Anthony Weiner

Mr. WEINER

Mr. WEINER. Well, the gentleman makes an excellent point. And the gentleman from Virginia, I know, is expert on these issues, as well. And it is important to understand that, just today, Mahmoud Abbas was in town. And I would gladly yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Nye), who has shown remarkable leadership on these issues in his brief time in the House, to pick up on some of the points that Mr. Nadler made.

Mr. WEINER. Well, I thank you. And you are exactly right. Our cooperation with the State of Israel has never been higher, in terms of military and intelligence. I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a member of the Appropriations Committee, a powerful committee, who recently led a delegation to the Middle East which I was honored to be a part of. The House knows no stronger advocate for the U.S.-Israel relationship than she.

Mr. WEINER. I thank the gentlewoman. And as someone who represents south Florida, you know that if a boat came churning towards the coast, and let's say it came from Yemen, and it had people on it who were chanting ``Death to Floridians,'' and it wouldn't stop when the military offered it an opportunity to, we would certainly not, as Americans, expect to say, ``Okay, we will just see what happens when it reaches shore.'' You are exactly right to point out the necessity of stopping it in international waters. That's where blockades happen. I yield to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Schwartz), who also understands these issues and, long before she even came to this body, was fighting to preserve the Israel-United States relationship.

Mr. WEINER. I thank the gentlewoman. And I really want to apologize for interrupting you. Perhaps the most important fighter for Israel in this institution is the chairwoman of the subcommittee, the gentlelady from New York (Mrs. Lowey). I'm glad to recognize you.

Mr. WEINER. I appreciate his thoughts and his leadership on this. Just to put it in further context of the relationship between the United States and Israel, this is a tiny town of Sderot that you mentioned in your remarks. In the period of time since Gaza has been controlled by Hamas, there have been 6,066 rockets fired from that area into Sderot, 4,434 mortars. And I ask my colleagues to envision your town, envision the district that you represent, envision this city being under that type of barrage from a specific place. Do you think a blockade would be an excessive step to take? And that's why it's so important that we stand here today, and it's particularly important that Leader Hoyer asked us to gather today to make these points. And before I yield to anyone else, I want to yield to the majority leader of the House of Representatives, Steny Hoyer.

Mr. WEINER. Well, I thank you, and before the majority leader leaves the floor, I think on behalf of all of us in this institution, long before you were the majority leader here, it was hard to think of a Member of the United States Congress in maybe anytime in the 62-year history of Israel that has had a stronger sense of commitment to the U.S.-Israel relationship than you, whether it was leading this body in a condemnation of the Goldstone Report, a one-sided document produced by the United Nations; leading this institution in support for Israel and, in fact, for the United States during the Gaza war. It is important, that final note that you made about who Hamas is, they are an enemy of Israel for sure, but they're also an outpost for Iran. We have something very strong in common with Israel beyond just our common sense of democracy and culture. We have the common enemy that when this boat was traveling, it was traveling essentially doing the bidding of Iran, and we have to recognize that Israel is on the front line of what is essentially a threat to us. I want to thank you on behalf of all of us who fight all the time to keep that Israel-United States relationship close for all that you have done in leading this institution.

Mr. WEINER. It is also important that we recognize something else that the majority leader said about the use of human shields on that boat. There were probably some people on that boat who were completely without malice; although most of the loudest voices made it very clear that all of them that we heard seemed to want nothing more than conflict and more than having Israel wiped from the face of the Earth. But remember, when there was the war in Gaza, when there was the war in Lebanon, the one thing consistent about agents of Iran that they always do, these terrorist organizations, they're always using human shields. They're putting civilians and putting weapons in the neighborhoods of civilians all the time. I yield to the gentleman from New York.

Mr. WEINER. I thank you. The gentleman from Florida, I would be glad to yield to you.

