The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“Israel (Executive Calendar)” mentioning Thomas R. Carper was published in the Senate section on pages S2474-S2475 on May 12.
Of the 100 senators in 117th Congress, 24 percent were women, and 76 percent were men, according to the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
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The publication is reproduced in full below:
Israel
Mr. LEE. Madam President, as I offer these remarks on the Senate floor today, tensions between Israel and Palestine continue to escalate to levels we haven't seen in years. Innocent lives have been lost, and hundreds face injuries.
While the global media reports largely paint Israel as the instigator of violence, this portrayal is patently false. It is simply not only not backed up by fact, it is contrary to the facts.
Hamas, a U.S.-declared, U.S.-designated terrorist organization, purposely exploited a nonviolent point of tension as justification to trigger a violent set of conflicts.
On Monday night, Hamas launched thousands of rockets into Israeli cities. The intended targets? Well, the intended targets were any Israeli person, civilian or not, residential or commercial. The goal? Just to create destruction and terror.
So to paint this action of armed aggression as anything other than offensive terrorism is disingenuous, and we in the United States and the U.S. Government itself must acknowledge and affirm Israel's right to take proportional action to defend itself against these attacks.
What is perhaps even more disturbing and distressing than the media's portrayal of these ongoing events is the Biden administration's ongoing nuclear conversations in Vienna with Hamas's No. 1 supporter--the Iranian regime.
Iran, of course, is a well-known state sponsor of terrorism. It is a major funding source for Hamas, and their leaders continue to heap praise on Hamas, specifically for its attacks against Israel.
Israel is undoubtedly our strongest democratic ally in the Middle East, and together, the United States and Israel have made great strides--tremendous strides, historical, unprecedented strides--toward peace and stability through the region through the Abraham Accords.
The Biden administration's nuclear talks with Iran, as well as its posture of willingness to concede on sanctions relief to Iran without any meaningful corresponding gains to U.S. security, undermine both the U.S.-Israel relationship and the new partnerships formed by the Abraham Accords.
We really must stand with our strongest democratic ally in the region, and we need to do that by recognizing Israel's right to self-
defense against terrorism.
U.S. policy really ought to be geared toward strengthening and not undermining this valued relationship. We certainly undermine that relationship when we legitimize a regime that is funding these very same terrorist activities.
I have gotten updates. Some of them are difficult to come by, given that sometimes it is hard to find real-time, accurate facts on what is happening on the ground. In addition to relying on U.S. media, I have relied on media sources from throughout the world. I have also spoken to people familiar with the area and in some cases, people who have lived or currently live in Israel.
My friend Ruth Lieberman, a joint citizen of the United States and of Israel, recently commented, just noting the exasperation that is in the air, noting the genuine source of frustration that she feels. She said:
My kids are sitting ducks, and the world thinks we're the aggressors.
Ruth is one of many Israeli citizens--one of countless Israeli citizens--subjected to these attacks. It is Ruth and her husband and their children who are among the many whose lives are put at risk every single day as a result of these cowardly acts of aggression.
So we can't hesitate to condemn violence when we see it; nor can we, nor should we ever step back and pretend that this is something that can be perceived as a situation where language of moral relativism or even moral neutrality can fairly be applied. On some days, that would almost be a good day, if you could truly look at both sides, if the mainstream media could look at both sides with language of moral equivalence, but they don't. They don't even do that. Instead, they largely refuse to blow the whistle on the aggressor and heap only blame and vitriol on our ally, which is not the aggressor.
There are others who, regardless of whether they use terms of moral equivalence wrongly or even unfairly, heap blame on Israel and on Israelis. Some will resort to a different tactic, expressly or in some cases implicitly saying: Yeah, I know this is bad. Yeah, I know it is bad when hundreds and then thousands of rockets rain down on Israeli citizens, innocent victims, civilians, often in residential neighborhoods. Yeah, I know that is bad, but then again, Israel has a strong military, in part because the U.S. supports its strong military and shares funding and equipment with the Israeli military.
Let's think a little bit about the flawed logic there, how truly messed up that is. You know it is cold comfort to the men and women and children whose lives are put in danger every single day when they have rockets raining down on them; it is cold comfort to them when their loved ones die or are afraid to go outside even when they haven't done anything wrong; it is cold comfort to them to say: Well, at least Israel has a strong military.
Look, Iron Dome and David's Sling--these great technologies that have been developed with the support of the United States--they provide a great source of security and comfort and safety to the Israeli people, and these same technologies benefit the American people as well. But let's remember, those technologies are not foolproof. They can't catch every single rocket. The more rockets that fire, the more difficult it is to protect citizenry from casualties. So let's never make that mistake of saying it is not that big of a deal because Israel is well fortified and has a strong military infrastructure and Israel has sophisticated, top-of-the-line, state-of-the-art equipment
It doesn't excuse--nor can it in any way, shape, or form negate--the terrors to which they are subjected. Look, whenever someone aggresses and starts firing on someone else, they are opening up a whole can of worms. We can't be good allies and we can't be good global citizens unless we are willing to call out acts of unprovoked aggression, acts of violence, acts even of terrorism.
Unless we are willing to step out and call those evil and unprovoked and unwarranted--unless we are willing to do that--we won't have the credibility that we need, not just with our allies but also with our enemies. We have to make sure that Hamas doesn't enjoy our support--not directly, not indirectly, not through our acquiescence or otherwise.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the people in Israel. Everyone gets hurt--the Israelis and the Palestinians--when Hamas engages in violence and then tries to pass that violence off as somehow a defense on their part. Nor can we allow Israel to be castigated as the aggressor, as the instigator of these acts of violence, when it is plainly and clearly not true.
I hope our friends in the media and in the Biden administration will acknowledge that.
I yield the floor.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Delaware.
Mr. CARPER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to complete my remarks before the vote.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered
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