Recognizing the 60th Anniversary of the Founding of the Modern State of Israel

Floor Speech

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I thank the gentleman and the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and congratulate him on his leadership along with the ranking member.

Mr. Speaker, this year on May 14 we will mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel. We will also celebrate the strong bonds of friendship and cooperation between the United States and Israel. Our country, under the leadership of President Harry Truman, was the first country to recognize the State of Israel. And he later said, ``I had faith in Israel before it was established. I have faith in it now. I believe it has a glorious future before it, not just as another sovereign nation but as the embodiment of the great ideals of our civilization.'' We need to maintain the special relationship we have with Israel based on shared values, common strategic interests, and moral bonds of friendship. Today, we honor not only that country's independence but the significance of what Israel stands for.

It represents the centuries-long yearnings of the Jewish people for a homeland of their own in the land of their forebears. The pogroms in tsarist Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the Holocaust under the Nazi regime in the 1930s and 1940s made the idea of a Jewish people having a State of their own where they could feel secure and never again be subjected to such horrors and brutality even more compelling and necessary.

After many years of struggle, Israel emerged as an independent state. It gave refuge to tens of thousands of Holocaust survivors, many of whom had been languishing in temporary resettlement camps in Europe. The new State of Israel also became the home for Jews from scores of countries around the world. In a very short period of time, Israel developed a strong economy, became one of the leading countries within the world in terms of development, of scientific technology, and academic learning.

Since its creation, Israel has continually confronted hostile forces that threaten its existence, and the United States must remain steadfast in ensuring the security of Israel.

With the assistance of the United States, Israel was able to achieve peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan in the 1970s and 1990s, respectively. These agreements made Israel more secure and greatly lessened the chances for another Arab-Israeli war with those two countries. However, peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, and friendly relations with its other neighbors, have proved to be more difficult.

It is my sincere wish that such negotiations will succeed, and that the Israeli people and all peoples of that troubled region will be able to live in a lasting peace.

Mr. Speaker, I hope that all Americans will join me in congratulating the citizens of Israel and the entire Jewish community on the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel.

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