Mike Pence: “I pray for the peace of Jerusalem almost every day. As I listen to the gentleman from California speak about the tragic…”

“I pray for the peace of Jerusalem almost every day. As I listen to the gentleman from California speak about the tragic loss of life on both sides of this conflict, I know of his sincerity and greatly appreciate it. But I rise today as an original cosponsor of the resolution; and more than that, I rise in support of the dream that is Israel. It is a dream that I would say with great respect to the Members of this institution of Jewish descent and ethnicity, that it is a dream shared by the overwhelming majority of all Americans, the dream that is Israel that languished for 1,800 years in the heart of the people known as the apple of God's eye. It was a dream that in the wake of the brutality and the horror of the Holocaust, this Nation responded to, returning the people of Israel to their historic homeland in 1948, and there did we become a partner with this nation, as no other nation partnered in the history of the world. Yes, we should stand with Israel because she is the lone democracy in this part of the world. Yes, we should stand with Israel because she is a liberal democracy to boot. But mostly, Mr. Speaker, I believe we should stand with Israel today because this Congress is simply a megaphone for the heart of the American people.”