Steven Rothman

Mr. ROTHMAN

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, on May 9, Bert Foer of the American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, was scheduled to testify before the House Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs, of which I am a member, on the university's important work in the critical field of desertification and water resources. Unfortunately, because of the committee's deliberations on the supplemental appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2002, that hearing was canceled. Thus, members were unable to hear Mr. Foer's testimony about these efforts, which have received the support of Congress because of the essential role they play in the effort to achieve peace in the region. As Mr. Foer stated in his prepared statement, even in the turmoil that is now occurring in the Middle East, water remains a central element of hope for the future. Ben-Gurion University and its Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research have played an important role in improving relations among the nations of the Middle East. The work of Dr. Eilon Adar, the director of the university's new Institute for Water Sciences and Technology, figured prominently in the critical water allocation process set forth in the Israeli-Jordanian peace agreement of 1994. His efforts are perhaps even more important today. Congress last year recommended that the Department of State and the Agency for International Development should consider up to $1 million for the Institute to address the flow and transport of pollutants in groundwater in the region. This served to highlight the Institute's unique regional partnerships in applied water research. Ben-Gurion University is situated on the edge of three of the world's four major dryland regions. This gives the university and its world- renowned research scientists a unique perspective on the challenges and solutions to regional water quality, supply and allocations issues-- issues that surely will be key components of future peace negotiations. As Mr. Foer stated, even in the turmoil that is now occurring in the Middle East, water remains a central element of hope for the future. Most of the ground water aquifers in the region are shared by at least two countries. In spite of the current conflict, water management agreements have remained in effect. Once all parties return to negotiations, the success of a lasting peace and security agreement will depend on the ability of all parties to agree on an equitable allocation of the region's scarce water resources. Thus, we should continue to support these essential initiatives. Mr. Foer noted in his statement that we know the strains in the Middle East will not easily go away. But it is important that we seek out and support initiatives that address areas of tension and that provide opportunities for the nations of the region to work together on matters of mutual interest and interest. The efforts of Ben-Gurion University and its Blaustein Institute are, as Mr. Foer so eloquently said in his statement, an investment in more than simply cleaner water. They are an investment in the peace process and in the cause of improved cooperation between Israel and its neighbors.

Mr. ROTHMAN

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition of the Airport Streamlining Approval Process Act of 2002, which continues this Congress' focus toward the expansion of airports and ignores the quality of life issue forced on many of our constituents who live near airports--aircraft noise. I fully recognize the vital role the aviation industry plays in our nation's economy, but it is time for this congress to stop focusing solely on what's good for the airport industry and to start focusing on what's also good for the countless individuals who live near airports and are constantly subjected to the thunderous roar of giants jets overhead. While this measure does include provisions that address aircraft noise, I firmly believe that those steps are inadequate and do not properly address the issue of aircraft noise. Instead of addressing legislation seeking solely to expand this nation's airports, this Congress should also focus its attention on legislation that eliminates aircraft noise. One measure I have introduced would ban the two loudest types of airplane engines from all general aviation airports in the 20 largest metropolitan areas in the country. It is time that we shift our attention away from solely the expansion of airports and toward the problem of aircraft noise which hampers the quality of life for countless American citizens.

Mr. ROTHMAN

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word. Mr. Chairman, people at home must be scratching their heads wondering what are these folks talking about? Let me tell you what we are not talking about. There is no disagreement between the majority of Republicans and the majority of Democrats as to whether we should fund our war against terrorism, because we all support that; or that we should increase funding for the Defense Department, because we support that; or increase funding for agencies that protect us and inspect things coming into the United States, things and people, Customs, Secret Service, et cetera; or provide money for the rebuilding of New York City. There is no disagreement. So what have we been hearing about this debt ceiling that bothers the Democrats so much? Well, you see, the problem is that my friends on the Republican side of the aisle decided that they would force through a rather large tax cut, a $1.35 trillion tax cut, last year, that benefited, in my opinion, disproportionately, the richest 5 percent in the United States. At the time they said America could afford that, there would be no deficits; that surpluses that were present under President Clinton would continue now under President Bush, even with this $1.35 trillion tax cut. Something happened. A war on terrorism; the recession was still going on. But then about 45 percent of what will now be a $300 billion deficit in the year 2003 is a direct result of this tax cut forced through by the Republican party. The problem with this bill, and I am going to support this bill because I support all the aid to our men and women overseas defending us, standing in harm's way, and all of the good things in the bill, the problem with the bill, that we hope will get fixed by the Senate because the Democrats are in control of the Senate and they will hopefully hold the line on this, is my Republican colleagues have inserted into this supplemental appropriations bill a way for the new deficits created, 45 percent of the reason for which is their tax cut, they have created a way to fund these national deficits that are expected for the next 10 years, and they buried it in this bill. They did not have a debate on it. They would not let us debate whether we should postpone the tax cuts for the very richest of Americans in order to eliminate 45 percent of these new deficits, next year projected to be $300 billion, and we all know where this money is coming from. It is coming from our children and grandchildren and Social Security, as they stick their hands deeper and deeper into the pockets of future generations to pay for a tax cut that benefits primarily the rich. Again, they did not plan on it this way. They thought there would be surpluses. Then the war on terrorism came, and the recession. So we said now there is a war on terrorism and a recession. Perhaps we ought to delay this tax cut that benefits primarily the very rich. They said no. So rather than admitting to the American people that the Republicans have now created this huge deficit, 45 percent of which is related directly to their tax cut that goes to primarily to the rich, admit they have a deficit this year and projected for the next 10 years, admit that 45 percent of the reason for this new deficit is their tax cut that goes primarily to the very rich, they have buried language in this bill preventing a debate on it so that the American people will not realize that when they said they could do a tax cut that benefited primarily the rich and created surpluses, they were wrong. They guessed wrong. I think that that is a terrible mistake that needs to be rectified. What else could we do with this money? We could pay off our debts if we did not have this tax cut for the very rich. We could even just postpone it, delay it for a year, take a look around, see what the war on terrorism is like, whether we are out of the recession or not. Reasonable people of goodwill could debate whether a tax cut is important in the midst of a recession. We are out of the recession, according to all of our official estimates, and most of this tax cut is going to take effect for the rich in the next 10 years, except we have to pay for it now. So if anyone is wondering why there appeared to be a disagreement between Democrats and Republicans about a bill where we all support an increase in defense, the war on terrorism, all of the agencies rebuilding New York, et cetera, et cetera, we all support that. What we do not support on the Democratic side is the unwillingness of the Republican majority to hide the effect of their tax cut, which by conservative numbers, 45 percent of the reason for the upcoming deficits will be as a direct result of their tax cuts; and we say, if you want to cause these deficits, cause us to dig into Social Security, to pay for your tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the wealthiest of Americans, at least debate it out in the open. Do not hide it in this bill. We are hoping that the Democratic Senate, when this bill goes to conference with the Senate bill on this emergency supplemental, will be resolved at that point. Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, but encourage the Senate and the conferees to remove this hidden, deficit- hiding device. Motion to Rise Offered by Mr. Obey

