60th Anniversary of the Founding of Israel

Floor Speech

60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF ISRAEL -- (Senate - May 08, 2008)

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Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I am pleased today to speak on the 60th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel, and to congratulate the Israeli people on this historic occasion.

It is also an appropriate occasion to note the close and unwavering friendship our two countries have enjoyed over the past 60 years.

President Harry Truman formally recognized Israel just 11 minutes after the new country's independence proclamation. Eleven minutes. That is perhaps the fastest that anything has ever occurred in this city.

Fast doesn't necessarily mean easy, though, and President Truman was under a great deal of pressure, including from his own State Department, not to support the creation of a Jewish state.

But Harry Truman did the right and courageous thing, and for the past 60 years, Israel has been one of America's closest friends and allies

That friendship has persevered, in part because of our dedication to many common values.

Israel has a strong and vibrant democratic tradition, and a prosperous and innovative free-market economy.

In fact, Israel's economy grew faster last year than that of the United States, Europe, the U.K. or Japan. Such growth stems in part from more than 3,000 hi-tech companies now operating in Israel.

And, I believe, Israel is committed to achieving peace with its neighbors. But peace requires security, and the United States still has a very important role to play to make both of these a reality.

The late Congressman Tom Lantos--whom we lost at the beginning of this year--understood this perhaps better than anyone.

As the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to the Congress, Tom knew what Israel's existence meant for Jews the world over, and no one advocated more strongly than he did for continued U.S. support for Israel.

The fact that the Israeli foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, spoke at his memorial service here in the Capitol speaks not only to Tom Lantos's personal commitment to Israel, but also to the broader commitment of Israel and the United States to each other as nations and as people.

It is a commitment that we must not abandon.

The United States must remain engaged diplomatically to ensure that the process begun last fall in Annapolis, the most recent in a string of U.S.-led Middle East peace initiatives stretching back over 30 years, continues to move forward.

We must work with other countries and the United Nations to prevent Iran from gaining the ability to develop nuclear weapons that could threaten Israel's security.

We must provide appropriate assistance to the Palestinian Authority to enable it to secure its own territory and strengthen its democratic institutions.

And we must find a way to stop weapons from making their way into the Gaza Strip and the hands of those who seek to do Israel harm.

Such continued U.S. engagement is imperative if there is any hope for long-term peace between Israel and its neighbors.

But hope is the foundation on which Israel was built.

It is what enabled people of so many backgrounds and languages to speak with a common voice.

It is what enabled them to bring water to a desert and grow crops where there had only been sand.

It is what continues to lead the Israeli people forward, 60 years after its founding.

I share that hope for a brighter future--for Israel, for the United States, and for our enduring friendship.

Congratulations to Israel on its 60th birthday.

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