American Israel Public Affairs Committee Annual Policy Conference

Federal News Service

HEADLINE: REMARKS BY REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER, (D-MD), REPRESENTATIVE TOM DELAY (R-TX) AND OTHERS AT AMERICAN ISRAEL PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE ANNUAL POLICY CONFERENCE

OTHER PARTICIPANTS: LONNIE KAPLAN, AIPAC BOARD OF DIRECTORS; ROBERT GOLDBERG, PRESIDENT, UNITED JEWISH COMMUNITIES; HOWARD FRIEDMAN, AIPAC BOARD OF DIRECTORS; HOWARD JONAS, AIPAC BOARD OF DIRECTORS; JEFFREY SNYDER, AIPAC BOARD OF DIRECTORS

LOCATION: DC CONVENTION CENTER, WASHINGTON, D.C.

BODY:

LONNIE KAPLAN: (In progress) - you may not realize this, but by being a member of AIPAC and by attending this conference, you are a member of the 2004 national assembly. This honor is both important and short-lived. In a moment I'm going to ask you to help in electing a portion of our national executive committee and also we will ask you to approve our 2004 action agenda. Once we have accomplished these tasks, your work as a national assembly member will be done and we can get on with our morning plenary.

So, on your seats you will find two items. First, there is a list of regional executive committee nominees which we ask that you now approve. All those in favor? (Applause.) Opposed? Clearly the ayes have it. AIPAC's 2004 regional executive committee nominees are thereby approved. Mazeltov. (Applause.)

The second item that you will find is a copy of AIPAC's 2004 action agenda, which was approved by AIPAC's executive committee yesterday morning and for which we now ask your approval. All those in favor say aye. (Chorus of "Aye.") Opposed? Again, clearly the ayes have it. AIPAC's 2004 policy statement is approved. (Applause.)

Thank you once again, ladies and gentlemen, for your participation and for filling your duty to AIPAC's national assembly. It's now my pleasure to welcome Bobby Goldberg, another American Jewish leader from Cleveland; chairman of the board of trustees of the United Jewish Communities.

Bobby.

ROBERT GOLDBERG: Thank you, Lonnie. I'm delighted to bring greetings from the officers and board of trustees of the United Jewish Communities to this fabulous turnout of men and women who care so passionately about our Jewish homeland.

This is a mighty impressive assembly and I just want to - I just wish my old speech teacher from the Cleveland Heights High School was here to hear me, and she would probably be saying, Bobby, you still don't enunciate. And it's interesting to know that our own Howard Kohr probably had the same speech teacher at Cleveland Heights High.

One thing I do want to enunciate - to emphasize to each of you - is the partnership we feel with you even though we are seldom direct partners. Maybe a metaphor is the offense and defense on a football team. We aren't on the field together, but we sure are unified in our objectives. While the UJC devotes itself to the unrelenting human services needs of the people of Israel, AIPAC is committed to combating the unrelenting threats to the nation of Israel. You do amazing work and every Jew in America who cares about Israel's security is proud that our Israel lobby is one of the most effective in the land. (Applause.)

My job is simply to bring greetings; not to make a speech, but I do want to add that all of us, supporters of the UJC and supporters of AIPAC and of course most of us are really both, should look for more ways to be partners. (Applause.) I know we can find a lot of ways to work together, and when our arms are linked together, they are stronger than our arms alone. Granted, UJC has nonprofit status and AIPAC does not, but that does not mean that we're mikhek (ph) and fleishik (ph). I'm sure there are plenty of opportunities for us to come to the same table, and the relatively new - as relative new chair of the UJC, someone who will have another couple years to go, I promise to make that a priority. And Bernice and Howard, please help me look for partnership opportunities yourselves. The leadership of the UCJ will be eager to hear your ideas.

Again, on behalf of the United Jewish Communities, I thank you for including me on your program and I wish all of you the best in building upon your distinguished record of securing and strengthening the state of Israel.

Thank you.

(Applause.)