Mr. ROTHMAN

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to join my colleagues today in commemorating the 87th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. By rising together to remember the atrocities that occurred in Armenia from 1915- 1923, we force people to acknowledge that what occurred was genocide and should be called genocide. Today, as we reflect on the events of the early 20th Century, we honor the 1.5 million people that lost their lives defending themselves against the Ottoman Empire. We also honor the survivors of the Armenian Genocide for their bravery and courage in the face of evil. The survivors provide an example of courage and determination to future generations of Armenians and non-Armenians alike, and on this anniversary, we recognize them as heroes. This anniversary of the Armenian Genocide also provides us with an opportunity to reflect on and examine what occurred in 1915 to ensure that such slaughter never occurs again. The events of the 20th Century, from the Holocaust to ethnic cleansing in Kosovo and Rwanda, demonstrate the clear need for retrospection on the causes of these past systematic and deliberate attempts at elimination of specific racial or cultural groups. And, just as importantly, we must continue to fight to ensure that these crimes against humanity are recognized as genocides. As a Jewish-American who is ever mindful of the Holocaust, I stand with you in recognizing the Armenian Genocide so that the world will never forget the first crime against humanity in the 20th Century.

Mr. ROTHMAN

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, that is when England said after World War I, we want to, just as we are giving Arabia to the Saud family and we are giving Jordan to the Hussein family and creating all these countries, we think there should be a Jewish homeland in this area of the world, which the British owned by virtue of getting it as in the spoils of war after World War I, taking it from the Turks.

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, that is what we were just talking about, the 1947 partition plan that the Palestinians and the Arab world rejected when Israel would have been divided in half, half Palestinian, half Jewish, with Jerusalem as an international city. They rejected it. They thought they would just drive the Jews in the sea and have it all.

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, by the way, the Sinai campaign refers to the fact that in 1967, the surrounding Arab nations went to war with Israel again.

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I want to build on what my colleagues have been talking about for the last several minutes. When the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutsch) mentioned that there were the equivalent of seven September 11's in Israel in the last 18 months, that is true, but it would be seven September 11's, not in a country as big as America, but in a land and a State the size of New Jersey, seven September 11's, God forbid, within the size of the State of New Jersey. By the way, just to remind everybody, look at how the sliver that Israel is along the Mediterranean. When we compare it with Egypt and Jordan and Saudi Arabia and Iraq and Iran, all over here, Israel's infinitesimal. Syria, Turkey, a sliver. For the last 54 years, Israel has been America's number one ally in a very hostile region. More importantly, Israel has been America's number one ally in an extraordinarily strategic region for the United States. As I said and as has been referred to before, Israel is America's battleship of democracy in a sea of totalitarians, dictators and murderous thugs. Saddam Hussein, Syrian dictator, the mullahs, the religious councils in Iran who overrule their own democracy, the slaughter that goes on by Lebanon which is now occupied by 45,000 Syrian troops. The world does not say a peep. Does America's best friend for the last 54 years, Israel, by the way, who has the best voting record at the United Nations in support of the United States than any country in the Middle East and all of Europe, America's best friend, state of Israel, do they ask America to go fight Israel's battle? Have they asked for a single American soldier? No, they never have. They did not in 1948 when all the surrounding armies invaded Israel. They did not in 1967 when all the surrounding Arab armies invaded Israel, saying to their people we are going to drive the Jews into the sea. They did not in 1973 when all the surrounding armies invaded Israel, and they have not asked for it now, despite the seven 9/11s of terrorism in the last 18 months alone. Israel does not want special treatment. Israel wants to be considered like all the other Nations of the world which it is. It certainly has all the legitimacy of any other nation in the Middle East. Israel, recognized by the United Nations in 1948, all the major countries of the world agreeing, the Jewish state shall live. As they agreed Saudi Arabia should live in 1932, as Jordan should be created in 1946, as they said that Egypt should be recognized in 1922, as Syria recognized in 1946, as Iraq recognized in 1923, Iran recognized in 1925 and Lebanon recognized in 1943, so too Israel should be and was recognized in 1948. So Israel's no youngster. It is celebrating its 54th birthday. What is left? Why is there still violence? Well, the Palestinian people and their leaders, ever since 1947, when they were offered half of the State of Israel, with the Jews having the other half in 1947, a two-state solution offered by the United Nations under U.N. Resolution 181, in 1947, they were offered half of Israel. They rejected it, as they rejected Israel's offer of a two-state solution in 1967, as they rejected the offer of Israel for a two-state solution in the year 2000 at Camp David.

