United States-Israel Education Association
Floor Speech
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Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my very dear friend and colleague, Cathy McMorris Rodgers from the great State of Washington, for leading our delegation, for putting this Special Order together this evening, and for including all of us--Dr. Phil Roe from Tennessee, my good friend Bradley Byrne from Alabama, and there have been others--who have made this journey with the U.S. Israel Education Association from both the Senate and the U.S. House.
It is just so marvelous to stand in support of the U.S.-Israel relationship, a decades-long partnership that underpins security in the Middle East and promotes democratic flourishing throughout the entire region at a time, sadly, of heightened anti-Semitism that we are seeing across the globe. It is more important than ever that we maintain this strong connection to this very, very key ally of ours in Israel.
Israel is deeply invested in achieving peace in the Middle East, and so is the United States of America. We will always, all of us, stand collectively with Israel as they work toward the achievement of this goal.
As my good friend Bradley Byrne from the great State of Alabama expressed, in August, we traveled as a delegation and had the opportunity to go to Israel with the U.S. Israel Education Association and my colleagues. We saw firsthand Israelis and Palestinians working together to promote peace and harmony.
We visited the capital of Samaria, which Bradley Byrne talked about, which was Ariel, a town where we saw Palestinians and Israelis working together in a true, integrated business fashion. We spoke to both Jews and Arabs who yearn for peace and prosperity for the region.
We explored an industrial park that has upwards of 200 businesses where Palestinians were, indeed, working alongside Israelis. We spoke with those employees. Many of the Palestinians told us that they were making somewhere between three and four times what they would otherwise earn if they didn't have this opportunity to have the integrated business that we saw going on in Ariel.
To provide for their families, and live in peace and harmony, they were standing up to what I would call strong, divisive forces that seek to vilify Israel and undermine its credibility as a force for peace.
Yet, it is clear that both sides want to find a solution to the bloodshed and to the hate. People-to-people connections--and my friend Congressman Byrne said it so clearly and eloquently--between the Israelis and Palestinians are building blocks of the entire peace process. I am confident that both communities are working together to improve a mutual understanding and expand economic prospects for all citizens.
We did so many things in the area of defense, our common defense with Israel, getting to see some of the amazing work that the Israeli defense organization, working in conjunction with the United States of America, was able to do, especially when it came to the Arrow-3 test that we saw, which was just so fantastic. It just happened this last July. That would take out a long-range ballistic missile and keep us all safe.
We also got to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu. We had a long discussion about the West Bank and about the time that we spent there inside the West Bank, watching Israelis and Palestinians working together in this integrated fashion. I asked the Prime Minister: Wow, so many of the myths have been debunked. I want to go back with this information, talk to my colleagues, and talk to my constituents. What should we say?
The Prime Minister said: Tell their truth.
I will also say this: With Iran working to destabilize the region and threaten Israel through dangerous terrorist proxies that we have seen in Hezbollah and Hamas, it is essential that we stand together with our ally. I am committed, and I know that we all are, to protecting our critical relationship and strengthening the ties between the United States and Israel.
I also find it especially concerning that anti-Israeli actors are seeking to delegitimize and isolate the State of Israel through the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions, or BDS. I was very proud to introduce legislation, H. Res. 246, with Representatives Schneider, Zeldin, and Nadler, a true bipartisan effort that expresses Congress' strong support for Israel and condemns the BDS movement.
I am happy to say that H. Res. 246 has been agreed to in the House with a vote of 398 in support. I hope this sends a clear message of support to the people of Israel and also to those who would maybe seek to undermine it.
We, in Congress, stand with Israel. We will continue to work to strengthen and deepen ties between our nations.
I am just so pleased that I had this incredible opportunity to see business, peace, prosperity, hope, and real people who found their humanity and want to live together in peace and harmony. To be with these good people and to be on this journey that was one of policy, one of defense, it was also a spiritual journey that I think lifted us all up, heartened us, and strengthened us.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Washington State, my dear friend, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, for leading us in this journey and for her continued leadership in the work that we are going to do to promote integrated business.
I look forward to her comments and those of Dr. Phil Roe. I am so grateful to USIEA for this tremendous opportunity.
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Mrs. WAGNER. Will the gentlewoman yield?
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Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, we hope that he would be coming along with the Judea and Samaria Chamber of Commerce to the United States to also tell their story to Congress and to our other colleagues. Mr. Jabari welcomed us into his home, and we can't wait to welcome the sheikh here to tell this great story of partnership and integrated business and working together.
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Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, ``tell their truth'' is what the Prime Minister said. That is so important. We look forward to it.
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Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, if I could add one thing while we are having this colloquy in this terrific Special Order, we were all grateful for the opportunity that USIEA gave us.
I want to thank--I think we all want to thank--Heather Johnston for her leadership. Thanks to General Krulak for his leadership and their entire team that made this experience possible, that has worked so diligently and so fervently to bring peace to Israel, to put forward the peace process through things like integrated business, to recognize the strong defense ally and partnership that we have with Israel, and that some $3.3 million of U.S. taxpayer funds that we share jointly with Israel in order to lift up their defense system so that we are all safe in this world and, certainly, in this delicate part of the Middle East.
So I want to thank those leaders of USIEA and, again, the gentlewoman from Washington for bringing us on this tremendous journey. We hope to share it with many others.
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Mrs. WAGNER. Will the gentlewoman yield?
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Mrs. WAGNER. Mr. Speaker, the economic summit that was pulled together where so many Arabs came and participated was all a lead-up to a peace process and the kind of work that we are seeing that is happening in the West Bank. We hope that it will continue to flourish. The peace process is something that I know that Jared Kushner, our White House, USIEA, the Israeli Government, the Palestinians, and others are working on. It is something that I think will be the basis and the underpinning of the peace process.
As we have all expressed, we see people find the humanity, find that all they want is what we all want: to be safe and secure, to take care of our families, to give back to society, to be productive, to be able to worship in the fashion that we choose, and to have some freedom. That is what we hope for Israel long-term.
It was just wonderful to be a part of this journey. I look forward to the future, what this administration is going to bring to the table, and to those who will be coming to, I hope, educate our colleagues on the important work that is being done.
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Mrs. WAGNER. A first. A promise that was made and kept, finally, by an American President, President Trump. It is great.
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Mrs. WAGNER. Tens of thousands. It was amazing.
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Mrs. WAGNER. As I said, Mr. Speaker, I just thank the gentlewoman from Washington so much for her leadership and that of the USIEA. To go on this journey is wonderful, and we look forward to the future.
Mr. DAVID P. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I say God bless the Palestinians and Israelis. We wish them nothing but the best.
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