Peter Welch: “First of all, I want to thank the majority leader not only for his leadership on this issue in his straightforward…”

“First of all, I want to thank the majority leader not only for his leadership on this issue in his straightforward, direct embrace of the cause of Israel but also your openness for a debate in the Senate about what is the best pathway forward. Madam President, I also want to acknowledge that I had to listen carefully to the words of Senator Schumer, Senator Rosen, Senator Budd. They have given eloquent arguments in favor of opposing this resolution. They raised the questions I ask myself: Can I, as a U.S. Senator who is a strong supporter of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state; can I, as a U.S. Senator who is absolutely appalled at what Hamas did on October 7; can I, as a U.S. Senator who attended a presentation by the Israeli Embassy that displayed the horror of the rapes and the assaults on women who were taken captive; and can I, as a U.S. Senator who believes in a two-state solution, vote in favor of stopping the delivery of offensive weapons for Israel to use in Gaza? And my answer is yes. It is for two reasons. First, we are into our 14th month in Gaza. And what has happened is over 43,000 people have been killed. Many Hamas, including the Hamas leadership, have been killed. Good riddance. But many, many thousands of innocent Palestinians, including women and children, have been killed. Over 100,000 have been maimed and injured, and 60 to 70 percent of the structures in Gaza have been destroyed. That includes the schools.…”