Mr. ROTHMAN. That would be great, if I could finish my line of thought.

Mr. ROTHMAN. That is kind of the gentleman to say. I am going to finish my point, which is it breaks my heart, breaks the Israeli's people's heart. It would break any person's heart who has any shred of decency that the Palestinian leadership has turned down statehood for themselves and their people since 1947, offered it in 1947, 1967, and 2000. Does not it break my colleague's heart, that they condemn their own men, women and children to live in statelessness because they do not want to live next to the Jewish state recognized by the U.N., albeit the tiny little Jewish state in a sea of Arab Nations, Muslim Nations and Persian Nations? Breaks my heart and so we plead for the Palestinians to get themselves a leadership that will, as Egypt did and as Jordan did, say they will live in peace with the Israelis for good, as their neighbor and they will have their own state and peace, accept as their own state that has been offered since 1947, as we say take yes for an answer. The Palestinians will never drive America's best friend Israel, will never drive the Jewish state into the sea, never.

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I think that is a wonderful document that demonstrates why for 55 years now, ever since 1947, the Palestinians still believe they will destroy Israel and not have to share this with Israel, but imagine if it was 55 years after the American revolution and people came to war against us for four times. We would say do you not get it. One last thing, the Church of Nativity is being surrounded by Israelis because there are 200 terrorists in there. They have offered the Palestinian terrorists in the Church of the Nativity either surrender and come to trial with international observers of the trial or we will let you go into exile in another country. These Palestinian terrorist extremists are so radical they want to rather die or kill Israelis or destroy the Church of the Nativity rather than go into exile or to seek to go before an international trial.

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, it breaks our hearts for the Palestinian people that they have refused to elect leaders who will deliver them a Palestinian state.

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, the question is what should Israel be doing now. Israel is doing now what the United States is doing now: protecting its people from terrorists, and bringing justice to them or bringing them to justice, until these people either will say we will live in peace with you, or they will be so disabled by our military that they no longer threaten our men, women and children. That is what Israel is doing. Israel, which has tremendous military intelligence-sharing with the United States for 50 years, and provides us with great military advantage in the Middle East, only one of many reasons they have been our best friend and remain our most important strategic ally in the whole Middle East for the last 55 years.

