Sam Gejdenson: “Mr. Speaker, let me join with my colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman), in his remarks. In somewhat a…”

“Mr. Speaker, let me join with my colleague, the gentleman from New York (Mr. Gilman), in his remarks. In somewhat a stunning occurrence over the last 20 years or so, the International Red Cross has argued that the religious symbols they have, the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, are not religious, but the religious symbol that Israel uses somehow is religious. Frankly, it always astounded me that year after year we would hear from the Red Cross annually that the Magen David was a separate category. One does not want to jump to the conclusions that somehow prejudice has saturated their thinking, but it was very difficult to come to any other conclusion. Well, after almost 20 years of contact with them on this issue I am frankly heartened that the present leadership of the Red Cross recognizes there needs to be a solution. It has taken all too long. The Magen David Adom has participated in International Red Cross humanitarian crises in Indonesia, in Kosovo, in Greece, in Turkey, in Kenya where the American Embassy in Nairobi was attacked. It has been in operation since the 1930s. It functions with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent in every way, except for official recognition.”