HOWARD FRIEDMAN: Good morning. I'm Howard Friedman from Baltimore, Maryland. (Applause.) Leadership: that is what AIPAC is all about. You - one person, one individual - can truly make a difference. That is the lesson of our history and that is unquestionably true of this morning's distinguished speakers.

In just the last year, a time in which Israel has weathered tribulation and sorrow, yearning and hope, her relationship with the United States is vibrant and stronger than ever. Our next two speakers have something to do with that steadfast leadership and they both share a love for Israel. Perhaps many of you would find that unremarkable, but I dare say that there are very few other issues of public policy on which these two men see eye to eye. Their common devotion to Israel and to strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship not only brings them here today, it helps assure bipartisan support for Israel every day of the year, and it is their - (applause) - and it is their united leadership which helped in just the last year to see the passage of legislation like the Syria Accountability Act - (applause) - which passed the House by 408 to eight, or the Emergency Defense Supplemental Appropriation that provided Israel with $9 billion in loan guarantees and $1 billion in security assistance. (Applause.)

Across our country, every community and certainly on Capitol Hill, support for Israel is not a Republican value. It is not a Democratic value. It is an American value. (Applause.) Now that's bipartisanship and it's unquestionably about our next two speakers' leadership.

First, to my good friend, standing up to be counted and making a difference, that is Steny Hoyer's kind of leadership. (Applause.) It is not new to him. For decades, you may know that as a longstanding member of the Helsinki Commission, Steny was one of the very first champions of the Soviet Jewry movement and has been actively encouraging the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe to take up the cause of European anti-Semitism, and we thank you. (Applause.)

Decades ago, he fought for Russian Jews who wanted to emigrate to Israel and led a congressional delegation to pressure Soviet authorities to stop denying Russian Jews their rights, but you probably don't know that as soon as he was elected last year to the number two Democratic House leadership slot, he galvanized a group of several dozen Democratic member of Congress to serve as an informal caucus supporting Israel That, my friends, is leadership. (Applause.)

He recently mentioned to me when we were talking during a congressional trip to Israel back in 1988 he was asked and pressured if he would meet with Yasser Arafat, but he refused out of conscience. (Applause.

) And last August, amid terror attacks and challenges facing Israel, he organized and led the largest ever congressional delegation in the history of the U.S.-Israel relationship that traveled to Israel - 29 Democratic members of the House of Representatives. (Applause.)

From his leadership helping to secure $9 billion in loan guarantees for Israel or the passage of numerous foreign aid bills throughout the year in his senior position as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, whatever the issue of concern, Steny Hoyer has been there fighting on behalf of the causes that we so deeply care about. You know, Steny Hoyer is not Jewish, but he understands deep in his bones the historic persecution of Jews, the vital importance of the Jewish state, and the U.S.-Israel strategic partnership. Even more, he has taken it upon himself to proactively reach out to the new members of Congress and members who have very few Jews in their districts to ensure that they too are educated on our issues. (Applause.)

Ladies and gentlemen, we are fortunate to have many, many friends in Congress, but few have demonstrated the commitment and the depth of understanding over such a long period of public service than our next guest. Please join me in welcoming our great friend, Congressman Steny Hoyer. (Applause.)

STENY HOYER: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a very tightly run program. I reviewed the schedule as Howard was introducing me. It says that Steny Hoyer departs at 9:18 AM. I want you to know how good it's been to be with you today. (Laughter, applause.) I don't know how much I'm paying Howard, but it's got to be a lot.

Howard Friedman, as all of you know, is irrepressible, indefatigable, sometimes unfathomable. What a strong, strong voice for Israel. What a strong voice - (applause) - for human rights and what a strong voice for America. Howard, I am so proud to be your close friend. However; you took 90 percent of my time. (Laughter.) that's the bad news. The good news? Nobody in the audience who knows you is shocked.

President Amy Friedkin, let me say how pleased I am to be with you and let me congratulate you and thank you for an extraordinary year of leadership of this organization at an extraordinarily difficult time. You have done so well for AIPAC, for Israel, for America. Thank you very, very much. (Applause.)

