Expressing the sense of Congress supporting the State of Israel.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 57) expressing the sense of Congress supporting the State of 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 this measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow, the President of Israel will address this body in a joint session. It will be a great day in American history as Representatives of one of the greatest democracies are addressed by the head of state of another. Democracy and its shared values are at the very core of the U.S.-Israel relationship.

The beauty of our friendship is that we stand together, shoulder to shoulder, as we defend our freedom and our way of life from threats like Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and other forms of terrorism.

Let me be clear. Israel is not a racist country. It is deeply disturbing and concerning to me that some in this body have such a profound misunderstanding of Israel and Israeli society.

The previous government in Israel had Arab parties and Arab ministers serving in the coalition government. What a fantastic achievement for democracy. It is no secret that Israel is a country in a tough neighborhood that is clear-eyed in seeing many threats in its own backyard.

The United States will always support Israel's right to self-defense. We see Israeli citizens being murdered in senseless terrorist attacks. At times, the fallen have been American citizens.

Israel is responsible for protecting the well-being of its citizens. Protecting one's citizens from terrorist attacks is not racism. It is national security. To think otherwise is small-minded, and quite frankly, Mr. Speaker, it is just plain and simply wrong.

A key component of friendship is looking out for one another and standing up for each other. Racism has no place in this body or in public discord, period. I support this resolution rejecting false accusations and repulsive anti-Israel statements. I stand--and I know almost everyone in this Chamber stands--with our friends in Israel.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Texas (Mr. Pfluger) for bringing this resolution forward. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Pfluger), the author of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bacon).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Nunn).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Miller).

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the right to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, there is nothing progressive about racism. Racism is ugly. I know my colleague, my dear friend, Mr. Meeks, who is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, knows what racism is.

He is also the strongest supporter of Israel.

I know our colleague, John Lewis, knew what racism really is, and racism is ugly.

Israel is not a racist state. My father was a bombardier in a B-17. He bombed the Nazis.

Why were we at war with Adolf Hitler and the Nazis?

For many reasons, but, fundamentally, because of their values. They were anti-Semitic. During the Holocaust, racism, in its ugliest form, took place in the concentration camps in Europe and, indeed, in Auschwitz, where I attended to see the horrors of what mankind can do against mankind.

Why was the State of Israel formed?

Israel was formed out of a racist society to say to the world: No longer, never forget, and we will not tolerate racism.

Mr. Speaker, 75 years later we stand here in this body celebrating this democratic state in the Middle East that was formed because of persecution and because of racism. We do not stand for racism. No one in this Chamber should stand for racism.

To call Israel, which was formed as a result of racism, anti- Semitism, and hatred, to call that very country a racist state is repugnant to all of our values.

I think everyone in this Chamber should vote ``yes,'' because as my dear friend across the aisle knows, racism and anti-Semitism have no place--no place--not only in this Chamber, but not in America and not anywhere in the world. Where we see it, we denounce it in its most ugliest form.

So this is a call to action to defend her and to defend the nation that was created by primarily the United States and our allies as a result of the hatred that we saw come out of Nazi Germany.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the State of Israel and the Jewish community here in the United States of America and, quite frankly, throughout the world.

I thank the chairman and the ranking member, two men who have worked tirelessly on this very topic, this very subject.

I have a resolution. It is simple. It is one page. It is one page, but I think it is powerful. It says the State of Israel is not a racist or apartheid state. It says that Congress rejects all forms of anti- Semitism and xenophobia. Lastly, it says that the United States will always be a staunch partner and supporter of Israel.

It is simple. It is a one-page resolution that I think every Member of Congress should be able to agree on. Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, we have heard disgusting statements from Members on the other side of the aisle against Israel.

Mr. Speaker, as I look at this debate here, this is the time when anyone who has said those types of things can come to the House floor to debate and have a conversation. If there is disagreement with this, let's let the American people hear that disagreement.