Mr. WEINER. I would say to the gentleman, I would actually argue that the military of Israel used such restraint. I mean, frankly, there aren't too many ways to stop a boat. One of the ways is to fire upon it. They chose to put their own sailors in jeopardy; although there should have been no reason to believe that they would be on a humanitarian boat. Why would anyone expect that someone aboard a humanitarian aid ship would be set upon? You know, to some degree the media has to be on notice that there is some responsibility to report the context of this thing as well, not just the end. When you see a sailor being tossed overboard, you know, it didn't seem like a very humanitarian act, and there was a shameful display by Reuters, who recently published a photograph of the sailor, the Israeli soldier, that fell on the ground, and they cropped out the guy standing next to him with a knife to explain where all that blood came from. That knife was held by someone on this humanitarian aid ship. No one knows these facts better than Jerrold Nadler from New York. I would be glad to yield to him at this time.

Mr. WEINER. Just so everyone understands the points that Mr. Nadler is making, this piece of real estate, about the size of New Jersey, now has a terrorist agent here in Gaza in the south; a terrorist agent up here in Lebanon, governed by Hezbollah, at least about 25 percent of its government is, and Nasrallah, and Hezbollah controls this area here; and a terrorist agent of Iran right here in Syria, which once upon a time controlled literally the mountaintop overlooking the country. So what the gentleman is describing is terrorist, terrorist, terrorist functions, all in support of the same enemies of the United States, and that's Iran.

Mr. WEINER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of the Special Order that I and Leader Hoyer will be convening for the following hour.