Now let me speak about my sister, Bernice, your incoming president. She and I were born not together, but at the same hospital in New York City. I was born at least a couple of decades before Bernice. Bernice does not have a microphone, but she said, absolutely. Bernice, we are so proud of you, we sons and daughters of the Fifth Avenue Flower Hospital. And I look forward to working as closely with you as I have with Amy - as I have with Howard. I know you will do an extraordinary job. (Applause.)

It was mentioned that AIPAC is one of, if not the, most successful advocacy groups in Washington. All of you know that does not just happen. It doesn't happen simply because you put an AIPAC or because all of you are incredibly active in your communities and talk to your members on a regular basis. It happens because you organize, you mobilize, and you deploy. General Kohr, you do an extraordinary job. (Applause.) If you can't get away from Howard Friedman, you certainly can't get away from Howard Kohr. Maybe it's the Howard in them. Who knows?

Now let me say I am pleased to be here with the Mayor of Haifa - Mayor Yanov - Yahav. I have been to Haifa and I appreciate your being with us today. We are with you every day in our thoughts and from time to time physically as well. (Applause.)

Now, ladies and gentlemen, those of you who know her know that I could not go back to the Congress of the United States if I did not acknowledge not only one of Israel's strongest supporters, one of AIPAC's strongest supporters, but happily for me one of my strongest supporters, Congresswoman Shelley Berkley. Shelley, where are you? (Applause.) Apparently, some of you have heard from Shelley from time to time.

Ladies and gentlemen, I can't tell you how honored I am to speak to the members of this great organization who understand better than anyone the imperative of a free, independent, Jewish state and who know that a secure, successful Israel serves the national interests of the United States of America. (Applause.) That is always my message.

My friends, Israel does not stand alone in this world. Her fight against those who would seek her destruction is America's fight as well, as it should be the fight of all who love liberty and reject terrorism. (Applause.) As we work to establish democracy in Iraq we must unequivocally and unalterably reaffirm our support for the Middle East's only democracy. Standing side by side, we must not relent until victory over hatred, terror, and anti-Semitism is this generation's lasting legacy. (Applause.)

We have 850 students here. (Applause.) Young, Jewish students who know their history. They know that no people on Earth have been subjected to more bigotry and violence than the Jewish people and no people are more in need of a sovereign, secure homeland to provide safe haven and to protect identity, so today, three weeks after the 56th anniversary of Israel's independence, let us honor her determination to fulfill the vision of Zionism founding father Theodore Herzman (ph), who observed, if you will it, it is no dream. Through courage and will, Israel was born and the dream of generations was made real. And let us never forget that declaration by Ben Gurion: the security of Israel, he said, is a question f the survival not only of the people of Israel, but of the Jewish people the world over. (Applause.)

Members of AIPAC, the special bond that exists between the United States and Israel, as Howard observed and most of you hopefully know, is stronger than ever. Ours is a relationship of principle and conscience, of shared values and common aspiration, of peace and opportunity, and of a mutual commitment to freedom and democracy. In Congress today, support for Israel and her cause is bipartisan and overwhelming. When the majority whip in the next - in the House, Roy Blunt, and I circulated a letter last year urging President Bush to adhere to the principles for peace he enunciated on June 22nd as the roadmap was pursued, over 313 Democrats and Republicans signed it. Only the press of time prevented it being a larger number.

When the House considered a resolution last year expressing America's solidarity with Israel in the war on terrorism, 399 Democrats and Republicans supported it. (Applause.) This level of support is important and encouraging, but the effort to maintain it must be ongoing. That, of course, is AIPAC's reason for being and daily mission. How well you do it. It is in that spirit that I led, as you have heard, 28 other Democrats to Israel last August; the largest delegation to visit Israel since its birth in 1948. (Applause.) The mayor of Haifa is here and your mayor of Jerusalem is here as well, Wendy Singer (ph). Wendy, where are you? (Applause.)