From my standpoint, we look at Israel as the most important partner in the Middle East. Tomorrow, in fact, as we welcome President Herzog to this very body, to the United States, to a joint address of Congress, it is critical for the U.S. Congress to send a unified message that we stand with Israel and unequivocally support our Jewish communities. There is no place for hate or hateful words.

Mr. Speaker, I hope this is an easy vote today. It should be easy. All 435 Members of this body should be able to vote in affirmation of this so that when President Herzog enters this body tomorrow, he knows unequivocally that the United States is with Israel and that the entire world knows that.

In fact, 75 years ago, within minutes of being recognized as a nation, the United States was the very first to recognize Israel as a nation. It is because we both believe in freedom. We both believe in a trusted partnership. We both believe in pushing back against enemies around the world like Iran, the largest state sponsor of terrorism, that would seek to undermine at every turn the State of Israel.

Where are those colleagues if they disagree?

I think what this debate tells me today, seeing very little disagreement on the House floor, is that we as the United States of America, that we as the U.S. Congress, that the House of Representatives believes in the tenets.

I will say it one more time. The State of Israel is not a racist or apartheid state. Congress rejects all forms have anti-Semitism or xenophobia. The United States will always be a staunch partner and supporter of Israel.

Mr. Speaker, not only do I urge my colleagues to support this, but I urge my colleagues to stand up against bullying against those who would say things that are not true, those that would denounce or use words that are hateful in their rhetoric, that undermine the very essence of the nation of Israel, and that undermine the freedoms that this country stands for.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great honor that I am able to author this and stand before the American public and reaffirm, on the 75th anniversary of Israel as a nation, our support in the United States of America for a nation that I believe is divinely inspired.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, tomorrow, we welcome Israel's President Herzog to the United States of America.

For my entire career of 25 years in the House, and in recent weeks, I have stood on this floor and spoken on the importance of the State of Israel. The need for Israel to remain both Jewish and democratic is without question.

Mr. Speaker, Israel cannot remain both Jewish and democratic unless we have peace and if it does not live side by side in peace with the Palestinian people. Both sides have to want peace. That is why I stand strongly behind a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians.

As the resolution before us states, Israel is not a racist state. I concur.

As the resolution before us states, Congress rejects all forms of anti-Semitism and xenophobia. I concur.

Finally, as the resolution before us states, the United States will always be a staunch partner and supporter of Israel. I concur.

I look forward to hearing the address of Israel's President Herzog tomorrow. The President is a rare symbol of unity in a polarized society and a true asset to Israel. He has been working diligently to bring all parties in Israel together to find consensus on judicial reform, something that is necessary to preserve Israel's democratic character, in my view. I encourage him to keep up this important work and wish him much success.

Without question, the Democratic Party, my Democratic Party, supports the long-term viability of the Jewish state and knows its true character and importance. In fact, I, along with Leader Jeffries and others, was in Israel recently to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Jewish state and was moved by the events we witnessed.

Mr. Speaker, I support wholeheartedly and encourage all of my friends on both sides of the aisle to support this resolution.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Manning).

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

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

Mr. Speaker, in the 117th Congress, when I became the chair of Foreign Affairs Committee, my first stop was in Israel celebrating the Fourth of July.

I said then what I will say now: Israel and the United States stand together because we have and share the same values. We believe in democracy.

We know that Israel is a nation that at its foundation is not only Jewish but democratic.

Its existence is crucial for the future of the Jewish people. We know that this Congress will continue to expressly reject all forms of anti- Semitism and xenophobia as this resolution before us states.

We stand together, and I would hope that all Members of this august body welcome President Herzog tomorrow as we listen and continue to work with our strongest ally in the Middle East.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman).

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have remaining.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from the great State of Michigan (Ms. Tlaib).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Michigan.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am the only Palestinian American serving in Congress, and I have family members all throughout the West Bank and what many people call the illegally occupied territories.

We are here again reaffirming Congress' support for apartheid. Policing the words of women of color who dare to speak up about truth and about oppression is just not what we should be doing here in Congress.

