On the recordSeptember 23, 2021
Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Tennessee for yielding and especially for his passion, the statements that he just made, and the importance of not only standing up for Israel, which we all need to do, but standing up against anti-Semitism, against the kind of attacks on Israel that the very Iron Dome are necessary for. The Iron Dome represents one of those great partnerships between our two great nations, this great bond between the United States and Israel, allowing Israel to defend themselves, defend themselves against attacks from Gaza, against attacks from terrorists who want to destroy Israel as a Jewish state. That is what this has always been about. It had been heartening for decades that this was always a bipartisan issue. We shouldn't have to be here today to pass this bill because it should have been passed on Tuesday. There was a vote on the House floor to ensure Israel had the money to defend themselves, to put that billion dollars back in. On a straight party-line vote, every Democrat voted it down. I don't know why on Tuesday they were against Israel's Iron Dome's defense. Today, maybe things will change. Hopefully, things will change. But we ought to always stand with Israel, and especially with what their Iron Dome represents. I have been to Israel. I have been to areas where the Iron Dome is actually utilized effectively to save Jewish lives, to save everybody's life who lives in Israel, whether it is Jews, Palestinians.…