Mr. ROTHMAN

Mr. ROTHMAN. I thank both the gentlemen, my friend from Florida (Mr. Deutsch) and my dear friend from Georgia (Mr. Kingston). Mr. Speaker, thank you for allowing us to have this time tonight to further discuss this issue with our colleagues in the House and those watching at home. Today we celebrate two anniversaries, one a very happy one, and one a very, very sad one. The happy one first. Here is the nation of Israel, this orange little sliver on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Tiny little Israel. I know on maps on television, sometimes you see just a little portion and you think Israel is this huge country. Take a look, my colleagues and friends. This is Israel. This is Saudi Arabia. This is Iraq, Syria, Egypt here, Iran here, Oman, Yemen, Kuwait. Do you see how small Israel is compared to the rest of the Persian and Arab world? Absolutely tiny, is it not? They are outnumbered more than 30 to one. Today is the 54th anniversary of Israel's founding. How did Israel come to be founded? A long time ago, Turkey in the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman Empire of Turkey was aligned with Germany in World War I. When the Germans lost World War I, despite the help of their friends in the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman Empire lost all its territory to the Allies, the Americans, the British and the French. The Ottoman owned much of the Middle East, including this whole area. The British were given control of what is now Israel and Jordan, the French were given Syria and Iraq, the English were given Egypt and Saudi Arabia. A lot of people say, well, maybe Israel is some new country and that it just started in the 20th century after World War I but, hey, those Arab nations and the Persian nation of Iran, they must have been around for centuries. So Israel must be some stranger to the region, some interloper. Nothing could be further from the truth. Saudi Arabia used to be called Arabia, until the English gave it to the Saud family in 1932, and then it became Saudi Arabia in 1932. Iran, established in 1925. Iraq, established 1932. Syria, established 1946. Lebanon established 1943. Egypt 1922. Jordan 1946. Israel 1948. So they were all established about the same time. Israel since it was founded in 1948, recognized by the League of Nations as the Jewish homeland, the British said they wanted it to be a Jewish homeland after World War I in the Balfour Declaration, the League of Nations said it should be a Jewish homeland. The United Nations in 1948 said it should be a Jewish homeland. So when all these other countries were created, they created the country of Israel in 1948. Happy anniversary, happy birthday, Israel, America's best friend, most strategic ally in the Middle East. America's forward battleship of military intelligence, cultural values, democracy. What is the sad anniversary that we celebrate today? A year before 1948, there was another offer made. You notice you do not see Palestine or the Palestinians on this map of the Middle East. But was there ever a country called Palestine? Never ever in the history of the world. Was there ever a kingdom called Palestine? Never ever in the history of the world. Were there ever people who called themselves the rulers of the Palestinian people? Never ever in the history of the world, until Yasser Arafat came along, almost at the end of the 20th century. The anniversary that is so sad is that in 1947, a year before the United Nations decided to create the Jewish homeland of Israel, they had already divided their mandate and created Trans-Jordan with two- thirds of the land that they were going to give to the Jews, they took two-thirds of it away and created Trans-Jordan, which is now Jordan. Two-thirds of the land they were going to give to the Jews. Did they give it to the Palestinians, or the local inhabitants in Jordan? No, they gave it to the Hussein family who came from Arabia and they put them in power in Trans-Jordan. Anyway, they did that in 1946. Anyway, in 1947, the United Nations says, ``Let's have two states. We took two-thirds of the land away we were going to give to the Jews, let's take the third we were going to give to the Jews and divide that in half.'' And they said, ``Let's make Palestine,'' the area in gray, which goes from the top here of the present State of Israel all the way near to the bottom. Jerusalem was not to be Israel's capital as it is today. It was to be an international city. The yellow here and here and here was to be Israel. What did the Jews say when they were presented in 1947 by the U.N. with this two-state solution? The Jews said, yes, we will, even though we were supposed to get all of Jordan and all of this, you took two- thirds of the land away for Jordan and you want to divide this land in half, okay. We just want a homeland. And we will take half, the half that you have set forth. What did the Palestinians and the whole Arab world say in 1947 when they were offered a Palestinian state? They said, no, we don't want to live next to a Jewish state even though there is no other Jewish state in the world, let alone in all of Arabia. Look at little tiny Israel. They said, We don't want to live next to a Jewish state, and they said no. So a year later, the U.N. said, okay, then we will make the whole thing the Jewish homeland, the state of Israel. And what happened in 1948, the anniversary of independence for Israel we celebrate today? All of the armies surrounding Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq invaded in 1948. They told their Arab brothers and sisters who were living inside the land, ``Leave. Flee. We'll drive the Jews into the sea. You'll have the whole thing to yourself. You won't have to have a two-state solution. It will all be yours.'' A miracle happened. The scrawny bunch of Jews that were there with no arms but only the will to fight defeated all of those armies. The 800,000 people, the Palestinians who left, were they absorbed by the surrounding Arab countries and welcomed in brotherhood and sisterhood? No. They were kept, these refugees from 1948, in squalid refugee camps. That was 55 years ago. They have still kept them there. By the way, in 1948 when Israel was established, in 1948, do you know how many Jews were expelled from the Arab world? The same number. 800,000 Jews from all over the Arab world, and there were Jews living in those lands for centuries. When Israel was recognized as a state by the U.N., as the Jewish state in 1948, 800,000 Jews from the region were expelled and thrown out of their countries and they made their way to Israel. What did Israel do? Did Israel put them in refugee camps, squalid little camps to fester and be betrayed for 55 years? No. Israel said, you are our brothers and sisters, even though your lands were dispossessed and you were thrown out of lands where you have lived for centuries, we will take you in and make you our citizens and take care of you. Meanwhile, the Palestinians still rot in their refugee camps their Arab brothers and sisters have kept them in all over the Middle East. What happened next of significance? In 1967, all the Arab nations surrounding Israel invaded Israel again. They said to their Palestinian brothers and sisters, ``Don't worry, we'll drive the Jews into the Mediterranean Sea. You'll get that Palestinian state. You won't have to live next to the Jews.'' In 1967, another miracle. Jews, outnumbered again, they survived. And what happened in 1967 after the war of defense, Israel said, ``You know what, we want to live in peace, Palestinians. Let's negotiate so you can have your own state.'' What did the Palestinians say in 1967 after they had rejected statehood in 1947? They said, ``We won't live with you. We don't want a two-state solution.'' The next significant event, not 1967, 1973, all the Arab armies around Israel again, 1973, invade Israel, they are going to drive the Jews into the sea. What happened then? Another miracle, the Jews survived. Go back to the year 2000. Bill Clinton brings Yasser Arafat and Prime Minister Barak from Israel to Camp David where Prime Minister Barak says, ``You know what, we're going to try again, Palestinians. We're ready to give you your own state on the West Bank and the Gaza. We're ready to give you your capital in Jerusalem, two-thirds of East Jerusalem.'' They are willing to give the Palestinians 97 percent of what they wanted or what they said they wanted. Remember, for the first time in human history a losing army, who lost four wars, gets offered 97 percent of what it tried to get illegitimately. What did Yasser Arafat say to such an offer in the year 2000 at Camp David? He did not say a word. Not only did he not accept the deal of 97 percent, he did not even present a counteroffer. He left the negotiations, went back to his home in Gaza and ordered the suicide bombing to begin, still in the belief, 55 years later, after an offer of a Palestinian state for the third time, if he had to live next to a Jewish state of Israel, he did not want the deal. Get rid of Israel altogether or no deal. He did not care if his Palestinian people suffered or not, how many children he sent to die with bombs strapped to their back, how many hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees now multiplied in numbers over 55 years were going to rot in Palestinian refugee camps around the Middle East. He did not care. He would not live in peace next to the Jewish state of Israel. That is where we are today, except they intensified their suicide bombings so that the Israelis have lost the equivalent in American people, given the difference in population, small Israel and big United States, of about 25,000 people in the last 18 months. Can you imagine, God forbid, if America lost 25,000 people to terror in the last 18 months, what we would do? That is what Israel is doing now, going into the areas controlled by Yasser Arafat, getting his weapons, getting his explosives. Did the Israelis who have a great Air Force and all kinds of bombs drop bombs and destroy these villages entirely, men, women and children without regard? No. Could they have? Of course. They said, ``We won't kill innocent civilians, even though they are killing ours.'' So they sent Israeli troops one by one, door by door to get specific terrorists. That is a democracy, with a moral sense, a moral code. And the number of civilian casualties in the Palestinian areas were minimized. Even though in America when we went into Afghanistan, unfortunately there were quite a lot of civilian casualties, but we did the same thing, tried to minimize them as well. What is left for us now? What is left for us now is to have the Israeli people root out, as President Bush said, bring to justice, or to bring justice to those who have slaughtered their babies in school buses, in nursery schools, in pizza parlors, in cafes, on the streets and supermarkets. Twenty-five thousand, the equivalent of American lives in the last 18 months alone. Yet the Israelis get the ammunition, the terrorists, put them in jail, get the explosives, clean up the area, and, then, finally, hope that the Palestinian people will finally accept an offer that they have rejected since 1947: accept your own state next to the Jewish State of Israel. Have your people live in peace and prosperity. Just say you will live in peace.

