Transcripts For CSPAN U.S. 20240704 : vimarsana.com

CSPAN U.S. July 4, 2024

I feel very keenly my responsibility as a shomerias, a guardian of the people of israel. Throughout jewish history, there have been many and plenty who are far greater tn nonetheless,n which i find myself now at a time of great difficulty for the state of israel, the jewish people and for nonjewish friends of israel. I feel an immense obligiospeak. I speak as a member of a community of Jewish Americans that i know very well. Ey friends, many of them are my constituents, many are democrats and many are deeply concerned about e justice both in new york and around the globe. From the town would come of the call to repair the world has driven jews around the globe to do what is right. We love israel in our bones. Wh imy generation within living memory of the holocaust is impossible to measure. The flowerin■hg of the j people in the desert, from the ashes of the holocaust and the fulfillment of the dream of a jewish homeland 2000 years of praying and waiting represents one of the most heartfelt causes of my life. Ome younger americans, i remember how hard it was to achieve that dream. I remember clutching the transistor radio to my ear and James Madison high school in 1967 during the six day war wondering if israel wouldpushed. If the events of the last few months have made anything clear, it is that israel is surrounded by vicious enemiesld who excuse and even support their aims to expel and kill jews living in their hardwon land. Of refuge. I will never underestimate the great threats israel faces and is faced and has faced for the entirety of his its existence normally ever understood underestimate the oppression the jewish people have endured for a millennium. It is precisely out of this longstanding connection to and concern for the state of israel and its people that i speak today about what i view are the most pressing existential threats to israels longterm peace and prosperity. After fiveths of suffering on both sides of this conflict, our thinking must turn urgently to how we can achieve lasting peace endure and ensure prosperity and security for both the jewish people and the Palestinian People in the middle east. I believe that to achieve that lasting peace which we so long for, israel must make some significant course corrections which i will outline in this speech. First, lets not forget how we arrived at this critical moments brutal beyond imagination. I have sat with the families of those killed in the assau have d heard the stories of innocence murdered and raped in heartless cruelty and as long as i live, i will never forget these images, this pure and premeditated people. Manywere killed by nazis in the holocaust. October 7 and the shameless response to support that terrorist attack by some in america and around the■ have awakened the deepest fears of the jewish people that are dish at our annihilation remains a possibility. Today, over 130 hostages remain captive in gaza. I am anguished by the plight of so many hostages still being trapped deep inside hamasnetwork of tunnels. I pray for them and for their es who have inspired me with their tenacious advocacy to ensure their loved ones are not forgotten. Many of them are americans. Jonathanchen, hirsch polin and some my constituents in new york. We tragically learned this week that when men was brutally killed on october 7 while serving near the gaza border. Hamas still holds his body. His father gave me this pin. Which i am wearing. In remembrance of him. As well as those of americans, Judy Weinstein and others. I have sat with many of these families, i have wept with them. Each day that their loved ones dont come home carries enough anguish andi am working in evern support the Biden Administration as negotiations continue to free eri urge every actor at the tab, the israelis, the Biden Administration, the guitar is in egyptians and anyone else of the table to do Everything Possible to get a deal. Hamas has been given a deal already. They should say yes. My heart also breaks for the loss of so many civilian lives in gaza. I am anguish that the israeli war campaign has killed so many innocent palestinians. I know that my fellow Jewish Americans feel the same anguish whenhey see the images of dead and starving children and destroyed homes. Gaza is experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe. Entire families wiped out, whole neighborhoods reduced to rubble, mass displacement, children suffering. We should not let the complexities of this conflict stop us from stating the plain truth deserve to suffer for the sins of hamas and israel has a moral obligation to do better. The itobligation to do better. I believe the United States must provide robust humanitarian aid to gaza and pressure the israelis to let more of it get through to the people who needed. Jewish people throughout the centurie. 2s have empathized with those who are suffering and who are oppressed because we have known so much of that ourselves. As the whole is theaches us,s precious and every innocent life lost whether israeli or palestinian is a tragedy. As the scripture says, itwhat hs especially is our sense that israel is falling short of upholding these distinctly Jewish Values that we hold so dear. We must be better than our enemies lest wisrael has a fundt to defend itself but as i have said from the beginning of this war, how would exercise that right matters. Israel must prioritize the section of civilian casualties when identifying military authorities. I have repeatedly called upon these really government to do so. It also must be said that israel is by no means the only one responsible for the immense civilian toll. To blame only israel for the deaths of palestinians is , onesided and often deliberately manipulative. It ignores hamasrole in this conflict. Hamas has knowingly invited an immense civilian toll during this war. Their goal on october 7 was to provoke to from israel by killing