Mr. WEINER. Mr. Speaker and my colleagues, in the overnight hours of May 31, about 10 days ago, news broke that we now have become very familiar with--the previous speaker referred to it, and several of my colleagues have come to the floor this evening to talk about it--where a flotilla coming from Turkey was intercepted as part of the effort of the State of Israel to defend a blockade that was set up. I want to spend the next hour talking a little bit about that boat and how it progressed, where it came from and why, and perhaps importantly drill into a little bit the idea of what the blockade is all about and what the history was. It is impossible to fully understand this issue only looking at it from the point of Israeli naval officers climbing on board a ship and saying, okay, I think I understand the story because I see that picture. That would no more be the truth than to watch the closing scene of Casablanca and say, okay, I understand what happened in this movie. This was indeed a tragic thing. Anytime there is loss of life, anytime you have military officers, commandos climbing on a boat, something has broken down, something has failed. But what I don't think is fully understood, and still to this day isn't understood at capitals around the world, is who initiated this thing and why it was initiated. Make no mistake about it, my colleagues, as Leader Hoyer will be mentioning when he arrives here shortly, the condemnation that rang around the world against Israel is almost a default position in European and Arab capitals of the world. There is almost no surprise. It is also true that those very same quarters are the ones that criticize the United States at just about any opportunity. And in many of those same places you also see far too much joyous chest beating anytime something like this goes down where the United States or Israel is involved. It was undoubtedly unfortunate that it occurred, but it didn't happen by accident. If you look at the history of this incident, it actually started not on May 31, when the sailors climbed aboard that boat, but it started on May 17, a couple of weeks earlier. What happened then? What happened then was the Israeli Government got wind of the idea that this flotilla was leaving from Cyprus, Turkey, and said, look, understand that there is a blockade around Gaza that controls what can get inside of Gaza for obvious reasons that I will go into further later. But, frankly, to stop weapons from going into Gaza, because it is weapons and missiles that have come into the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the terrorist organization Hamas, that have been used to terrorize Israelis. Terrorize to the magnitude of about 10,000 rockets have left from Gaza since Israel left it in 2007 and Gaza was controlled by Hamas. So they say we have an internationally recognized blockade that's been supported by both the Bush and Obama administrations to prevent ships from coming in without their having their goods inspected. So what the Israeli Government did is they reached out internationally to the sponsors of this boat and to the people on the boat and said, look, you are welcome to bring your supplies here to Gaza. So it was on May 31 that this boat was intercepted off the coast of Gaza, but it was May 17 that Israel said, look, if you are interested in bringing humanitarian aid to Gaza, you are welcome to do it. All you have to do is bring it into Ashdod, which is right here, and we will look at the goods, make sure there is nothing dangerous in there, and then we will allow it to be escorted into Gaza via truck. That's not an unusual occurrence. In fact, as of this morning 11,972 trucks during this period of time the blockade has been in effect have been escorted in just such a way. It's not unusual for humanitarian aid to come into Gaza. Despite much of the rhetoric we have heard from the international community, Israel facilitates it through a process. Now, the people on those boats, this humanitarian boat that theoretically was trying to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza, said, no, we are going to take this flotilla of boats and we are going to go into the teeth of this blockade. They were reportedly warned repeatedly, and no one has disputed that. They were warned, look, a blockade is essentially a military thing. It is the same type of thing that we used in our blockade of Cuba. It is a recognized blockade. Because if you think about it, there aren't a lot of ways--if you look at the map here, this little stretch of land is what we are talking about. It borders Israel on some sides. Egypt, which is a participant in the blockade, they support and help support the blockade that Israel has. This huge coast here has been used in the past, particularly by the nation of Iran, to import weapons in. But instead, this humanitarian ship, which was no humanitarian ship as we later learned, this humanitarian ship, said, no, we are going to keep going. Now, I ask you, ladies and gentlemen, none of us are naval officers in this Chamber. Actually, Congressman Sestak is a naval officer, and I don't see him here today. But when it comes to enforcing a blockade, you don't have a lot of tools in your quiver. Now, there are some ways that you can debilitate a boat, that you can stop its rotors from turning by essentially jamming it up from waters underneath. That was done with one, two, three, four, five of the other boats that you didn't hear about in the newspaper. But those boats were stopped using the efforts of the military in Israel to stop them in the most peaceful way possible. Now, if a boat is coming into a blockade and it might pose a threat to Israel or to the United States, I mean, you can very easily change the names of the country and say a boat was coming from Yemen to the United States, and it's coming in and it wants to cruise down into the East River. Of course the United States would not let that happen, and the Coast Guard would say you are going to stop right here so we can inspect what's on this boat. And if they kept going, certainly we would not say, oh, that's okay. Every step necessary would be taken to stop them. Well, that's kind of what happened here. What effectively happened was this boat said we are not going to stop, and they said we are going to leave the Israelis with no opportunity except to board the boat. That's what created the conflict. Israel did not create the conflict. They were essentially in a defensive posture, saying this is the line, don't cross it; and we are going to give you every opportunity before you reach the line to avert this conflict. The people on the boat chose not to. They wanted this conflict. They wanted this conflict. They did not want to deliver humanitarian aid; they wanted this conflict. Well, once the conflict was upon the Israelis, I think by just about any definition of restraint the Israelis used restraint. They climbed aboard with quite literally