On the recordOctober 31, 2023
I come to the floor today to express my strong--very strong--support for Israel. On October 7, Israel was suddenly and deliberately attacked by a group of terrorists. Now, they didn't attack military institutions; they attacked citizens--citizens in Israel. It has been described by some as Israel's 9/11 or Israel's Pearl Harbor. They killed women and children. They filmed themselves, and they broadcast it on the internet. They were proud. They were very proud of what they were doing. They killed more than 1,400 innocent people. This includes more than 30 Americans. Sometimes that is forgotten by our mainstream media. This is the largest terrorist killing of Americans since 9/11. More than 100 people--100 people--are still held hostage by Hamas, and this also includes Americans. So we need to do two things: First, we need to get the hostages out. That is very, very important. It has been too long. Then, we need to ensure that this never happens again. You know, Israel can do both of these things. Israel has a highly--a very highly--advanced military and a highly advanced economy. The only way to ensure that Hamas cannot ever attack again, as Israel says, is to wipe them from the face of the Earth. This is Israel's mission, and we hear this from their leaders every day. The role of the United States in this conflict should be to support and supply. So let's first talk about support.…
