Supporting the goals of National Infertility Awareness Week to raise awareness about the disease of infertility and the challenges men and women face in building a family, including protecting fertility, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 322) recognizing the 60th anniversary of the founding of the modern State of Israel and reaffirming the bonds of close friendship and cooperation between the United States and Israel.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds. I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 322 which recognizes the 60th anniversary of the founding of the modern State of Israel and reaffirms the bonds of close friendship and cooperation between the United States and Israel.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, in the 60 years since the founding of our ally Israel, the United States has had no greater friend in the Middle East. U.S.- Israeli friendship is based first and foremost on shared democratic values and our mutual pursuit of peace and stability in the Middle East, and it is buttressed by our Nation's unshakable commitment to Israel's security.

The remarkable story to Israel's foundation and survival is inspiring. Shortly after the decision by the United Nations to partition the British Mandate of Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, Israel declared its independence on May 14, 1948, in Tel Aviv. In response, Israel's Arab neighbors invaded the new and tiny Jewish state. And to the surprise of the so-called experts and pundits everywhere, the nascent Israel Defense Forces prevailed, defending the people of Israel and soundly defeating the Arab coalition.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy called the emergence of the State of Israel ``a miracle of the 20th century.'' However, Golda Meier once remarked that there had been ``too much self-sacrifice and too many lives lost for Israel's emergence to be considered a miracle.''

But the establishment and the evolution of the State of Israel can be considered, without doubt, one of the dazzling human achievements of our times.

Hundreds of thousands of Jews and their descendants escaped oppression, or worse, because Israel exists. Spurning the authoritarian model that dominates its region, and persevering in a sea of enmity, Israel has built a world-class civilization, a vibrant democracy, a thriving economy, and a culturally and academically rich society.

The American people, and particularly the United States Congress, have contributed mightily to Israel's sustenance and security over the years. Of that we are justifiably proud.

But Israel's triumphant story is also tinged with tragedy. Each year just before its independence day, Israel honors soldiers who have fallen in its defense. A siren sounds all over the nation, and Israelis everywhere stop to remember. This minute of silence is a poignant memory for all who have witnessed it. But it is also, unfortunately, symbolic of Israel's wider regional reality for Israel has lived under the Damoclesian threat since its birth.

For years the Arab world sought to drive Israel into the sea. But eventually, after much death and destruction, the visionary Egyptian president, Anwar Sadat, and the wise Jordanian, King Hussein, recognized the value of peace and coexistence with Israel. And although much of the Arab world's economic, cultural and political boycott of Israel remains intact and terrorism has never ceased, the prospect of a collective military attack on Israel fortunately has faded in recent years.

Nevertheless, Israel today lives under potentially greater threats to its well-being and existence than ever before. The daily rocket assaults from Gaza, controlled by fundamentalist Hamas, have reaped vast physical and psychological damage on the people of Sderot, not to mention the fact that they have killed more than a dozen Israelis. And increasingly, sophisticated rockets are being used. They are more deadly accurate by the day, and they have greater range. In Israel's north, Hezbollah's replenished missile supply poses an even greater threat.

On the other end of the military spectrum, a theologically based state, the Islamic Republic of Iran whose president says Israel should be wiped off the map, is developing nuclear

weapons and long-range missiles. Now is not the time to go into details about these threats. This body has spoken specifically to each of these dangers in the relatively recent past, and will do so again.

Now it is time to reaffirm our Nation's pledge to Israel that we will stand in solidarity with Israel against all violent assaults on its security and well-being. And most of all, it is time to say to our friend and ally, Israel, congratulations on your incredible social, political, economic, and technological achievements in the face of the most stupefying odds. We in the United States could not be prouder of our special relationship with you.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to recognize the chief sponsor of this resolution, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, a stalwart supporter of the State of Israel for all of her political life that I have known her, for 1 minute.

Mr. Speaker, I'm privileged to recognize for 1 minute a gentleman who has probably done as much as anyone in this House to promote the U.S.-Israeli relationship, including his own personal missions that he leads there, the majority leader, Mr. Hoyer of Maryland.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to the majority whip for the House of Representatives, Representative Clyburn of South Carolina.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Van Hollen).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey, a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Mr. Sires.

Mr. Speaker, I am now pleased to yield 2 minutes to the vice chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Klein).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the chairwoman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment, the gentlelady from California (Ms. Harman).

