U.S.-Israel Relations
U.S.-ISRAEL RELATIONS -- (House of Representatives - September 21, 2005)
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Sodrel). Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 4, 2005, the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I think I will be joined by some colleagues shortly, I hope.
Congress recently returned to Washington following a busy month of work in the district. For a majority of August, I traveled throughout North Carolina's 5th District and conducted scores of meetings with veterans, teachers, and many other constituent groups.
During this time, I gained valuable insight into the needs of the people I serve and look forward to continuing to address their concerns. The needs of my home district have always been and continue to be my number one priority.
However, as a Member of Congress, it is my duty to educate myself on internal affairs and foreign policy, especially when it pertains to the Middle East. While our foreign neighbors may be far away from northwest North Carolina, our relationships with them affect everyone.
For 1 week in August, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to travel to Israel with several colleagues. This educational trip gave me the opportunity to witness how America's national security interests are directly tied to developments in the Middle East, and specifically to Israel's own security.
Strategic cooperation between our country and Israel, in intelligence-sharing, fighting the war on terror, strengthening homeland security, promoting democracy, and increasing technology development is vital to the well-being of my constituents and, indeed, all Americans.
For most of the 1,500 years before the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, the land of Israel was the independent home of the Jewish people. Since then, it has been occupied by many powers, from the Romans to conquering Arab armies to the Ottomans to the British.
Despite these periods of foreign occupation, there has always been a continuous Jewish presence, and the land of Israel remained the focal point for the Jewish people.
The United States and Israel have long maintained a strong friendship since the modern Jewish state was founded in 1948. In fact, we were the very first Nation to recognize Israel, just 11 minutes after its founding.
Our two countries share much more in common than many realize. We believe in freedom and equality and share many basic rights, such as free elections, a free press, and freedom of religion. We were both founded by people seeking freedom from tyranny, and we both continue to serve today as symbols of liberty in a world plagued by oppression.
Mr. Speaker, I would like now to recognize my colleague, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Marchant), who has joined me and allow him to share some of his perspectives on this trip that we took in August, and then I will come back to the podium and speak some more.
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Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor) so much. He has helped put many things that a lot of us are concerned about into perspective, and we are grateful to him for that.
I am going to talk a little bit more about Israel and give some facts about what is happening in Israel in its short history, but let me say that we know that Israel is one of the only countries in the Middle East that the United States can truly count on. It is not a fair weather friend. When terrorists strike American targets in the Middle East, Israel always stands by our side. We are truly fortunate to have a strong friend in Israel.
During our trip, we had the opportunity to travel to the countryside, visit military bases, universities, children's homes, holy sites, and strategic locations. One of the first things that struck me was just how much has been accomplished by the Israeli people in their nation's short history. I witnessed capitalism at work and saw how it has enabled the country to prosper. Israel has an amazing network of roads, a national water system, and has developed other impressive infrastructure. It is really hard to believe that they have accomplished so much in just 55 years.
So often when we hear about Israel, it is only in conjunction with conflicts affecting Israel. My visit made me aware of so many facts that are never mentioned or discussed by the media. I want to share a few of those with my colleagues.
The Middle East has been growing date palms for centuries. The average tree is about 18 to 20 feet tall and yields about 38 pounds of dates a year. Israeli date trees are now yielding 400 pounds a year and are short enough to be harvested from the ground or a short ladder.
Israel, the 100th smallest country, with less than 1,000th of the world's population, can lay claim to the following: The cell phone was developed in Israel by Israelis working in the Israeli branch of Motorola which has its largest development center in Israel. Most of the Windows NT and XP operating systems were developed by Microsoft Israel. The Pentium MMX chip technology was designed in Israel at Intel. Both the Pentium 4 microprocessor and the Centrino processor were entirely designed, developed, and produced in Israel.
Voice mail technology was developed in Israel. Both Microsoft and Cisco built their only R&D facilities outside the United States in Israel. The technology for the AOL Instant Messenger ICQ was developed in 1996 by four young Israelis. Israel has the highest percentage in the world of home computers per capita.
According to industry officials, Israel designed the airline industry's most impenetrable flight security. U.S. officials now look, finally, to Israel for advice on how to handle airborne security threats.
Israel has the highest ratio of university degrees to the population in the entire world. Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large margin.
In proportion to its population, Israel has the largest number of start-up companies in the world. In absolute terms, Israel has the largest number of start-up companies of any country in the world except the United States.
Israel is ranked number two in the world for venture capital funds, right behind the United States. Outside the United States and Canada, Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ-listed companies. It has the highest average living standards in the Middle East. The per capita income in 2000 was over $17,500, exceeding that of the United Kingdom.
Twenty-four percent of Israel's workforce holds university degrees, ranking third in the industrial world, after the United States and Holland.
Twelve percent hold advanced degrees.
In 1984 and 1991, Israel airlifted a total of 22,000 Ethiopian Jews, called Operation Solomon, at risk in Ethiopia, to safety in Israel. Relative to its population, Israel is the largest immigrant-absorbing nation on Earth. Immigrants come in search of democracy, religious freedom, and economic opportunity.
