Peter Deutsch: “the topic we are going to speak about this evening is, in a sense, a response to what is going on in the Middle East…”

“the topic we are going to speak about this evening is, in a sense, a response to what is going on in the Middle East today; and specifically a response in terms of being not just sensitive, but supportive of what the Israelis are trying to do regarding terrorist acts in their country. The reason I put this chart up first is just to try to lay out a perspective of what has happened in Israel over the last several months. Israel is about 5 million people. The United States is about 300 million people. We are about 60 times larger than Israel. As all Americans know, on September 11, about 3,000 Americans died in an instant. The equivalent number in Israel would be about 50. Last month in Israel, the Israeli people sustained the equivalent of three September 11's, in the month of March. Since this calendar year, the Israeli people have sustained the equivalent of approximately eight September 11's. I think all of us understand what the United States' response, God forbid, would be, in that type of situation.”