paint guns on their shoulders to use when they landed. The only arms that they had were sidearms for the personal protection of these guys. And when they lowered themselves down on the boat, they were set upon by these humanitarian peace activists, I say with my tongue firmly in cheek. They were set upon with knives. They were set upon with steel poles. They were set upon with bullets. There were magazines and casings on the boat that did not match any of the Israeli sidearms. It was tragic that that happened. It was sad that it happened. But it was almost entirely the decision of the people on that boat. Now, I say almost entirely, because that boat did not just appear out of the ether. It didn't just appear out of thin air. It had an enormous amount of support by some of the worst enemies of peace in that region, and some of the worst enemies, quite literally, not only of Israel, but of the United States as well. And I mean Turkey, Iran, Hamas. These are not entities that were looking for some peaceful resolution here. Remember, once again to reiterate, here in the Gaza Strip, when elections were held in Israel, Israel does not any longer occupy the West Bank or Gaza. They left. They left it to the Palestinian people. This part here, the West Bank, is run by the Palestinian Authority. Many of my colleagues know Mahmoud Abbas was here in Washington today and met with the President. This is a place that's had a great deal of economic growth. There has been a reduction in the amount of violence coming out of the West Bank. There are still problems, and I still think it is outrageous we provide any aid to the West Bank or Gaza so long as Mahmoud Abbas refuses to engage in direct negotiations for peace. But putting that aside for a moment, in this area here, not the Palestinian Authority or Fatah, but Hamas, the terrorist organization Hamas that is funded by Iran, that gets their weapons from Iran and is in a declared state of war with Israel, has said they don't support a two-state solution, they support a no-State of Israel solution. Now, who is it that has been supporting that? Actually, it's not Egypt here. They have been working very hard to enforce the border that they have here and help to enforce the embargo. But it's basically Iran. Iran has been exporting terror here, not only here, by the way, but also up here to Hezbollah, to Nasrallah in Lebanon through their agent Syria. But that is why the blockade exists. It's not just because Israel wants conflict. Quite the opposite: it's to try to prevent essentially a war going on here with more and more rockets and more and more armaments coming on shore. So when this embargo is enforced, it's not only protecting the people of Israel; it's protecting the United States, because this is a way that Iran wants to set up essentially what is an agent of their own in the Middle East. That's what they want. So when the Israelis boarded the boat, they were set upon. The sailors were beaten. They were stabbed and shot, as I said. And when the dust settles, we had an opportunity, as all the world did, to see what was on that boat. Let me tell you what the humanitarian aid was that was on that boat: 100 units of metal rods of various length--well, I am sure that was going to feed a lot of children; 200 knives of various sizes; 150 military-style and Turkish-produced self-defense vests, military-style; seven electric saws; 100 pipe wrenches; 50 wooden clubs; 20 axes; a telescopic sight for a gun; four night vision goggles; 100 diving lights; 150 head lamps; and of course boxes and boxes and boxes of propaganda and tapes, all of them in Turkish. Now, if there was a true interest on the part of this boat of providing food or aid to the people of Gaza, I believe they had an opportunity, obviously, to go to Ashdod and drive it in. They did not want that. So what is the correct response of the United States and the world community when confronted with these facts? Well, we have a couple of things. First of all, we should understand that even if we are the last country on Earth that understands the facts that I have been laying out here, even if we are the last country on Earth that understands the importance of Israel's role in the region and how they are set upon in a similar way that the United States was on September 11, except the difference is they have that every day, we should stand with Israel. Even if we are the last country on Earth saying it, we should say, look, the facts are the facts here. As much as we would like to say Turkey is a player for peace here, no, they were a player for war here. And as much as we might like to say you know what, boy, I wish everyone would just get along in that region, it's Israel who is now sitting at the bargaining table for peace and the Palestinians who are refusing to do so. But I think, my colleagues, we also have to consider something else, and that is all our relationships with some of the players who are behind us. Let's consider Turkey. This would not have happened were it not for the nation of Turkey taking the role that they did. They funded the ship. They provided international cover. The Turkish Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief, IHH as it's known in Turkey, has been linked to Hamas, and they helped to fund this. The Turkish Government just today voted against sanctions on Iran because, hey, this is apparently an agent, a country that they would like to be an agent for. And for a lot of time, we kind of worship at the altar of the moderate Muslim state, the moderate Arab states that, you know what, we hope that they are there to be a fulcrum for peace, but it's not unlike a child wanting to see a unicorn. It would be great if it happened, but we have to realize the facts are the facts, and NATO membership for Turkey has to be called into question here. We have to start to say to ourselves whose side is Turkey really going to be on, because what they did here is, rather than being an instrument for peace where they could have very easily said, We're sponsoring this boat. Go to Ashdod right here and offload the humanitarian aid. Or, We're sponsoring this boat. We're not going to have cases of knives on board. We're going to have cases of baby food because we want to help the people of Gaza. That hasn't happened. And we also have to realize something else, and then I want to yield to some of my colleagues who have joined me. We have to realize that the default position of Europe and the Arab capitals of the world is always going to be against Israel. We can't allow that and that alone to be the determinant of whether or not, of how our foreign policy is prosecuted. There's a terrorist state that controls Gaza right now. It's a terrorist state that, if they could, they would destroy the United States of America tomorrow, and they're starting with Israel. The gentleman from Connecticut has been a great leader on this issue. I will be glad to yield to him.