as many jews as possible in the most vicious manner possible, raping women, executing babiesutalizing whole communities. Since then, hamas has purposely hidden behind their fellow palestinians by turning hospitals into command centers and refugee camps into missile launching sites. It is well documented that hamas soldiers used innocent gazans as human shields. The leaders of hamas, many of whom in luxury far away from the poverty and misfortune of gaza do not care one iota about the palestinians for whom they claim to nobly fight. It bothers me deeply that most Media Outlets covering this war and nysing it had placed the blame for civilian casualties entirely on israel. All too often in the protest, id that hamas has gone to Great Lengths to make themselves inseparable from the civilian gaza by using palestinians as human shields. Too many news agencies, tesis and newspapers give hamas a pass by hardly ever does uncovering their strategy. This has led to an inaccurate perception of the harsh realities of this war. I believe stories justifiably mention the loss of palestinian life should also note how hamas uses civilians as human shields. It almost never happens. I believe the protest that justifiably decry the loss of innocent men, women and children should also denounce hamas for their central role in the bloodshed. Can protesters deprive the loss of palestinian life but never condemn the loss of israeli lives, it confounds and deeply troubles the vast majority of jewish and nonJewish Americans alike who support the state of israel. Given that hamas launched their attacks on october 7 to provoke israel, given that hamas sought the ensuing civilian toll in gaza, given that hamas wanted both israelis and throats, tenss on both sides have dramatically intensified. And now, as a result of those inflamed tensions in israeli and palestinian communities, people on all sides of this war are turning away from a two statejh solution. Including israels Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu who recently said out loud repeatedly with many havlong suspected by outright rejecting the idea of Palestinian Statehood sovereignty. As the highest ranking jish elected official in our government and as astanas defender of israel, i rise today to say unequivocally that this is a grave mistake for israel, for palestinians, for the region. The only sustainable solution to this decadesold conflict is a negotiated two state solution, a demilitarized palestinian state living sidebyside with israel in equal measures of peace, security, prosperity, dignity and mutual recognition. Both jews and palestinians of long historic claims to this land. Contrary unfounded, absurd and offensive claims by some that the jewish people are colonizers in their ancestral homeland, jewish people have lived in the homeland continuously for more than three millennia, 3000 years. Fos have made al i can gonea and settle for centuries at passover. Jews at■m■ corner of the globe have prayed next year in jerusalem. A jewish homeland in israel is no 20thcenturyisrael is our hia home for people oppressed for centuries. Now the palestinians to have lived on the land for generations and in past centuries, they have formed their own distinct culture, identity, cuisine, literaturthet there is no such thing as palestinians is inaccurate, offensive, unhelpful. The only just solution to this predicament is one in which each people can flourish in their own state sidebyside. But for a two state solution to work over the long term, it has to include rs by both sides. For example, too many israelis who say they want the two state solution dont how the amount and extent of expanding settlements renders that virtually impossible. Too many palestinians who say they want a two state solution dont acknowledge how their insistence on unequivocal right of return is a fatal impediment to both ways of thinking are impeding the Peace Process. There are others on the left who view a two state solution with skepticism as an ideal that will never happen, a faroff goal that allows for the continuation of this status quote in gaza and the west bank where palestinians face unique obstacles compared to their israeli counterparts. As a result, they reject a two state solution in favor of one state where palestinians and israelis would supposedly live in Democratic Peace sidebydei can understand the m that inspires so many young people in particular to support a one state solution. Why cant we all live sidebyside and house by house in peace . I count at least two rsons why this wouldnt work and why it is unacceptable to most jewish people. First,his combined state could take an extreme turn politically , putting jewish israelis in peril. This state would be a majority palestinian and voted to empower groups like hamas which seeks to eradicate the jewish people. It is longstanding erican policy to support democracy overseas but in this hypothetical single state, democracy could cost israeli jews. If extremists were to take control of this new state of affairs to openly achieve their true aim, the violent expulsion of this is no abstract fear. Thousands of years of jewish history show that wh things go badly, the people of the country in which jews live, even in a democracy, all too often turn on them as convenient scapegoats. There is no guarantee this wouldnt happen again in a single Israeli Palestinian state. To have palestinian voters be the protector of israeli jews would be a bridge too far to accept. Second, and even more important, the jewish people have a right to their own state. It is so troubling to me that many people, especially onhe ft, seemed to acknowledge and even celebrate this right to statehood for every group but the jews. If a National Homeland for all peoples of the world has been the driving goal of the Anticolonial Movement of the last century, than why are only jews seemingly penalized for this aspiration . Choose have a human right to their own state just