Ladies and gentlemen, I have been to Israel in four decades six times in all, but this was the first visit for many of my colleagues. I want to thank all of you who contributed to making that effort possible. It is extraordinarily important to be there. We traveled throughout Israel and met with senior officials including Prime Minister Sharon, Labor Party leader Peres, and the speaker of the Knesset Rivlin (ph). And we saw firsthand the security challenges that confront Israel every single day. I will never forget watching a young Israeli lieutenant monitor the Lebanese border to prevent a surprise attack from Hezbollah terrorists. I will never forget talking to an Israeli father who said that he puts a gas mask in his children's knapsack every day when they go to school so he - because he can never be sure when an attack might come. And I will never, ever forget being transported to a meeting in Gaza with former Palestinian prime minister Abbas in an armored personnel carrier - a stark reminder and example of the proximity of danger in that small and fragile land.

This trip left an indelible impression on all who went and provoked strong agreement on several important points. First, Israel's security is an absolute precondition for peace. (Applause.) The Palestinian side must completely cease its campaign of terror against Israel if peace is have a chance. (Applause.) Secondly, the security fence is a reasonable, acceptable effort to prevent terrorists attacking the Israeli people, which undermines any possibility for peace. (Applause.) Third, it is essential that the Palestinian leadership dismantle terrorist infrastructure and organizations, which tragically, unfortunately, it has refused to do so to date. (Applause.

) And fourth, the plight of the Palestinian people must concern all of us. Their cause has been diminished by depraved and corrupt leaders led by Yassir Arafat who employ the tactics of terror, incite their people to hate, and refuse to seek peace, thereby relegating their own people to poverty and severe insecurity. The sad, inexplicable, and debilitating truth is that since the intifada began, the Palestinian leadership has not taken one concrete step to stop terrorism against Israel and her citizens. (Applause.)

It is, ladies and gentlemen, this absence of leadership on the Palestinian side, the absence of a sincere negotiating partner, that spurred Prime Minister Sharon to offer his recent disengagement plan. This effort is the latest example of Israel's willingness to take risks and offer a bold initiative that could further the cause of peace, enhance Israel's security, and lead toward providing the Palestinian people with a homeland of their own. That - that is why President Bush support it. That is why John Kerry supports it. And that is why, in my opinion, the overwhelming majority of the House of Representatives support it. (Applause.)

Ladies and gentlemen, I am hopeful that Congress in a bipartisan way can express support for principles the President articulated during Prime Minister Sharon's recent visit to the United States. I look forward to working with Tom Delay to accomplish that end. (Applause.)

Sadly, the security of Israel is threatened not only by extremists and fanatics in the West Bank and Gaza, but as well by entire populations in the Middle East who are infected with an obsessive hatred of Israel, who embrace terrorism and who seek the most lethal weapons in the history of man. As the threat grows greater, so too must our resolve.

I commend President Bush for imposing economic sanctions last week under the Syria Accountability Act. (Applause.) The message to the Assad government is clear: Syria cannot claim membership in the civilized world while continuing to sponsor and give sanctuary and aid to terrorist organizations such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and other. If these sanctions fail to persuade Syria to change its course, then I will help lead the effort in Congress to strengthen the United States' response. (Applause.) Thank you.

Many senior Israeli officials with whom I spoke last summer were even more animated about the Iranian threat. Amy Friedkin, as a matter of fact, made that very clear to me on a number of conversations. Just two weeks ago, the House passed by an overwhelming vote a resolution condemning Iran for deceiving the international community about its nuclear activities and programs, calling on the United States to, and I quote, "use all appropriate means to deter, dissuade, and prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons." (Applause.) Our country must be tough and realistic regarding Iran. Israel, of course, must do what it deems necessary to protect itself. (Applause.) The United States meanwhile, must work with the European Union, Russia, and the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure that Iran is held accountable for its conduct, but let me be very clear: an Iran with nuclear weapons is not only unacceptable to Israel, it is unacceptable to the United States as well. (Applause.)