Mr. ROTHMAN. I will not leave. Any nation that has said to Israel we are ready to make peace with you, Israel makes peace with them. Even a nation that attacks Israel and Israel defends itself, Israel gives back the lands. It happened to Egypt when they said they would make peace. It happened to Jordan, who invaded Israel several times and lost. They finally made an agreement, King Hussein and the Israelis. Now they live in peace. What we need is a Palestinian leadership who wants to live in peace with the Jewish State. If they cannot do it, the Arabs and the Persians, the Iranians, they are not Arabs, they are Persians, so they tell me, and I accept their great culture, should have the Palestinian people take yes for an answer, and, after 55 years of rejecting statehood, accept statehood for themselves and for America's number one strategic ally in the Middle East, the only democracy in the Middle East, little tiny Israel. For Israel's sake, for the Palestinian people's sake, for the world's sake.

Mr. ROTHMAN

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, on April 10, 1979, President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Taiwan Relations Act, which has enabled Taiwan to prosper and grow to become an ally of the United States. In the last two decades, Taiwan has had many achievements. The economy of Taiwan has flourished to the point where the country is regarded as an economic superpower. Politically, Taiwan has transformed into an open, multi-party democracy, home to more than 93 political parties, and a nation that respects the human and civil rights of its citizens. There are many reasons for Taiwan's phenomenal success, but one reason is the enactment of the Taiwan Relations Act. Over twenty years ago, the United States signaled to the world that we recognize the legitimate rights and aspirations of the people of Taiwan, and over twenty years ago, the United States created a mechanism to preserve and protect the freedom of the Taiwanese people. The Taiwan Relations Act worked, and has been instrumental in preserving peace, security, and stability in the Taiwan Strait since its enactment in 1979. Taiwan is a model for democratic transformation that I hope the People's Republic of China will one day emulate, not threaten. I join the Taiwanese people in seeking a peaceful resolution to the tensions between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China. The United States will continue to be an ally of the Taiwanese and assist in maintaining the security and stability of Taiwan. We must also help Taiwan to participate in international activities and organizations such as the World Health Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization, and the United Nations. I look forward to broadening and deepening our friendship with Taiwan for the mutual benefit of the people of both the United States and Taiwan.

