Don Bacon: “I stand here in support of this resolution today. I look forward to welcoming the President of Israel tomorrow and…”

“I stand here in support of this resolution today. I look forward to welcoming the President of Israel tomorrow and hearing his message. I also stand here in support of this resolution condemning the comments that Israel is a racist country. It is not. We all stand here today united against anti-Semitism and the evil that it represents. It is repugnant. Mr. Speaker, I will make clear today from my perspective why it is so important to stand with our ally Israel. We have practical reasons, moral reasons, and spiritual reasons--practical in that Israel is the only nation in the region that shares our democratic values, the values of rule of law and human dignity. It is a win-win relationship. {time} 1600 We gain from it, they gain from it, and our countries are stronger together. It is moral because for thousands of years, the Jews were repressed, discriminated against, abused, and murdered. The nation of Israel was put together to be a safe haven from all over the world where they could go, and that remains true today. I would say it is spiritual, for I believe in the words of the Torah and our Old Testament when it says that those who bless Israel will be blessed, and, indeed, America has been blessed. Mr. Speaker, I stand in support of this resolution, and I appreciate my friend from Texas who is a fellow Air Force veteran who put this together.”