The proliferation of nuclear weapons to state sponsors of terror is a clear and present danger to the world. Let me say, too, that the time has come for the United States and the rest of the civilize world to pressure Saudi Arabia to crack down on those within its borders - (applause) - to crack down on Saudi Arabia - on those within its borders who fund, facilitate, and rationalize terrorism. Furthermore, the Saudi government can no longer escape responsibility for supporting and exporting the intolerant brand of Islam - Wahabism - which breeds hatred of other countries, of other peoples, of other religions, and the United States and Israel. (Applause.)

Students, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom reported one year ago that official government textbooks published by the Saudi Ministry of Education include offensive and discriminatory language and in some cases promote intolerance and hatred of religious groups. The commission found that Israel regularly is referred to as a wicked nation. Such language belies any rhetorical support for peace. We know that repugnant acts of anti-Semitism continue against Jews throughout the world and we recognize that such hatred is as dangerous as it is unacceptable, yet we must not overlook the new anti-Semitism that grips entire countries in the Middle East and affects others.

The new strain of anti-Semitism, as Mortimer Zuckerman (sp) points out, is not directed at individual Jews or even Judaism itself, but rather against the Jewish collective - the modern state of Israel. And the public record is replete with outrageous examples. Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah recently blamed Zionists for violence in the Kingdom, and his views were endorsed by Prince - (unintelligible). What incredibly bad logic.

The Malaysian prime minister told Islamic leaders in October, and I quote, "Jews rule the world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them." As despicable as those individual words were, sadly and shockingly they received a standing ovation. Fifty-nine percent of the citizens of the European Union cite Israel as one of the biggest risks to peace in the world today. And the United Nations general assembly continues to single out Israel for unfair and discriminatory treatment. In the current session of the general assembly, the United States has properly voted against anti-Israel resolutions 22 separate times. (Applause.) The United States was correct to do so, but how silent the United Nations remains with truly despicable, dictator-led, tyrant countries of the world as they focus on the Middle East's only democracy that recognizes human rights. (Applause.) Anti-Zionism is still anti-Semitism no matter how it is cloaked. (Applause.) And because of that, we must expose it, condemn it, and exercise it from the international body politic. (Applause.)

Some of you know all too personally, from wrenching experience, where the toxic brew of hatred, intolerance, and violence can lead. We know that anti-Semitism is a cancer that left unchecked will metastasize and poison entire societies, and such poison will threaten all other minorities in their turn. (Applause.) As a result, the United States of America as a matter of moral conscience and strategic interest must vigilantly combat any terrorism, anti-Semitism wherever it rears its head. (Applause.)

Finally, members of AIPAC, let me say that the United States, Israel, and the rest of the civilized world must never, never equate legitimate acts of self defense by any state with illegitimate, unspeakable acts of terror. (Applause.) Freedom fighters do not attack innocent men, women, and children with the intention of inflicting as much change as possible - as much damage and death as possible. Terrorists do that. (Applause.) Freedom fighters do not send their youth to their death as homicide bombers; terrorists do that. (Applause.) And freedom fighters - freedom fighters do not murder four innocent children and a pregnant mother in cold blood. (Applause.) but terrorists do and that is why we must be allied as one in confronting all those throughout the world who employ such tactics.

Members of AIPAC, Israel's fight is not just a fight for Israel, not just a fight for Jews, it is a fight for all of us who want our children to live in peace and security in this world. (Applause.) Ladies and gentlemen, I was too young to call him friend, but old enough to be his supporter; the late Senator Henry Scoop Jackson once remarked, and I quote, "it is both wrong and foolhardy for any democratic state to consider international terrorism to be someone else's problem. When one nation is under attack," he said, "the rest must understand that democracy itself is under attack." 9/11 awakened America to the obligation this generation owes to its heritage and to its progeny and we must not shrink from it.

The battle we are in today requires us to stand side by side with Israel against those who would undermine freedom, security, and democracy by the wanton, indiscriminate, and calculated killing of innocent people. Those who so hate in our world are the common enemy of all. Working together - working together with courage, perseverance, and resolve the United States, Israel, and our allies must prevail over those forces that seek to plunge Israel and freedom- defending peoples into an abyss of tyranny and terror. I know that AIPAC, as it has for half a century, will continue to be an outspoken and effective champion of that victory.