Mr. ROTHMAN

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for allowing me to participate in this presentation tonight. Particularly I would like to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston), for his leadership on this issue over a number of years, and as well my colleague, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Deutsch), for his leadership, in making sure that America's number one ally in the Middle East, our number one strategic ally, Israel, is safeguarded. But you know, my friends, I think it is time for a little history, and in 5 minutes I would like to give a little history lesson. I think it is important to know what the facts are. A lot of people think that the State of Israel is somehow a stranger to the Middle East, is brand new, a brand new country in the Middle East, amidst, people think, Arab countries in particular that have been there for centuries. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Let us take a look at the map. First of all, you see the map of the Middle East, a rather large area. As you can tell, this tiny little speck here, this sliver of land, that is the State of Israel. Here is Egypt, Syria, Lebanon; Iraq is here, Iran is here, Saudi Arabia is here, Oman here, Yemen here, Kuwait is here. Look at this entire huge land mass, and look at tiny little Israel. That is number one. Number two, when did these Arab States come into existence? Have they been around for centuries? Let us take them one at a time. Iran, established in 1935; Iraq, established in 1932; Syria, 1946; Lebanon, 1943; Egypt, 1952; Saudi Arabia, 1932; Jordan, 1946; and Israel, about the same time, 1948. So virtually all of these states, including the State of Israel, established at about the same time, in the middle of the 20th century. Well, where is Palestine? Well, there never was a country called Palestine, ever. Never. Never a country, never a kingdom, never a country called Palestine. Never rulers who called themselves the rulers of the Palestinian people, never in the history of the world. But what happened in the middle of the 20th century when all of these states were established by the United Nations or recognized by the United Nations, what happened to the Palestinians? I will tell you what happened. In 1947, the year before the United Nations recognized Israel, this was the map that was proposed for what is now Israel. In 1947 the U.N. proposed two states, an Arab Palestinian state, marked here in the gray, with contiguous outline all the way from the top to the bottom of what is now Israel. Jerusalem was not then to be the capital of Israel. Jerusalem, according to the 1947 U.N. two-state plan, was to be an international city. The areas in yellow were to be the State of Israel, alongside this Palestinian state offered in 1947 by the U.N. What did the Palestinians do when they were presented this offer of their own state in 1947? They rejected it totally. They rejected it totally. They said we do not want to live next to a Jewish state. We want the entire entity, all of this, or none. So the U.N. said, you know, England, who owned this land after World War I, after they got that land as part of the spoils from the Ottoman Empire when the Ottoman Empire, Turkey, was defeated in World War I, they were allies of Germany, England got the land. The United Nations said okay, if the Palestinians do not want to live and share this land with the Jewish state as neighbors, in 1948 the United Nations declared this whole area the State of Israel, recognized by the United Nations in 1948. What happened in 1948? All of the armies of the Arab nations surrounding invaded Israel in 1948. They said, we will drive the Jews into the sea, fellow Palestinians, and then you can have that one state. You will not have to live next door to the Jews, the Jewish state. Something miraculous happened. The Jewish State of Israel survived, even though they were out numbered more than 30 to 1, the Jewish State of Israel survived in 1948. What did the Palestinians do who fled? They went to refugee camps. What did their Arab brothers and sisters do when they fled Israel? They kept them in refugee camps all over the Middle East, their Arab brothers and sisters. What else did they do? 1956, they attacked Israel again and they lost. Israel survived. 1967, they all surrounded Israel again, attacked Israel again, said we will drive the Jews into the sea, destroy Israel. The Jews survived again in 1967. The same in 1973. The Yom Kippur War when they attacked Israel again, Israel survived. Just as recently as 2 years ago, as was mentioned by my colleagues, when President Clinton brought Prime Minister Barak from Israel to Camp David along with Yasser Arafat, Israel offered some 97 percent of the land that the Palestinians wanted to the Palestinians; said you can have your own state, Palestinians, you can even have a portion of Jerusalem as your capital. You can have your own state and live in peace with us. What did Yasser Arafat do when presented that 97 percent of what he wanted? By the way, the first time in history that a losing power or losing entity, the Palestinians, who had lost every war when they tried to drive Israel into the sea, was offered 97 percent of what it had originally been offered. What did Arafat do 2 years ago when offered 97 percent? Did he come back and bring a counteroffer? He left the negotiating table and started the suicide bombings 2 years ago, figuring, as he has for the last 50 years, we will terrorize the Israelis, force them to give up strategic sites, more than 100 percent, and then eventually we will take those sites and we will drive them entirely out of the region. That is what Arafat has been doing. Now, people always ask me, Steve, what possibly could be the conditions for peace? I tell them three things. There are three conditions for peace between the Arabs and the Israelis. Number one, every nation in the world, especially the Arab nations and the Palestinian people, must recognize that the United States of America will never abandon its 50-year-old friend, the State of Israel. Not just because Israel is America's most important strategic partner in the entire Middle East. Israel, the only dependable, the only democracy in that sea of dictatorships and totalitarians; Israel, America's forward battleship of military intelligence and co- development of missile defense systems. Israel, on the front lines of democracy in a world of terror. But America does not give up its friends when confronted by terrorism or threats or blackmail. So that America will never abandon Israel is the first condition, and the world has got to know that. Number two, America has to convince the world, and the world has got to understand, just as the United Nations in 1948 and the United States and the Soviet Union and all the countries of the world agreed, this shall be a Jewish State, the State of Israel, surrounded by states ruled by other religions, but this shall be a Jewish state. So today Israel will be and shall always be a Jewish state, albeit tiny, almost infinitesimal in the Middle East. Finally, the third condition of the United States never abandoning Israel, Israel always being regarded as a Jewish state, but the third element, to paraphrase former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, the Palestinians have to accept responsibility for their own statelessness. The Palestinians have to love their children and love the idea that they can have their own country more than the Palestinians hate the thought of living next to a Jewish state in an otherwise Arabian Middle East. Once those three conditions are met, the parties can go to the negotiating table. The Israelis have already over the years, with whoever has agreed to sit down with them, generally, for peace, Israel makes trades, land for peace. They did it with Egypt in wars of defense. Israel conquered the Sinai when Egypt kept attacking year after year. In exchange for peace, Israel gave up the Sinai, all of it, back to Egypt. The same with Jordan. They made peace with Jordan and established mutually agreed-upon borders. And they have made other concessions as well. Even in Lebanon when they had to invade Lebanon because they were being rocketed by Lebanon, they withdrew to internationally accepted borders in Lebanon. So is Israel prepared to make concessions, land for peace, even with armies and peoples who despise them and try to drive them into the sea and put their children to death for 50 years? They are ready to make that decision. But what is missing? What is missing is a Palestinian leadership that is ready to live in peace next to a Jewish state, the only Jewish state in the world, the one established by the U.N. in 1948, the State of Israel. If the Palestinian leadership continues to demand that Israel be obliterated, even though it was established in 1948 at the same time as all of these other countries, the middle of the 20th century. Israel is no stranger to statehood. When we compare to it Syria, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, they all came about the same time. When the Palestinians elect a leadership ready to make peace with Israel, Israel will make that peace. But finally, what do we ask of the Israelis now, when Yasar Arafat encourages in Arabic and in English his people to be martyrs, to blow themselves up in restaurants and religious observances? We say, do what America will do and is doing now. Fight for your lives. Fight for your children. Do not care what the world has to say. You defend yourself, protect your people. People say to get the Israelis to withdraw now before they finish rooting out terrorists from the areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority, that would be like someone saying to us in America, leave Afghanistan right now. After all, you have substantially done much of what you wanted to do. Leave it now. And also, America, by the way, even though there are al Qaeda terrorist cells in 60 countries around the world, terrorist cells plotting to overthrow the United States or cause additional terrorist attacks on innocent American civilians, they say, America, leave those 60 countries. Do not pursue these terrorists. You have already made too many waves. What would we Americans say to that? Tell them to go jump in a lake, or perhaps in stronger language, we would tell them, we are going to get these people who killed our innocent men, women, and children. By the way, these people do not ask us for anything, just like the Palestinians do not want to negotiate. They want the end of Israel, this present Palestinian leadership. Al Qaeda does not want to negotiate with America; they want to destroy America. When the Palestinian people understand that America will never bend on Israel, that Israel will always be a Jewish state, and that they are ready to live in peace next to the Jewish State of Israel, albeit in a sea of Arab nations, then the Palestinian people will get what all of Israel's neighbors have gotten: peace with Israel. Until then, America must stand up for Israel, its number one ally in the Middle East. If we look at the U.N.'s voting record, of all of the nations in the Middle East, Israel is at the very top supporting the United States of America. If we were to abandon Israel now or tell Israel not to finish rooting out the terrorists, it would be as if we were saying, it is possible for terrorists and suicide bombers to blackmail people of goodwill, people who live in democracies. It is possible for them to stop us from defending ourselves and our own families. We will not do that as Americans. We would not let anyone do it to us, so we shall not and will not let anyone do it to our number one ally in the Middle East, the State of Israel, the region's only democracy, our best friend in the region for 50 years, our strategic military and cultural partner for 50 years, this tiny little courageous democracy, the State of Israel.

