Political Quotes

“here in the United States we cherish and protect religious freedom. Citizens of this great Nation exercise this freedom in many places--in their homes, in their workplaces and many more. But no place is more commonly the location of reflection and prayer than the house of worship--be it the church or synagogue, mosque or temple. The houses of God are infused with sanctity--not because of their architecture or their art or even holy books housed in them--they are sacred because it is where we men and women go to connect to something larger than themselves. We go there to seek comfort and peace. This is, of course, not only true of houses of worship in this country, but throughout the world. It is thus with a heavy heart that I come to the floor today to describe and to deplore the desecration of synagogues that was perpetrated earlier this week in Gaza. After painful deliberations in Israel's Cabinet, the government of Israel decided to leave standing nineteen synagogues in its twenty-one communities throughout the Gaza Strip rather than lending a hand to their destruction. Despite official Israeli requests to protect the sanctity and security of the holy sites after it courageously withdrew from Gaza, the Palestinian Authority rejected out of hand any responsibility and refused to protect the structures from arsonists and looters.…”