Let's just get the record straight here. This is not something that is made up. The United Nations Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Israel's own largest human rights organization, B'Tselem, all agree that Israel is an apartheid state.

To assert otherwise, Mr. Speaker, in the face of this body of evidence is an attempt to deny the reality and to normalize violence of apartheid.

This week we are going to hear consistently people touting about, oh, this is bipartisan support here.

Don't forget, this body, this Congress, supported a South African apartheid regime, and it was bipartisan as well.

Mr. Speaker, you don't have to take it from me to understand the racism of an apartheid government. Let's take a moment just to hear Israeli Government's own politician in their own words. This is a direct quote, not mine. Current Prime Minister Netanyahu on his policies toward Palestinians said: ``Beat them up, not once but repeatedly, beat them up until it is unbearable.''

He said that Israel must ``crush Palestinian hopes for a fully sovereign state.''

One of the former defense ministers said that Palestinians are ``beasts. They are not human.''

He is talking about people like my grandmother, Mr. Speaker.

How about a former justice minister who said: ``They should go, as should the physical homes in which they raised the snakes. Otherwise, more little snakes will be raised there.''

How about another former defense minister said: ``Those who are against us, there is nothing to be done. We need to pick up an ax and cut off his head.''

Another quote: ``There is no such thing as a Palestinian people.''

How is that not racism at its core?

Mr. Speaker, Israel's own President Herzog is going to come before Congress tomorrow. He has long advocated against interracial marriages.

Did you all know that?

Do you care?

He said it on a news segment. Look it up.

When he came to America, he said: ``I encountered something that I called an actual plague. I saw my friends' children married or coupled with non-Jewish partners.''

Israel is an apartheid state. The Israeli Government is deeply problematic in the way that they are proceeding in the structure of oppression.

Mr. Speaker, just like I speak up against injustices here in America, this is about speaking up against violence. Congress must stop funding apartheid.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to address H. Con. Res. 57.

I condemn antisemitism and hate in all its forms, and my record is clear. Last Congress, I voted for H. Res. 1125 affirming this stance, and I have always and will always speak out against hate.

I also support the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians to live in safety. As Chair of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee in the 117th Congress. I fully funded the Iron Dome and U.S.-Israeli cooperative missile defense programs that help ensure Israel's security.

As a long-time supporter of a two-state solution, I am deeply troubled by the record of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and actions of the Israeli government that run counter to this stated goal. For example, the Israeli government's decision in 2018 to enact their Nation-State law, which restricts the rights of Palestinians. Or the lack of accountability for how Israel uses the $3.8 billion in annual security assistance provided by the United States. These concerns are central to why I introduced H.R. 3103 to prevent U.S. taxpayer dollars from being used to support the military detention of Palestinian children, demolish Palestinian homes, or annex Palestinian lands.

I am proud to serve in the United States House of Representatives, in the greatest democracy in the world. A cornerstone of a strong democracy is the ability to openly criticize our government when we feel it is doing something against our values. As a Member of Congress, I have often criticized the policies of my own government. That does not make me anti-American. And criticizing the policies of the Israeli government does not make one antisemitic.

H. Con. Res. 57 does nothing to advance the goal of a peaceful solution to end the conflict. Striving for an Israeli state and a Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace and security is worth the effort of every Member of Congress. But that means Congress will need to support the rights, needs, and aspirations of both Palestinians and Israelis.

Attempting to silence conversations about Palestinian human rights and intimidate people who wish to have open and honest conversations about the mistreatment of the Palestinian people will only prolong this problem. I will not be silenced. I will keep speaking up against antisemitism, oppression, and hate in all forms.

I will vote ``present'' on this resolution, because Americans, Israelis, and Palestinians deserve genuine steps forward on the goal of peace, not more division and political gamesmanship. I do this because every Palestinian child and Israeli child deserves to go to sleep at night dreaming of a brighter future, not one of violence.