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield for a minute?

Mr. ROTHMAN. There are some of my dear friends and people I have never met who have asked me, Steve, how long is this going to take? It is so disturbing to see people being killed, the cameras recording warfare. And I say this: America fought the Soviet Union for decades. We had thousands of nuclear missiles pointed at us for decades. We did not give up. We should not give up on our war against al Qaeda until we are certain that we have them on the run, until we are protected. We should not give up on Israel. We should allow Israel to take the time Israel needs to make its people safe. Because do we know what will happen? Once the world understands that America will not give up Israel, that Israel will always be around as a Jewish state, and that it is the Palestinian people's own interest to live in peace and freedom next to Israel, then we can give the Palestinian people what we want for all people: peace and a good life. But they must have leaders who will say in English and in Arabic to themselves and the world, we are ready to live next to the Jewish State of Israel in peace. When that happens, as history has pointed out, they will sit at the negotiating table directly with Israel, and they will get a peace that they can live with, that Israel can live with, and we will have a new era. But until they are ready to have that kind of Palestinian leadership, Israel must do everything it needs to do to keep its people safe, as we expect our government to keep us safe from al Qaeda.

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, if I could make one final comment, I know the gentleman from Georgia wanted to make additional comments as well. What the American people should be doing and the American Government is saying to the Palestinian people and all of the other Arab nations is the following: get a new leadership in the Palestinian Authority who will be ready to accept living in their own state next to the Jewish State of Israel. When the Arab world forces that upon the Palestinian leadership, then we can have what we want for the Jews and the Palestinians together, to live together in peace. Until then, it breaks my heart that the Palestinians are suffering at the hands of their own misguided leaders who, even after 54 years, will not accept the existence of the State of Israel.

Mr. ROTHMAN. To build on that last point, by the way, it is important to remember that while we were at war, the Cold War, but nonetheless a very dangerous war with the Soviet Union for 50 years, we are now friends with Russia. We had a terrible world war against the Germans and Japanese, terrible losses of life, lasting years. Now we are best friends. We had a revolution against the British and now we are best friends. There is no reason, once this effort to rout out terrorists concludes, that the Israelis and Palestinians cannot be friends.

Mr. ROTHMAN

Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear friend, the gentleman from Georgia, for yielding. All is not lost. We should not lose hope. As heartbreaking as it is to see these terrible images on our television, and we wonder what is going to happen, some things take time. But we have to do them right. Sometimes our friends are put in very dangerous, difficult positions. We do not abandon our friends. To have a friend, as my dad used to say, you must be a friend. If we step away from our friend, Israel, after a friendship of an unparalleled kind for 50 years, what does that say about us? What does that say when we go looking to the world for our friends to help us? We cannot abandon Israel. Stand with Israel. Let Israel carry the day and rout out these terrorists. Let us get a just peace between the Israelis and Palestinians. If the Palestinians ever put together a leadership, because the other Arab nations force them, or they on their own demand it of their own leaders, if they put together a leadership that is committed to living in peace next to the Jewish state of Israel in their own state of Palestine, then but only then will the Palestinians have what they want, which is their own state. It is up to the Palestinians, and it is up to their Arab brothers and sisters to make them realize that they cannot continue to reject the offer of peace and statehood that Israel and the world has been making to them since 1947.