Mr. WEINER. If the gentleman will yield for a moment, that's right here. It's not like they were being diverted somewhere far off.

Mr. WEINER. Exactly.

Mr. WEINER. And I would point out, that same exact offer was made to this flotilla: Come to Ashdod right here. And it wasn't made an hour before; it was made 10 days before, as soon as the word got out, even before it had left port. The nation of Turkey, who was sponsoring this, and the sponsors of the boat were told, ``Listen, just go right here, and we will take a look at what you have, and then we will escort it militarily into Gaza for you.''

Mr. WEINER

Mr. WEINER. If the gentleman would briefly yield, I, too, want to add my thanks to you. I don't know if they have C-SPAN in Israel, but sometimes it's easy in that little country to feel beset on all sides. We share the same common sense that they do, that they're victims of terror, and I want to thank you. We disagree on a lot in this place--and you're going to spend the next hour or so pointing out some of those things--but there are some things that have broad bipartisan support, and the support of Israel is one of those things, and I want to thank you for being at the forefront of that.

Mr. WEINER

Mr. WEINER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize exceptional work of the staff of the Bay News, a newspaper that serves southern Brooklyn, in honor of its 65th anniversary. Though the hard-hitting reporters at the Bay News cover issues that affect all New Yorkers, they specialize in local news that focuses on the neighborhoods of Bensonhurst, Brighton Beach, Coney Island, Gerritsen Beach, Gravesend, Manhattan Beach, Seagate and Sheepshead Bay. It's not an exaggeration to say that if something happens in this part of the City, the Bay News will know about it. The groundwork for what is now the Bay News was first established in 1944 when Charlie Peterson started printing the ``Sheepshead Bay Service News'', a newsletter for the families of troops serving overseas in World War II. Over the years, that small newsletter merged with other local papers from across the borough to become what is now a publication with a circulation of more than 15,000. As my staff knows, my Thursdays don't truly begin until I've read the Bay News. This storied publication has been on the scene for all of the defining moments that have shaped New York City over the past 65 years, and I know that it will be there for whatever happens next. Day in and day out, week after week, The Bay News covers everything from local community board meetings to arts and movies to national politics. As I know firsthand, the paper's reporters aren't afraid to ask the tough questions. They work tirelessly to provide the community with the news and information that is so vital to a robust democracy and the civic life we take for granted. That is why I am pleased and honored to congratulate the entire staff of the Bay News on all their success and contributions on the occasion of the paper's 65th anniversary and I wish them all many successful years to come. We should commend editor Vince DiMiceli, publisher Clifford Luster; assistant editors Shavana Abruzzo, Joanna Del Buono, Meredith Deliso, Courtney Donahue; calendar editor Erica Sherman; reporters Thomas Tracy and Joe Maniscalco; vice president of advertising Ralph D'Onofrio; classified manager Amanda Tarley; and production manager Keith Oechsner.

