On the recordDecember 4, 2014
as we hope for peace in the Middle East, some parties in the region are making peace less likely by inciting violence against Israel. It is imperative to recognize these words and actions for the poisons they are to achieving peace. An excellent November 23, 2014, opinion piece by Jeffrey Robbins in the Boston Herald entitled ``U.S. mute as Abbas incites violence'' articulates why silence is the wrong response to the anti-Israeli rhetoric and ideology that encourage further violence and terror. Jeff is a former delegate from the United States to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, and I believe my colleagues and the American people would benefit from reading the entire piece, which I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record. There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: [From the Boston Herald, Nov. 23, 2014] Robbins: U.S. Mute as Abbas Incites Violence (By Jeff Robbins) At a meeting in Jerusalem last December, a State Department official was asked about the unremitting anti-Semitism emanating from Palestinian officials, their continuing celebration of the murderers of Israeli civilians and what the United States was doing about it. It was ``a challenge,'' she said, adding that it was ``our position'' that Palestinian incitement of violence was ``unhelpful'' to peace. Beyond this banality, she had nothing to offer.…