I yield the gentlelady 2 additional minutes.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlelady from New York, the chairman of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee and a very knowledgeable and supportive advocate for the U.S.-Israel relationship, Mrs. Lowey.

I yield myself the balance of my time.

As Speaker Pelosi indicated in her own comments, the person that I think all of us in this Chamber miss very much in not being able to manage this resolution because of his own background and his own deep love and commitment for the State of Israel was our late chairman, Tom Lantos. This would have been something that he would have been personally very gratified with, and certainly wanted to join in the trip that the Speaker will be leading to the State of Israel in the next couple of weeks to help celebrate this anniversary. And so I think it's fair to say that everyone in the Chamber wishes that things might have been different, that he might have been here himself to manage this resolution. And we are looking forward to a group that the Speaker will be taking to Israel to actually personally participate in that celebration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the bipartisan House Leadership Resolution, H. Con. Res. 322, of which I am a cosponsor, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel.

In 1947, the year I was born, the area now known as Israel was about to go through a birth of its own. In 1948, with the founding of the only Jewish state to ever exist in history, Jews found that their new homeland was filled with sand and little water, but it was also filled with great hope and resolve. Following the murder of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust, this small country would soon become a homeland for another 6 million Jews, free to practice Judaism, but still targeted for their faith.

While Israel was formed, Jews all over the Middle East were facing a crisis of their own; Jewish refugees in Arab lands were expelled systematically, under an official regime policy which included anti- Jewish decrees, pogroms, murders and hangings, anti-Semitic incitement and ethnic cleansing. The Arab League's 1947 decree provided a formula for state-sanctioned discriminatory measures, replicated in many Arab countries, in a deliberate campaign to expel the Jewish refugees from their home countries. Unlike the Palestinians, the Jewish refugees were absorbed into their new host countries, mostly by Israel. About 600,000 stayed in Israel and the remaining 300,000 fled to other countries, such as France, Canada, Italy, and the United States. In Israel today, the Jewish refugees from Arab countries and their children comprise the majority of the Jewish population.

This House recently adopted my resolution, H. Res. 185, urging that the rights of Jewish refugees be recognized in any future comprehensive Middle East settlement. We are continually working to ensure that any Middle East peace agreement is just, fully just to all parties.

This is a continual process. From its first day, Israel has fought for its right to exist when it was attacked by its Arab neighbors. Since then, continuous wars have been waged, all aiming to destroy the Jewish state

and its people. At times, mothers and fathers have had to buy gas masks for their children; young children have had to celebrate their birthdays in bomb shelters. Despite this, families have shared laughter on the beaches of the Mediterranean; young couples have danced on the rooftops of Jerusalem. That all of these times have been simultaneous is a testament to the strength and determination for not only the State of Israel, but for humanity.

Following their independence, Israel's people, driven to immigrate for fear of persecution and for their ideological dreams, struggled with basic life, rationing food and living in makeshift shelters. The early immigrants began building the land, irrigating, planting, and educating their children. Working in the sun, Israel's wrinkles began to show the stress, but the outcome can be seen today; flowers and olive trees on the hillsides and universities at full capacity. In cooperation with the United States and other countries, innovations by Israelis in science, energy, agriculture, technology, and medicine have been felt around the world.

Today, the country is flowing with milk and honey, as a nation of immigrants and a home for the persecuted. But it is also facing much hardship. Like the United States, Israel was founded by immigrants escaping persecution and wanting to live in peace. But while Israel remains a sanctuary for Judaism, it remains a dangerous place to be a Jew.

In its 60th year, Israel faces some of its greatest challenges and needs its allies and friends more than ever. The Middle East is still a very dangerous place, and scapegoating Israel is still a very convenient means of holding power for some very dangerous autocrats. Such tactics are deplorable, and we must do everything we can to stop them.

While some Arab states have been working with us to respond to Iran's vicious lies and rhetoric, we must also continue to demand that Israel, our democratic ally, be recognized by these very states. And we must call for the immediate and unconditional release of Israeli soldiers kidnapped and held captive by Hamas and Hezbollah, which is called for by H. Res. 107, a bill I cosponsored.