Mr. ROTHMAN. If I may, as far as I am concerned, the Palestinians need to take responsibility for choosing their own leaders. If they choose to call Yasser Arafat their leader, so be it. But that does not change what we as Americans must do. We must say to the Palestinians, they have to put forth a leadership that announces in English and Arabic and to the world that they are ready to live in peace next to the Jewish state of Israel, something the Palestinians regrettably have refused to do, believing that they would intimidate, terrorize, or in other ways use the leverage of middle eastern oil to force America or Europe to make Israel weak enough so that they could finally, after 5 attempts to destroy Israel in five wars, they could finally destroy Israel. What they are learning now is that Israel will not be defeated militarily or morally, since they have the legal right recognized by the U.N., and were established at the same time as all those other nations in the middle of the 20th century, and that they, the Palestinians, are the only ones. They must look in the mirror if they are looking for the culprit as to who has deprived them of statehood. The Palestinians were offered statehood in 1947 by the U.N. They rejected it. They were offered it again in 1967, after they invaded Israel, along with all the other Arab armies. They rejected it. In the year 2000 at Camp David, they rejected a proposal for 97 percent of what they wanted, even though they were the defeated entity. They did not even come back with a counter offer. It is time for the Palestinians to say to themselves, do you know what, it has been 55 years since 1947, since we turned down a Palestinian state because we did not want to live next to a Jewish state of Israel. We hoped this Jewish state, as tiny as it is in the huge Middle East, that the Jewish state would no longer exist. They made a big mistake. It is time to give their children, their own Palestinian people, the blessings of a state and liberty next to the Jewish state of Israel.

Mr. ROTHMAN. If I can offer my agreement, Yasser Arafat is a terrorist. He is no Boy Scout. But that does not mean that he cannot make peace and be a partner in peace if he chooses. The problem is, so far, since 1948, since Israel was recognized by the United Nations, America, all the major nations of the world as an independent state and an independent country, since the Palestinians rejected their own state offered by the U.N. in 1947, Arafat has never said, never, we are prepared to live in peace next to the state of Israel, the Jewish state; never once. The interesting point would be, what if Arafat said that in English and Arabic? What if all the other leaders of the Arab world were to say, you know, that is all that Israel has been asking for for the last 55 years of its existence, notwithstanding the fact that we in the Arab world have tried to drive these Jews into the sea for the last 55 years, without success. All the Israelis have ever said they want is to live in peace with their Arab neighbors. All they want from their Arab neighbors is a pledge to live in peace with them. When Egypt made that offer, there is now a peace between Egypt and Israel, and Lebanon and Israel, and Jordan and Israel, albeit there are still some radical terrorists in Lebanon, fomented by Syria to try to stir things up. But what we really need to do is to put the pressure on the Arab world, our friends, the Saudis, who we have done so much for, saved their necks countless times so they could charge us whatever they wanted at the oil pumps, but nevertheless, we did it, we saved their necks, say to the Saudis, tell Arafat his dreams of driving the Jews into the sea are over. If he wants to help the Palestinian people, tell him to live in peace with Israel, the Jewish state, and they will have negotiations and they will have a Palestinian state. Why do not the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and all the Arab countries, make that demand to Arafat if they really are concerned about the Palestinian people? And I say to my friends, the Palestinian people, rise up and overthrow Arafat. Get yourself leaders who will make peace for your children's sake.

Mr. ROTHMAN. My colleague makes such a wonderful point. The Israelis are outnumbered 39 to one, some extraordinary number like 325 million Arabs and close to 6 million Israelis, most of them Jews, some Christians, some Israeli Arabs, outnumbered 39 to one. There is no oil in tiny little Israel. None. Tiny little Israel in a sea of other nations. Why do they focus so much attention on Israel? Why do they not just give their own people in Saudi Arabia, it is a monarchy, a kingdom, why do they not give their people democracy? How about in Iraq? We know they are a dictatorship under Saddam Hussein. Why does he not give his people democracy and freedom? In Iran they have the mullahs, the religious council who are dictators themselves. Even over an elected Iranian president, the religious council overrules the elected officials. Why do they not give their people freedom? The same as Syria with a totalitarian regime. Syria, who by the way has 45,000 Syrian troops in Lebanon. They are occupying Lebanon, Syria is. But why does the world focus attention on the tiny little only democracy in the entire Middle East, Israel? Well, you know that saying when you have trouble at home you try to distract the locals by creating a bogeyman somewhere else. Rather than have the people living in these oppressive totalitarian countries fight against their totalitarian dictatorial rulers, they say all of your problems are caused by the tiny little Jewish state all these miles away who we outnumber 39 to one. It would be laughable if it were not such a horrible terrible tragedy. America needs to talk to the Arab world and tell them, if you think the lynch pin to peace in the Middle East is settling the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, then tell the Palestinians to accept statehood, the statehood that has been offered to them for 55 years, or at least to sit down at the negotiating table after having said, yes, we are prepared to live in peace next to the Jewish State of Israel. Then the Arab world can get the peace it says it needs before they then can free their own people. Of course, that is ridiculous. These Arab dictatorships, monarchies, totalitarian regimes throughout the Middle East they can free their people right now, but they will not. They would rather distract them with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. If there needs to be pressure, it needs to be put on the Arab regimes to force the Palestinians to give their own people a state by agreeing to live next to Israel.