Ladies and gentlemen of AIPAC, I am proud to count myself a brother in your cause. God bless America and God bless Israel. (Applause.)

HOWARD JONAS: Thank you, Congressman Hoyer. It's my honor to introduce the majority leader of the House of Representatives, Tom Delay. (Applause.)

Last July, Tom Delay left Israel for a four-day trip to Israel.

He of course met with Israel's top leaders and visited the usual sites, but he really went to Israel for one primary reason, to speak to the people of Israel in the midst of this war on terror and deliver one simple message: the United States is with you. That is a message Tom Delay has been delivering, both through word and deed, throughout his 20-year Congressional career. (Applause.) He first became involved in our community in the early '80s when he visited Jewish refuseniks in Moscow. He was so taken with what he witnessed that he worked tirelessly to secure the release of a Jewish family who is now living in Boston and actually accompanied Tom on his recent trip.

His Moscow visit was followed by a trip to Israel and his appreciation of Israel's important to the United States has only grown over time, as has the impact of his leadership. For close to 10 years, first as majority whip and now as majority leader, Tom has taken an increasingly significant leadership role in foreign policy, particularly in championing support for Israel. His leadership ensured the passage of several resolutions supporting Israel's right to self defense and Tom Delay has been able to make certain that U.S. policy does not deviate from that support; sometimes quietly and behind the scenes, other times forcefully and in public.

In seeing the Syria Accountability Act come up on the floor of the House, Tom Delay helped guarantee its ultimate passage into law by pushing for supplemental military aid to Israel. (Applause.) Delay helped Israel receive $1 billion in supplemental assistance earlier last year. (Applause.) Tom, you have been a great leaders and a great friend in helping to advance America's alliance with Israel and working in a bipartisan way to assure that support for Israel is simply the American thing to do. With you and your colleagues in Congress standing shoulder to shoulder with Israel, I know the Jewish state will be able to withstand whatever difficulties the future may bring.

Ladies and gentlemen, Israel's greatest friend in the legislature, Tom Delay. (Applause.)

TOM DELAY: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you for that very warm welcome. My heart is with you. Our hearts are together. It is really an honor - and I don't say those things lightly - to be here with you.

Members of AIPAC, students, it's great to see you. (Applause.) For you to spend your time and your resources to come here to Washington at this particular time and ask me to speak to you, it is indeed an honor. These are serious times. It is wonderful to be with all of you again. Wonderful not only because of the honor that it gives me to spend time with so many good friends and patriots, but because of the hour at which we meet.

We are told of late by those with an interest in doing so that these are dark days in the war on terror. We are told the United States' arrogance has invited international disdain. We are told that the abuse of enemy prisoners at Abu Ghraib has so undermined our credibility that the war on terror simply cannot be won. We are told Ariel Sharon, the great Zionist land thief, has co-opted the United States government into a belligerent scheme to destroy the Middle East peace process and further antagonize the Arab world. We are told Israel's decision to target leaders of those terrorist organizations that target her citizens only puts the Israeli people at greater risk. We are told the war on terror, whether waged by the United States or our coalition of the willing or by the people of Israel was a mistake, is a quagmire, and will be a regret. Ladies and gentlemen, we are told wrongly. (Applause.)

The fact is that these are not dark days for the people of the United States, Israel, or of any nation dedicated to the survival and success of liberty. In this war, there are no dark days. Difficult days for sure; harrowing, stern, and heart wrenching, but glorious. For reasons beyond our knowing, we have been chosen for these great days and despite the horrors that we witness in harsher detail than any generation before us, we should all that our Creator for the privilege, for the honor, of living them.

Though we weep for the lives lost to our coalition in Iraq and Afghanistan, though we avert our eyes to the images of Abu Ghraib, though we clench our teeth at the news of the execution of out countrymen Daniel Pearl and Nick Berg, and though we shudder to the bone on hearing of the murder last week of Tali Hatuel (ph) - eight months pregnant - and her four daughters, 11-year old Gila (sp), nine- year old Haddar (sp), seven-year old Ronnie (sp), and two-year old Murav (sp) - all shot in the head at point blank range by Palestinian terrorists - we will never give up. We will never relent. We will never stop. Not until the last terrorist on Earth is either in a cell or in a cemetery. (Applause.)

