Deborah Koff Ross: “I thank my friend from Georgia for yielding. I rise today to support this rule and to express my strong disapproval of…”

“I thank my friend from Georgia for yielding. I rise today to support this rule and to express my strong disapproval of President Obama and his administration's refusal to veto the anti-Israel resolution adopted by the United Nations Security Council on December 23, 2016. Since its establishment, Israel has worked tirelessly to forge peace with its neighbors. They have sought neither violence nor conflict. In fact, the territories discussed in the misguided U.N. resolution were areas Israel gained in self-defense during the 1967 Six-Day War. These areas include the Old City, with the Temple Mount and Western Wall, areas that, thousands of years ago, were the origin of the Israeli culture, heritage, and religion. Israel did not seek to take this land. Rather, when threatened by their Arab neighbors in 1967, they were forced to act in self-defense and repel these attacks. Since that time, Israel has successfully reached peaceful agreements with many of the Arab countries who, at that time, sought to wipe them off the map. Israel is the only thriving democracy in the Middle East who practices and protects human rights regardless of ethnicity, gender, religion, or citizenship. Additionally, the State of Israel has been committed to implementing initiatives to promote economic growth in the region, including creating opportunities for Palestinians and others.…”