Indeed, Israel is now at a critical crossroads. We hope for the best, but we remain mindful that peace cannot be achieved unless sincere and substantive acts are forthcoming from the Palestinians. Terror must come to an end, as must incitement. At middle age, and I speak of personal experience, as I am also marking my 60th year, one must take stock of their past and look forward to the future. The Israeli State and its people continue to work to preserve its foundation as a Jewish state with Jewish values, while they live in a region where the very idea of the existence of a Jewish state continues to be challenged. As Israel looks toward the future, integrating its immigrants, expanding its economy, preserving its heritage, and providing foreign assistance and refuge to Jews throughout the world, the United States will stand alongside her in her quest for peace and prosperity.

We hope to learn from each other; Israel continues to fight terror alongside the United States and stands as an example of how to balance civil liberties and security, religious freedom and the expression of religious values in its economic and political structure. Like the United States, the Jewish democratic State has a robust freedom of press that serves to teach the public and government how to better itself, and an independent judiciary which seeks to preserve the liberties for which it has fought.

The relationship the United States has with Israel is special; we have more in common than we do apart, and we continue to work in cooperation to achieve the broader goals of a peaceful future for our children and grandchildren. As we grow together as democratic nations facing challenging times, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution acknowledging the special bonds of friendship the United States shares with our only democratic ally in the Middle East, Israel. I thank our leadership for sponsoring this resolution and I strongly urge its passage.

Mr. Speaker, let me take this opportunity to share my strong support for Israel upon its 60th anniversary and to remind the House of Missouri's unique connection to the creation of Israel--a critical democratic ally of the United States.

President Harry S. Truman, Missouri's favorite son and the 33rd President of the United

States, was a long-time supporter of establishing a Jewish homeland and worked as President to ensure Israel's creation.

A supporter of the Balfour Declaration, a British statement issued in 1917 that endorsed the establishment of a Jewish national homeland in Palestine, when Harry S. Truman became President of the United States in 1945, he made clear his sympathy for the Jewish people and his concern for the sufferings they had endured during the Nazi Holocaust.

In 1946, President Truman urged British Prime Minister Clement Attlee to allow a reasonable number of European Jews to immigrate to British- controlled Palestine. The governments of the United States and Great Britain created the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry to study the situation. The Committee recommended that the United Nations establish a trusteeship over Palestine, with the goal of reconciling Jewish and Arab interests in the region. The Committee also agreed that 100,000 Jewish displaced persons should be admitted to Palestine. On the eve of Yom Kippur in 1946, President Truman issued a statement supporting these recommendations.

In response to a British request, the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine was created in May 1947. This Committee recommended that the British mandate over Palestine be terminated and that the area be partitioned into separate Jewish and Arab states. President Truman forced a reluctant U.S. State Department to support this plan. On November 29, 1947, the partition plan was approved by the U.N. General Assembly, thanks in large measure to vigorous American support. Palestinian Arabs and Arab governments remained strongly opposed to partition, and efforts to find a peaceful settlement disintegrated.

In February 1948, President Truman's close friend and former business partner, Eddie Jacobson, himself a Jewish person, sent Truman a telegram asking him to meet with Chaim Weizmann, the president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine and the World Zionist Organization. Angered by criticism from some American Jewish leaders, President Truman refused to meet with Mr. Weizmann. In March 1948, Mr. Jacobson walked into the White House without an appointment and pleaded with his old friend to meet with Weizmann. The President relented, and when Weizmann came to the White House a few days later, Truman assured him that the United States would continue to support the partition of Palestine and the creation of a Jewish state.

At midnight on May 14, 1948, the British mandate over Palestine expired and the new State of Israel was proclaimed. Eleven minutes later, by order of President Harry S. Truman, the United States granted diplomatic recognition to the new Provisional Government of Israel. Following Israel's declaration of independence, Arab armies invaded the new nation, and a long and continuing struggle for security began for Israel.

Mr Speaker, throughout the time I have been privileged to serve in Congress, I have worked to foster a strong alliance between the United States and Israel. I am proud that Missouri's favorite son, Harry S. Truman, was first to recognize Israel and that our Nation has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with that country for these 60 years.

Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to extend my warmest congratulations and best wishes to the State of Israel and to her people on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the modern State of Israel.

Last August, I had the honor of going on an enlightening and humbling visit to Israel.

As a child, I had heard the stories of Israel from my mother. I pictured busy markets and crowded streets, and men with yarmulkes in synagogues. Visiting the Holy Land was the experience of a lifetime, and I was entranced by the sheer beauty of the living history that surrounded me.

