Reaffirming the State of Israel's Right to Exist
Floor Speech
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Mr. MOSKOWITZ. Mr. Speaker, Israel has a right to exist. There are only two ways to vote on this. Either you vote ``yes'' or you vote ``no.'' ``No'' means you do not believe Israel should be a country. ``No'' means you believe a country should be wiped off the face of the Earth. A ``present'' vote means you do not believe Israel should be a country. Hanging out in the cloakroom, having a hot dog, or missing the vote means Israel shouldn't be a country.
This is a moment for people in this body, on a bipartisan basis, to stand together and say they believe Israel has a right to exist.
Hamas doesn't think Israel has a right to exist. Hezbollah doesn't think Israel has a right to exist. Iran doesn't think Israel has a right to exist. People who vote ``no'' or vote ``present'' side with them. They pick a side with Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran.
I don't want to hear excuses. ``Oh, I didn't like this `whereas' clause,'' or, ``Oh, there was a period or a comma out of place,'' as if somehow we always vote on perfect resolutions around here. Again, it is an opportunity to show the world that we believe Israel has a right to exist.
We see anti-Semitism in the streets and at rallies. At cease-fire rallies, which is a foreign policy position, we see people holding signs that say: ``Gas the Jews,'' ``Kill the Jews,'' and ``Cleanse the Jews.'' That is not a foreign policy. If it is, it is a foreign policy of Germany in the early 1940s.
This is a moment for people in this body, some of whom sit in the rows behind me, to show they believe Israel has a right to exist.
I am for a two-state solution, Mr. Speaker. I think it is important that the Palestinian people get a state. But rest assured, in that two- state solution, one of those states is going to be Israel.
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Mr. MOSKOWITZ. Mr. Speaker, I conclude with this: Anyone who believes that Israel doesn't have a right to exist is calling for genocide. We hear that word thrown around a lot now on social media, ``genocide.'' We have a war in the Middle East. We don't have genocide.
If you believe a country should not exist, the millions of people in that country should also not exist, which means you are calling for genocide.
Mr. Speaker, I urge everyone to vote ``yes'' on this resolution. Israel has a right to exist.
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