. We will not waver. We will not quit. We will stand with our ally Israel.
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Mr. MEEKS. Manning), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
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Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), the former chair of the House Appropriations Committee and the current Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee.
Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, the very first thing I want to say is this: Take note, those of you who are around the world watching this House of Representatives in action, that the very first bill that we are putting out is a bill to send a powerful message that we not only stand with Israel, but we will fight with Israel.
There is absolutely no way, as God is our maker, that we are going to stand by and see Israel destroyed. Make no mistake about it. It is as clear as a bell. In the Holy Scriptures brought down by the mighty hand of God Almighty: Stand with my people, the people of Israel.
Mr. Speaker, I was called upon as a member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly to go to Iran to write the paper on Iran. I met the people of Iran, and I want the people of Iran to listen: Go to your mullahs. Go to your leadership. They are the ones that control Hamas, Hezbollah.
Then, I call upon our friends in Saudi Arabia. The answer to this is in your hands.
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Mr. MEEKS. Pelosi), the Honorable Speaker Emerita.
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Mr. MEEKS. Wasserman Schultz).
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution and the State of Israel and to speak out against the horrific murder of 1,400 Israeli civilians and the kidnapping of hundreds more.
The unspeakable, genocidal violence inflicted on Israelis and the Jewish people by Hamas terrorists goes beyond condemnation. It demands action.
As part of a bipartisan and bicameral delegation, I was in the region in pursuit of peace when Hamas launched their cowardly attack on civilian communities. Three days later, I met with Israeli's unified leadership and pledged continued U.S. support for the defense of the Jewish state.
President Biden has led our Nation in mourning the dead, praying for the kidnapped, and mobilizing to support Israel in eradicating Iranian- backed death cults like Hamas, Hezbollah, and Islamic jihad, which are dedicated to the elimination of the Jewish people.
Israel has never had a stronger ally and the Jewish community has never had a stronger advocate or stronger voice in the Oval Office.
The unconscionable apathy of many nations and many in our own Nation is a sobering reminder of the fact that Israel remains surrounded by hostility and danger.
As a proud Jewish American and Zionist, let me be clear: Israel has a right to defend itself, and Hamas must be destroyed.
As an advocate for peace, normalization, and a two-state solution, it must be stated that Hamas is the primary obstacle to all three.
We should not tolerate Americans who rationalize massacres and lionize monsters while spouting off anti-Semitic tropes and accusations.
I will not equivocate because there is no equivalence between Israel's righteous efforts to protect its civilians and democracy from terror and Hamas using innocent Palestinians as a human shield, broadcasting carnage, burning families alive, and raping teenage girls to death. ``Am Yisrael chai''; ``the people of Israel live.''
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Mr. MEEKS. Lois Frankel).
Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida. Mr. Speaker, my grandfather, Abe, fled the Holocaust as 6 million Jews were shot and tortured and gassed and starved. We often say, ``never again.'' Yet on October 7 it happened again, and make no mistake: The brutal, barbaric attacks by Hamas was not about freeing innocent people; it was about destroying Israel and killing Jews.
Today, I am proud to stand with all those who condemn Hamas, support Israel's right to defend itself, and reaffirm the United States' commitment to Israel's security.
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Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.
Mr. DAVIS of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this resolution, which expresses unwavering support for Israel.
This past August, I traveled to Israel. I find it absolutely heart- wrenching as I think of the very place that I visited just days later was attacked by Hamas at the Kfar Aza kibbutz where 58 people in the community were massacred and 17 kidnapped. It is just awful to think of babies being killed, people being slaughtered and gunned down in cold blood. At least 33 Americans have lost their lives. Others are missing.
Let's be clear: A nation must respond, and, yes, we must respond. Let us continue to extend our unwavering support to Israel and ensure that the people of Israel have everything necessary to defend themselves and dismantle these egregious Hamas fighters.
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Mr. MEEKS. Mr. Speaker, let me start off by thanking my friend and colleague, the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Mr. McCaul, for his friendship and for working collectively together to make sure that the world knows that there is no daylight between us when it comes to us standing with our friend and our ally the State of Israel, and I appreciate you.
When we first started this, after this horrendous attack on October 7, we had a conversation. We said, let's make sure that we put out a statement collectively, us giving our opinions as chair and ranking member of this committee. Then immediately thereafter, we went to work on a resolution so that the world would know where the United States' House of Representatives stood.
We thought we would get it done earlier, but we knew that the first bill, the first resolution that would come to the floor after the House resumed its business, would be this bill because this bill is so significantly important to state that we have the back of our friend and ally, and we want to make sure that Hamas does not exist.
Mr. Speaker, I have had the privilege and the opportunity to visit Israel several times. I have been in some of those tunnels. I have talked to the people, and when I have talked to the people of Israel, all they say is that they want to live in peace. When I talk to the Palestinian people in Gaza or in the West Bank, they say they want peace, but the Hamas terrorist organization when you look at their mandate, they say they want the destruction of Israel.
You cannot have peace. You can't even negotiate peace if one side says you should not exist. How can you say that you want a better relationship if you are saying that Israel should not exist?
You can't forget the horrific terrorist ISIS-like atrocities that were committed on October 7. You cannot be silent. You can't sit back and make believe that it didn't happen because it did.
Mr. Speaker, I say, as we end this debate, thank you to the American people for standing with our friend and ally, the State of Israel.
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