Mr. WEINER

Mr. WEINER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Christ the King Regional High School's boys and girls basketball teams on the occasion of the New York State Federation Class AA championships. Christ the King has made history in New York State by becoming the first high school to win both boys and girls Federation Basketball Tournament of Champions titles in the same year. This is an extremely difficult feat that deserves our recognition. Christ the King's Royals and Lady Royals are renowned basketball teams not only in New York City, but throughout the country. Some of the National Basketball Association's and Women's National Basketball Association's best players, such as Lamar Odom, Tina Charles, and Speedy Claxton attended this fine high school located in Middle Village, Queens and played on its great basketball teams. The Class AA championship was the third for the Royals. First they won the Brooklyn- Queens diocesan crown and then swept the city championships. The Lady Royals have won a record 14 championships. I would like to recognize this season's champions. Maurice Barrow, Roland Brown, Omar Calhoun, T.J. Curry, Corey Edwards, Terrel Hunt, Optimystic Kinard, Justin Kirkland, Dominykas Milka, Khadim Ndiaye, Edson Silva, Kareem Thomas, Mike Thompson, and Aaron Williams led the Royals to a record of 26-5. Ariel Page, Tara Rock, Jacqueline Michel, Nia Oden, Jacqueline Mullen, Lauren Nuss, Ariel Edwards, Sasha Santamaria, Bria Smith, Sarah Shanderson, Jessica Wasserfall, Rayne Connell, and Quincey Martin-Chapmen led the Lady Royals to a record of 26-5. I would also like to extend my congratulations to Joe Arbitello and Bob Mackey, the coaches of the Royals and Lady Royals. Christ the King opened its doors in 1962 and has set a record of excellence not only in athletics, but also in academics. In its 48-year history, it has provided thousands of Queens' youth with an exemplary education. Additionally, its commitment to serving the neighboring communities of Middle Village and Glendale has made Christ the King one of the most esteemed institutions in New York City. I am pleased to congratulate the Royals and the Lady Royals on the occasion of their championships and wish them many successful seasons to come.

Mr. WEINER

Mr. WEINER. I rise to pay tribute to Clarence Lumpkin. This is a great day for the State of Ohio. The mayor of Linden deserves to have a post office named for him for all his service. I do hate to pollute this debate with facts. I am really almost hesitant to do so. The previous speaker pointed out an inequity that exists that, frankly, Medicaid doctors don't get reimbursed enough. We are fixing that in the reconciliation bill, so I trust my colleague will be voting for that, because it increases the reimbursement rates for people that we are expanding coverage to so that doctors get paid at the Medicare rate. Do you know what you won't hear today in this conversation about the post office? Is that Mr. Lumpkin, who we are honoring today, I think is about 70 years old.

Mr. WEINER. Certainly. We don't have a lot.

Mr. WEINER. Reclaiming my time to inform the gentleman that he is wrong.

Mr. WEINER. No. After yielding, it wasn't much of a payoff.

Mr. WEINER. It wasn't much of a payoff.

Mr. WEINER. Mr. Lumpkin, who we are honoring today, if it were up to the members of the minority party, Mr. Lumpkin would not have Medicare, would he? He would have had Social Security privatized. Now, I couldn't help noticing that not long ago the ranking minority member of the House Budget Committee, a Republican, floated a plan that for once, at least, was honest about the intentions of the Republicans. It said, Cut off Medicare. End it as a program we know. And I know that the previous speaker doesn't like it. A lot of my constituents believe it is a very worthy program. Ninety-six percent of all beneficiaries who were surveyed last year said they like it. But the Republicans say, No, we want to eliminate it. And let's not forget how many of them signed on the dotted line to privatize Social Security. Boy, that seems smart, huh? Investing Social Security in the stock market. Now, that is a far-reaching idea. Now, Mr. Lumpkin, who, God willing, will live another 20, 25 more years, he is going to be able to see Medicare for the rest of his life, thanks to the bill we are going to pass in short order, and no thanks to the votes of the people on the other side of the aisle who would deny him that. Now, you may not like Medicare, but come out and say it. Don't say we are going to propose privatizing it. Let's see what you do. Can you get a majority over there to stand up, to come out from behind the artifice and to say--forgive me. Will the Speaker ask----

Mr. WEINER. Look, the fact of the matter is there are differences of opinion here and they are philosophical and deep felt. We believe in Medicare; we created it. You opposed it at the time; you oppose it now. We support Social Security. I would direct my remarks to the Speaker. Can you inform them that they opposed Social Security then; they oppose it now. This is a philosophical divide. And every single member of the minority party has said that they are going to do anything they can to stand up in defense of the health insurance industry. That is a consistent position. We disagree with it, and Mr. Lumpkin is going to have Medicare for the rest of his life, which should be long.