Sunday, November 08, 2020
Elder of ZiyonHere is a strong statement by Joe Biden on the Senate floor on October 24, 1995, urging that the US recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and the Jewish people.
Closed caption transcript:
MADAME PRESIDENT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AS FAR BACK AS 1983, WHEN SENATOR -- AND I' D LIKE TO THANK SENATOR MOYNIHAN, WHO IS NOT HERE, BECAUSE IN 1983 HE STARTED THIS PROCESS. HE ARGUED THAT WE SHOULD BE DOING THIS. AND WE' RE FINALLY GETTING THERE. MR. PRESIDENT, WITH REGARD TO THE LAST POINT MADE BY MY COLLEAGUE FROM CONNECTICUT ABOUT THE PEACE PROCESS, I HAVE HAD THE VIEW FOR THE PAST 24 YEARS THAT THE ONLY WAY IN WHICH THERE WOULD BE PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST IS WHEN THE ARAB NATIONS KNOW THERE IS NO DIVISION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND ISRAEL. NONE. ZERO. NONE. AND I WOULD ARGUE THAT THAT' S WHY WE ARE WHERE WE ARE TODAY, BECAUSE WE DID NOT RELENT UNDER THE LEADER HPSHIP OF THIS PRESIDENT AND OTHERS. WE MADE IT CLEAR THAT NO WEDGE COULD BE PUT BETWEEN US. AND, THEREFORE, THERE LEAVES NO ALTERNATIVE BUT TO SUE FOR, AND SETTLE IN EQUITABLE MANNER FOR PEACE. AMONG ANYONE WHO IS FAMILIAR -- AND ALL ARE -- ON THIS FLOOR WITH THE JEWISH PEOPLE, THEY KNOW THE CENTRAL MEANING OF THE ANCIENT CITY OF JERUSALEM IS AND WHAT IT IS TO JEWS EVERYWHERE. TIME AND AGAIN EMPIRES HAVE TRIED TO SEVER THE UMBILICAL CORD THAT UNITES JEWS WITH THEIR CAPITAL. THEY HAVE DESTROYED THE TEMPLE. THEY HAVE BANISHED THE JEWS FROM LIVING IN JERUSALEM. THEY HAVE ELIMINATED THE NUMBER OF JEWS ALLOWED TO EMIGRATE TO THE STIFMT AND FINALLY IN THIS CENTURY THEY TRIED SIMPLY TO ELIMINATE JEWS. THEY MAY HAVE SUCCEEDED, MR. PRESIDENT, IN DESTROYING THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURES AND LIVES, BUT THEY HAVE NEVER SUCCEEDED IN WHOLLY ELIMINATING JEWISH PRESENCE IN JERUSALEM. IN CUTTING THE -- OR IN CUTTING THE SPIRITUAL BOND BETWEEN JEWS AND THEIR CHERISHED CAPITAL. AFTER THE HORRIFIC EVENTS OF THE HOLOCAUST, THE JEWISH PEOPLE RETURNED TO CLAIM WHAT MANY RURELESE HAVE TRIED TO DENY THEM FOR CENTURY -- THE RIGHT TO PEACEFUL EXISTENCE IN THEIR OWN COUNTRY, IN THEIR OWN CAPITAL. HOW MANY OF US CAN FORGET THAT POIGNANT PHOTOGRAPH OF AN UNARMED ISREALI SOLDIER BREAKING DOWN IN TEARS AND PRAYER AS HE REACHED THE WESTERN WALL AFTER HIS ARMY LIBERATED THE EASTERN HALF OF THE CITY IN THE SIX- DAY WAR. THOSE TEARS TOLD A STORY, A STORY OF PEOPLE LONG DENIED THEIR RIGHTFUL PLACE AMONG NATIONS, A PEOPLE DENIED ACCESS TO THE MOST HALLOWED RELIGIOUS SITES, A PEOPLE WHO HAD FINALLY, AFTER LONG TRIBULATION, COME HOME. MR. PRESIDENT, IT IS UNCONSCIONABLE FOR US TO REFUSE TO RECOGNIZE THE RIGHT OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE TO CHOOSE THEIR OWN CAPITAL. WHAT GIVES US THAT RIGHT TO SECOND- GUESS THEIR DECISION? FOR 47 YEARS WE AND MUCH OF THE REST OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY HAVE BEEN LIVING A LIE FOR 47 YEARS ISRAEL HAS HAD ITS GOVERNMENT OFFICES, ITS PARLIAMENT AND ITS NATIONAL MONUMENTS IN JERUSALEM, NOT IN TEL AVIV. YET, NEARLY ALL EMBASSIES ARE LOCATED IN TEL AVIV. I THINK THIS IS A DENIAL OF FUNDAMENTAL REALITY. MR. PRESIDENT, ARE WE, THROUGH THE CONTINUED SHAM OF MAINTAINING OUR ISRAEL AND TEL AVIV, TO REFUSE TO ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT THE JEWISH PEOPLE KNOW IN THEIR HEARTS TO BE TRUE? REGARDLESS OF WHAT OTHERS MAY THINK, JERUSALEM IS THE CAPITAL OF ISRAEL. ISRAEL IS NOT JUST ANY OLD COUNTRY. AS THE ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS BEGAN THE FINAL STATUS NEGOTIATIONS IN MAY -- BEGAN IN MAY OF 1996 UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF PRESIDENT CLINTON, NEGOTIATIONS, I MIGHT ADD, THAT WERE MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE DILIGENT WORK OF THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION, IT SHOULD BE CLEAR TO ALL THAT THE UNITED STATES STANDS SQUARELY BEHIND ISRAEL, OUR CLOSE FRIEND AND ALLY. MOVING THE U. S. EMBASSY JERUSALEM WILL SEND THE RIGHT SIGNAL, NOT A DESTRUCTIVE SIGNAL.
That was just one of many speeches urging the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital that day - by Dianne Feinstein, Bob Dole, Joseph Lieberman, and Carl Levin among them.
(h/t Irene)