You know, I would like nothing more, ladies and gentlemen, than to come before you today and tell you that our victory in this war is not only assured, but imminent. It is not. There are still soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq in harm's way and some of them may not come home. There are Israelis at work today or at home or in school who in all likelihood will one day soon be murdered in a blinding flash of explosives. And as much as we would like to deny it, there are innocent Americans now at work eating breakfast or laughing with their friends whose lives will end at the hands of terrorists.

Ladies and gentlemen, we are at war. War is not fought on television. It's not an open air video game. It is bloody. It is hellish. It is a terrifying nightmare. It cuts down each generation's bravest and most loyal in their youth and leaves friends and families asking unanswerable questions for the rest of their lives. It takes from us innocent victims who have never held a gun or never harmed a soul. We did not start this war, but until the enemies of freedom surrender, we will fight it and we will win it. (Applause.)

It's not a test of weapons as much as it is a test of will, and if you don't believe me, just ask the citizens of Israel. For generations they have stood in defiance of evil - a beacon of hope in a sea of despair, a voice of freedom crying out in the desert. My friends, that cry has been answered. Our enemies are intent on using their propaganda opportunities to somehow link the United States and Israel as if Israel's war on terror is the same as our war on terror, as if the interests of our two nations are so tightly woven that they are essentially identical. Well thanks anyway, but we didn't need their help. Of course the United States and Israel are linked. (Applause.) We are linked and have been for decades by the bonds of freedom. Our two nations are bound by our common determination to never again allow the cruelty of the few to subjugate the liberty of the many. (Applause.)

You know, just as Americans have learned from Israel that battling terror is a long, arduous journey, so too have Israelis learned from America that only through steadfast friendship in good times and bad can two nations withstand the onslaught of inhuman murder that is modern terrorism. America's interests are Israel's interests - the interests of all free people - and no amount of violence or intimidation, let alone diplomatic pretenses of moral equivalence, will ever change that fact. (Applause.)

There is no moral equivalence of blowing up a bunch of young soldiers in a tank and tearing down a house - no moral equivalence. (Applause.) And that's why the difficulties of the last several months have only brought our two nations closer together. Because our destinies as leaders of a free and civilized world hang in the balance of this war, for if Israel fails in its war against Palestinian terrorists, the United States will lose a critical ally in the war on terror and give credence to the lie that democracy cannot succeed in the Middle East.

And if the United States fails in our mission in Iraq, and Iraq is allowed to disintegrate into a crucible of violence, a nation owned and operated by and for terrorists, the cost of lives will not ultimately be measured in thousands, but millions. Our enemies understand this, to be sure. Those nations and organizations bent on destroying Israel are now bent on beating back America's advances in the war on terror. They know implicitly that the success of the one assures the success of the other. The survival of Israel is essential to America's victory in the war on terror, and America's victory in the war on terror is essential to Israel's survival. (Applause.)

The only true weapon against terrorism, whether that terrorism emanates from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, the Palestinian Authority, or anywhere in the world is freedom and the surest means of securing freedom is democracy. (Applause.

) Never in history has a people been given the opportunity to control its own destiny and not taken it. If the people of Afghanistan truly wanted to serve their Taliban masters, then why were American troops greeted with cheers when their nation was liberated? If the people of Iraq enjoyed their enslavement under Saddam Hussein, why are they so eager to vote in the upcoming elections? If the people of Iran wish to be dominated by the ayatollahs, then why were more than 4,000 of them arrested by the government the night before the largest planned student protests in their nation's history? And frankly, if the Palestinian people truly wanted to remain living in the violent misery imposed on them by their corrupt, terrorist leaders, why were they never more hopeful than when Prime minister Abu Mazan (sp) first came into office riding on a wave of public opposition to Yassir Arafat's thugocracy?

