Rep. Mike Pence continues to impress me with his conservatism and his thoughtful approach to the challenges that face us. I wanted to make his speech available to our readers because I think it is vitally important to continue to support one of the few friends we have in the Middle East.
IMHO, we owe a debt of gratitude to the courageous State Of Israel for their willingness to take military action against the attempts by both Iraq under Saddam Hussein and more recently, Syria, to go nuclear. They have used air strikes twice to take out nuclear facilities that would have been used against them and would have also placed our personnel in Israel in harm’s way.
As many of you know, the modern State of Israel was reborn on May 14, 1948 after 2,500 years of the Diaspora. I think this is one of the most fascinating stories I have ever seen. If you haven’t done any research on this subject, I highly recommend that you do and you will definitely enjoy the process.
~~John Cronin~~
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.”
Psalm 122 vs. 6
http://mikepence.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=89322
Washington, Apr 22 -
Congressman Mike Pence, the Ranking Member of the Middle East and South Asia Subcommittee of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, gave the following speech from the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives today, in recognition of Israel’s 60th anniversary:
“Mr. Speaker, sixty years ago next month, the state of Israel, under the leadership of a small band of courageous Zionists, declared independence in its ancient homeland.
“It was promptly recognized by the United States, as the distinguished Majority Leader just eloquently described. And, it was promptly attacked by its Arab neighbors.
“The more things change, the more they seem to stay the same.
“Israel prevailed against long odds then and we celebrate sixty years of that on the floor today, and will celebrate around the United States and around the world next month. It was against extraordinarily long odds it prevailed again in 1967, 1973, and on countless other times since.
“It is important that we note that through these trials and travails, Israel remains the only fully functioning democracy in the Middle East.
“Founded by Holocaust survivors and resolved to overcome the horrors of mid-Twentieth Century Europe’s atrocities, today Israel boasts a vibrant economy with a well-educated populace. Israel’s GDP exceeded most major economies in 2007 and has reached Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development candidate status.
“Israel, sixty years on from that historic day next month, is an extraordinary success. But Israel is still in a neighborhood of sworn enemies. In its sixtieth year of history, all of two Arab countries have seen fit to recognize Israel. And, today’s leader of Iran threatens with regularity to ‘wipe Israel off the map.’
“That’s why I rise today to say two things.
“Number one, I join my colleagues in both parties who rise to congratulate this historic accomplishment of sixty years hence.
“But I also say that as we commend Israel, we in this body in both parties should look for opportunities to recommit ourselves to her defense.
“We cannot stand idly by while a gathering menace grows in the region. We cannot stand quiet while some Americans travel overseas and associate themselves with the blood-soaked enemies of Israel.
“So today we celebrate and we celebrate in a spirit of bipartisanship.
“But, I hope as this historic 60th anniversary approaches, we in this body in both parties will look for those opportunities upon which we can come together to rededicate ourselves to the preservation and the protection of Israel as a Jewish state and to Jerusalem as her eternal capital.”
Share on Facebook
Share This