as any other people das i have said, to some israelis who oppose even a two state solution with a demilitarized palestinian state because they fear it might tolerate or be a harbor for further terrorism against the jewish state. I understand these fears but the bitter reality is that a single state controlled by israel which they advocate guarantees certain war forever and further isolation of the Jewish Community in the world to the extent that its future would be jeopardized. Let me elaborate they say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. If israel were to not only maintain the status quo but go beyond that and tightened its control over gaza and the west bank as some in the Current Administration have suggested and that creates a defective single state, and what■ have that hamas and their allies will lay down their arms . It would mean constant war. On top of that, israel moving closer to a single state entirely under its control with further rupture its relationship with the rest of the world including the United States. Support for israel has declined worldwide in the last few months. These trends will only get worse if the israelicontinues to follt path. I appreciate that so many israelis cannot contemplate the possibility of two states right now because they remain so traumatized and so angry by what hamas did on october 7. The brutality, the viciousness, the sexual assault, the imprisonment and abuse of hundreds of hostages. I am of course sympathetic to the point of view. Im upset, im angry, too. We will never forget more, we carry that anguish in our hearts. We have to think ahead to the future, the medium, the longterm, how we can ensure that Something Like october 7 never happens again. We cannot let anger or trauma determine our actions or cloud our judgment. The two state solution may feel daunting especially now but i believe it is the only realistic and sustainable solution on the basis of security, on the basis of prosperity, on the basis of fundamental human rights and dignity. In order to achieve a two state solution, the reality is that things must change. Right now, there are four major obstacles standing in the way of the two states and until they are removed fromhe equation, there will never be peace in israel and gaza and the west bank. The four major obstacles are hamas and the palestinians who support and tolerate their evil ways, radical rightwing israelis in government and society, Palestinian Authority president mahmoud abbas, israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. I will explain each in detail. The first major obstacle to peace is hamas and the palestinians who support and tolerate their evil ways. Hamas is for the destruction of israel and in past decades, it peace at every turn. It was hamas to begin its Vicious Campaign of suicide bombings against innocent israelis to derail the nations Peace Process in oslo. It was hamas who assassinated more moderate palestinian political representatives and gaza in 2007. It is hamas who has held gaza and the repressive undemocratic rule for close to decades in its hamas who targeted those brave people who have spoken out against its option orween palestinians and israelis. Jewish americans and israelis alike have been appalled and hurt to rebrand hamas which is designated by the United States as a terrorist organization is noble resistance or freedom fighters. Attempts to excuse their horrific actions against israelis and palestinians are morally repugnant. A permanent ceasefire Effective Immediately would only allow hamas to regroup and launch further attacks on israeli civilians. There can never be a two state c hamas has any significant power. However, a temporary ceasefs ps proposed which would allow for the return of hostages and humanitarian relief for suffering palestinians is quite different. Its something i support. Any proposal that leaves hamas with meaningful power is unacceptable to me and most israelis. It goes without saying that hamas can not have any role in the future of gaza if we are to achieve peace. The same goes for the minority of palestinians who support hamas and those who demonstrate other forms of extremism even if they are not cardcarrying members. The gazans who ventured into israeli territory on october 7 two blue to loot and pillage come the people in the west bank who flooded the street and cheered the coldblooded killing of children, this is appalling. While it may fall short of terrorism, it has no place in the peaceful future for israel and palestinians. It ought to be denounced by the palestinian public and their leaders whomore Sustainable Future beyond this cycle of revenge. The second major obstacle to peace is radical rightwing israthe worst example is radica, our finance minister and ministry of national security. The ministers have called for the subjugation and forced displacement of all palestinians in the west bank. In the current crisis, he has used inflammatory rhetoric and called for punitive restrictions on palestinian farmers in the west bank during the l of harvest. He has prevented the transfer of funds to the Palestinian Authority and he has opposed the provision of any humanitarian assistance to gaza, going so far as to stop a flour. Minister bengavir is no betterd from military service for his acumen to be used any intended to antagonize the Muslim Population and visited the temple mount with his supporters is a brazen show of force toward palestinians. During this current conflict, he has facilitated the mass distribution of guns to far right settlers exacerbating instability and fueling violence. That is a nastiness to what these ministers beevand how thes of authority and influence and eagerness to inflame and provoke that is profoundly and selfdestructive. In my conversations with israeli leaders, ive urged them to do more, to clamp down on the unacceptable vigilant vigilante settler violence in

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