Henry Waxman: “the resolution before us expresses our solidarity with Israel in its war against terrorism. We know from September 11…”

“the resolution before us expresses our solidarity with Israel in its war against terrorism. We know from September 11 what it means to be attacked by a suicide or homicide bomber. We are fighting a just war 6,000 miles away in order to defend ourselves, and we should side with Israel as it fights for its very life against terrorists who are sent into Israel from operations only a few miles away. The only way for peace is for the United States to make clear that we will demand that Israel be permitted to exist and live with peace and security. The second way to peace is to stand up to terrorism. Palestinians killed when Israelis tried to root out terrorism in the territories, where they tried to root the infrastructure is a tragedy, but innocent civilians killed as the sole objective of murderers who are willing to kill themselves as well is abhorrent. It is vile. It should not be considered martyrdom or simply another tool to accomplish political objectives. I know many Members would like to have various changes in this resolution, but the resolution before us ought to have the support of our colleagues, even if they would have preferred a different version, because the essence of this resolution is to stand with Israel and make clear to the Arab world, we want peace but we are not going to let them drive a wedge between the United States and Israel. They ought to forget about that. Israel has been fighting for its very life since 1948 and has yearned for peace.…”