However, as I made my way through the striking juxtaposition of modern and ancient architecture, I worried that I might find a grim reminder of what this cherished place might become after years of fighting.

One mother with whom I spoke told me a sobering story. While driving in Israel with her family, as we do here everyday, a rocket exploded next to her family's car. Without thinking, she jumped over the front seat to cover her children from the shrapnel and smoke that filled the air around them. Protecting her children was all she could think to do--in Israel this is a conditioned response, a learned reflex.

Israelis want to live in peace. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told me that Israel is willing to make changes in the West Bank, release prisoners, or give up land if that means peace. Many Israeli leaders share Livni's optimism, as do I, that peace will come to the region.

We must begin to find ways to look beyond comfort zones to stem the tides that divide and find ties that bind. If we can take substantive steps to stop the violence and move towards peace and justice we will have moved mountains.

On May 14, 1948, Israel rose from the ashes of the Holocaust. Over these last 60 years, the American people have formed a profound and unshakable friendship with our democratic ally.

The United States must continue its commitment to Israeli sovereignty, security, and democracy. We face common threats, share common values and we must continue to work together to achieve our common goals.

I praise the miracle of Israel. The history of Israel and of her people is a story of freedom and rebirth that gives hope to oppressed peoples across the world and that will for millennia to come.

I thank my friend of some 45 years for his observations. There are a lot of my very dear friends for a long time in this chamber.

Israel is America's friend for a very long time.

Mr. Speaker, it is fitting today that Members of both sides of the aisle, almost in unanimity, join to recognize the founding of our Nation's steadfast friend and ally, the State of Israel, to reconfirm the special bond that exists between our two Nations, and to reiterate that the support for Israel in this Congress is bipartisan, overwhelming, stronger than ever, and continuing to grow.

On May 14, 1948, the day on which the British mandate for Palestine expired, the people of Israel proclaimed the sovereign and independent State of Israel. And 11 minutes later the United States, at the direction of President Harry S. Truman, recognized the establishment of this new state.

President Truman observed, at that time, and I quote, ``I had faith in Israel before it was established, I have faith in it now. I believe that it has a glorious future before it, not just another sovereign nation, but an embodiment of the great ideals of our civilization.''

So said President Harry Truman, May 14, 1948, 11 minutes after the declaration of sovereignty of the State of Israel. An embodiment of the great ideals of our civilization. I believe that to be the fact, and because I believe that to be the fact, I believe it is absolutely essential that those who uphold those ideals pledge their support and defense of Israel against those who would undermine, not only the nation, but the idea of the civilization that Truman said it represents.

Mr. Speaker, over the ensuing 6 decades, it has become increasingly clear that Israel's success is not only a strategic imperative for the United States, but a moral imperative as well. Ours is a relationship of principle and conscience, of shared values and common aspirations, of peace and opportunity and a mutual commitment to freedom and democracy.

The United States and Israel are nations of immigrants. We are safe havens for the oppressed. The Statue of Liberty lifts her lamp beside the golden door, ``Send these, the poor, the homeless, tempest tossed to me,'' it says. That is what Israel has said to millions of Jews, and others as well, black and white.

We are partners with Israel for peace, and we are united in fighting against terrorism. Few people on Earth have been subjected to more bigotry, violence and discrimination than have the Jewish people, and no people are more in need, in my view, of a sovereign, secure homeland to provide safe haven and to protect identity.

That is why the Balfour Resolution was passed in 1918. That is why, in 1948, the world looked on the creation of Israel as an imperative.

David Ben-Gurion once remarked: ``The security of Israel is,'' he said, and I quote, ``a question of the survival, not only of the people of Israel, but of the Jewish people the world over.''

History has taught us that is true. Throughout the last 60 years, Israel has been an island of freedom in a sea of despair and an absence of democracy. It has been vilified, threatened and attacked. My colleagues have set forth those facts.

And yet, it has prevailed, indeed, prospered, just as it will prevail and prosper today and tomorrow and every day thereafter.

When we talk of Israel, we inevitably acknowledge her courage in the face of those who seek her destruction. But let us also acknowledge that over the last 60 years, the Israeli people have established a vibrant, pluralistic, democratic political system that includes freedom of speech, association, religion, a vigorous free press, free, fair and open elections, the rule of law, and an independent judiciary.

Furthermore, Israel has developed an advanced entrepreneurial economy, and is among the world's leaders in the high tech industry.