Israel is the only country in the world that entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees, made more remarkable because this was achieved in an area considered mainly desert.
Israel has more museums per capita than any other country. Israeli scientists developed the first fully computerized, no radiation, diagnostic instrument for breast cancer. An Israeli company developed a computerized system for ensuring administration of medications, removing human error from medical treatment. Every year in U.S. hospitals, 7,000 patients die from treatment mistakes.
Israel leads the world in the number of scientists and technicians in the workforce with 145 per 10,000 as opposed to 85 in the U.S., over 70 in Japan, and less than 60 in Germany. With over 25 percent of its workforce employed in technical professions, Israel places first in this category as well.
An Israeli company was the first to develop and install a large-scale solar-powered and fully functional electricity generating plant in Southern California's Mojave Desert; and as other people have alluded to, all of the above things have been done while Israel has been engaged in creating a very strong national defense with an implacable enemy that seeks its destruction and an economy continuously under strain by having to spend more per capita on its own protection than any other country on Earth.
Others have alluded to Israel's size. The entire country is smaller than the State of New Jersey. In fact, Israel is only 9 miles wide at its most narrow point. This helps illustrate how vulnerable the country is in terms of its security.
This point was also emphasized when we visited the Golan Heights. Israel became painfully aware of the location's strategic importance during the Yom Kippur War in 1973 when over 2,000 Israelis were killed. From atop this high mountain, enemies can launch rockets and artillery fire on the villages below. Israel's control of this piece of real estate is vital to its security interests.
We also had opportunities to walk the streets of Jerusalem and witness how closely the Jews and Arabs live together. This particular journey was also personally meaningful because I experienced the rich spiritual heritage of the Holy Land. It was humbling to see firsthand where Jesus Christ, King David, and King Solomon walked. I was also able to visit the sites of the Last Supper and Christ's crucifixion. These were very moving experiences.
As my colleagues have mentioned, we met with a broad spectrum of Israeli and Palestinian officials, including Prime Minister Sharon and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. By talking to these leaders, we were able to gain fundamental insights on security, peace negotiations, and defense cooperation.
Israel has proved that it is willing to form a lasting peace with any country that has extended its hand in friendship. Indeed, one of the things that struck me most is that Israel does not say that it has an army. The media says it has an army; but in Israel, the people who protect Israel are called the Israeli Defense Force. Defense force. I think that is so important. Words are significant, and by calling folks who protect the country its defense force, it emphasizes that it wants peace and is not a country that is bent on fighting with its neighbors.
In the war on terror, American and Israeli interests are the same. We are both committed to stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and curbing state-sponsored terrorism.
For years, we have worked together for a more stable and peaceful Middle East.
Unfortunately, Israel has had to deal with war and terrorism since it was established in 1948, and has recently suffered through 4 intense years of violence that has targeted innocent civilians through suicide bombings on buses, in restaurants, and in shopping malls. I am saddened to report that Israel has endured more terrorist attacks than any other country in the entire world. The perseverance of the Israeli people, who constantly live their lives in the face of hatred and terrorism, is truly an inspiration to all of us who love freedom and democracy. The United States can learn a great deal from Israel's experience in fighting terror.
As we have already spoken of, just prior to my arrival in Israel, Prime Minister Sharon made the decision to disengage from Gaza and the northern West Bank. Israel has withdrawn thousands of citizens from their homes and communities and relocated them at tremendous emotional and financial cost to the Israeli Government. Disengagement from Gaza and parts of the West Bank hold enormous potential in advancing the peace process if the Palestinians demonstrate they can govern themselves and curb terrorism. Yet, while this movement has been supported by a majority of the public, it has been an emotionally painful undertaking that carries great political and security risks for Israel. Prime Minister Sharon explained that he was willing to take these risks because he believes that disengagement is in the best long-term interest of Israel.
After my rigorous and informative experiences overseas, I am more convinced than ever that it is crucial that the United States continue our strong support for Israel. The country is a beacon of democracy in a sea of violence and hostility. Both of our nations have a mutual interest in deterring terror, promoting democracy and stability throughout the world, and seeking peace in the Middle East. Israel's ability to function and defend itself against terrorism is in no small part due to unwavering support from the United States. Our country has a moral obligation to strengthen our fellow democracies, especially when they are in turbulent and dangerous regions in the world. It is in our national security interest to continue to support Israel financially and morally.
I want to end my remarks by quoting from a speech given by Prime Minister Sharon to the United Nations General Assembly on September 5, 2005. His final remarks are those that I think all Americans can agree with. ``In a few days time on the Hebrew calendar, the New Year will begin, the 5,766th year since the Creation. According to Jewish belief, the fates of people and nations are determined at the New Year by the Creator, to be spared or to be doomed. May the Holy One, blessed be He, determine that this year, our fate and the fate of our neighbors is peace, mutual respect, and good neighborly relations.''
That is a hope that all of us can share.
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