The answer is simple. They didn't. They didn't want to live under tyranny because nobody does. The only people who like tyranny are tyrants. And like the people who once ruled the Third Reich, the Soviet Union, Taliban Afghanistan, and Ba'athist Iraq, the world's remaining despots will live to see their brutal regimes destroyed and replaced by free and prosperous democracies. (Applause.)

Because, my friends, they know - they know from Havana to Tehran to Ramallah that their days are numbered and so the forces - so are the forces of international terror. And they have come and joined sides in a common cause against freedom. They have come to Iraq to make their war. They know that a free and democratic Iraq will lead eventually to a free and democratic Syria, a free and democratic Iran, a free and democratic Middle East. They know that if our coalition is successful in Iraq, Israel will no longer be the only free nation in the region and they know that once democracy is secured in Iraq, we will turn our attention elsewhere. (Applause.) For not only is America not backing down, we're not stopping. We're not going to be satisfied with a few democracies sprinkled along - among terrorist client states.

9/11 changes all that. Never again can the United States sit idly by and pretend the festering anti-American violence around the world has no impact on our national interests. No, the same policy which mandated action in Afghanistan and Iraq, which demands our constant and absolute support for the people of Israel, compels us to advance the cause of freedom and democracy to every corner of the world. (Applause.) And that policy - that policy - the Bush doctrine, which is even now in the process of changing the world forever, takes its name from the greatest friend of Israel the world has ever had: President George W. Bush. (Applause.)

Ladies and gentlemen, actions are so much more powerful than words. It was President Bush who realized in 9/11 that the days of terrorism as a - the days of terrorism as a law enforcement problem were over. We were at war. (Applause.) It was President Bush who realized that Yassir Arafat had no intention of seeking peace and therefore cut him off from any further negotiations, isolating him as the terrorist that he is. (Applause.) It was President Bush who understood that the war America was waging against terrorism was the same war Israel had been fighting for decades. It was President Bush who just last week imposed the first round of sanctions against Syria in accordance with the Syrian Accountability Act. (Applause.) And finally, it was President Bush who just last month reaffirmed the principles of a realistic and honest Middle East policy, making it clear that the Palestinian Authority must not merely disavow terror, but end it at once and for all and undertake real political reform - (applause); that Israel must have a secure and defensible border and must retain the capability to defend itself against all threats, including terrorism - (applause); that there is no right of return and that Israel will not retreat behind the 1967 borders! (Applause.)

The president has shown bold action and vision and we in Congress have a responsibility to follow his lead and as such, as Steny Hoyer has said, I can announce today that we have already begun working with Steny to properly affirm Congress' absolute support for these principles. (Applause.) I say again, my friends, these may be difficult days - furious, relentless days of pain and struggle, but they are not dark, for these days we live are lighted by that torch of human freedom which no darkness can overcome. (Applause.)

These days of action, of courage, and strife are the envy of all times and men. Past generations of warriors for freedom would have given all the glory of their times for the chance to fight with us right now, and generations hence in days unscarred by conflict will honor those of us who stood athwart enemies and appeasers alike, who held aloft that torch of freedom. They will come like pilgrims, those future generations - gentiles, Jews, Muslims - to monuments to these days of struggle that we now endure. They will come to New York, to Kabul, to Baghdad, and yes, to Jerusalem. And they will run their fingers along the names of fallen heroes etched into the marble and remember: here freedom stood.

Thank you all very much for everything you do. May God bless Israel and may God bless the United States of America. Thank you. (Applause.)

JEFFREY SNYDER: Good morning. My name is Jeffrey Snyder. I am a member of AIPAC's board of directors and a member of AIPAC's new leadership network. We are all familiar with many aspects of the Middle East conflict: hatred, mistrust, suffering. We are also painfully aware of the great human cost that Israel has paid in defending itself against this terrorist onslaught, but there is a place in Israel where things look different. It is a place where Jews and Arabs manage to live together in peace. It is a place where when terror strikes, both Jews and Arabs cry - both Jews and Arabs are victims. It is a place that perhaps tells us something about what may be possible. This place is a city called Haifa. (Applause.)