Mr. Speaker, as Mr. Berman observed, over the last 5 years I've had the opportunity to take a tenth of the Congress, actually more than a tenth of the Congress to Israel, congressional delegations, which have gone to see where we invest our money and where we have committed our security pledge. And what the Members saw was a reflection, really, in many respects, of America and themselves, people who love their country, people who want to live in peace and freedom, and people who want their children to have even greater opportunities and safety.

As our allies in Israel celebrate their 60th anniversary in just a few weeks, let us honor their determination to fulfill the vision of Zionism's founding father, Theodore Herzl. Through courage and will, Israel was born and the dream of generations was made real, and it will endure. It will endure with our support, with our encouragement, and with our commitment.

I want to congratulate the citizens of Israel and the entire Jewish community, not only in the United States, but throughout the world, who have enabled Israel to survive. Congratulations. Happy birthday.

We remain a loyal, steadfast and unswerving ally in your quest for a better life, not just for your people, but, as Truman observed, for civilization as well.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to join with this House today in commemorating a milestone that few would have once thought possible, and in celebrating one of America's most special bilateral relationships.

When the State of Israel was declared on May 14, 1948, some worried whether it would survive for even 6 months in the face of ruthless and relentless war from much of the Arab world. Naysayers worldwide fought against the establishment of a state for the Jewish people, and urged the United States not to recognize any such Jewish state. To our Nation's credit, the United States recognized Israel 11 minutes after it declared independence, leading the way for other responsible nations to follow.

And despite predictions of gloom and doom, and the strongest efforts of its enemies, Israel did not perish. Indeed, Israel has flourished. Israel won three wars of self-defense on multiple fronts. It has survived not merely for 6 months but for 60 extraordinary years. Through it all, Israel has endured. And as the only democracy in the region, Israel continues to be a beacon of hope and a model for her neighbors.

It has been said that the strength of a nation is determined by the caliber of its people. There is perhaps no better example of this truth than the State of Israel and the Israeli people, vivid examples of conviction, of courage, of faith. Indeed, through the blood and the toil and the creativity of its citizens, Israel has grown accustomed to dispelling established wisdom and exceeding expectations.

Israel has proven that democracy, liberty, prosperity and innovation can indeed thrive in the Middle East. Today, Israel is a vibrant democracy where unfettered free speech fills the airwaves, and where Arabs serve in government, and have excelled in business and science.

Israel has demonstrated that desolate areas of the Holy Land can be redeemed, and that the ``land of milk and honey'' can once again bloom and bear fruit.

Israel has given the world a first-rate high-tech industry that pioneered wi-fi and instant messaging, and a medical industry that pioneered microscopic cameras that can be swallowed in a pill. And Israel has shown that a 2,000-year-old dream, the creation of a state for the Jewish people in their historic homeland, can indeed come true.

Time and time again, Mr. Speaker, Israel has made the impossible a reality. Yet today, Israel once again finds itself besieged in every direction by dangerous regimes like Iran and Syria and by the rapidly arming and violent Islamic groups that those regimes sponsor like Hamas and Hezbollah.

Today, Israelis live in fear, fear of the threat of their very existence represented by the pariah states of Iran and Syria. Innocent blood in Tel Aviv, in Jerusalem, and in other communities is shed regularly as a result of the jihadists from Hezbollah, from Hamas, and other such militant organizations.

Palestinian suicide bombers have struck at crowded bus stops, at hotels and cafes and other civilian targets. And in a little town called Sderot, children play indoors because of Palestinian rockets, and ordinary people face the draining pressure that at any moment a rocket could be launched at them, killing or maiming them or their loved ones.

Mr. Speaker, Israel's existence is indispensable to advancing America's most basic interests and values. For decades, our two nations have successfully collaborated on everything from science and business to defense and homeland security. As America goes forward, fighting for a free and prosperous world and against violent extremist groups who seek our ruin, Israel once again stands with us. And America will and must continue to stand with Israel for the next 60 years and beyond.

I strongly urge my colleagues to support this important resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time and would be glad to allow Mr. Berman to recognize the Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, at this point I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe), an esteemed member of our Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Price).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence) who is the ranking member of our Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia.

(Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve my time.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I am proud to yield 1 minute to the leader on our side of the aisle, Mr. Boehner of Ohio.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time and yield back the balance of my time.