[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E539-E540]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

A DANGEROUS SILENCE--FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR ED KOCH

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HON. PETER T. KING

of new york

in the house of representatives

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Mr. KING of New York. Madam Speaker, no one is more dedicated to
maintaining the strength of the American-Israeli relationship than
former New York City Mayor Ed Koch. Mayor Koch is a true American
patriot who knows that Israel is an indispensable partner in the war
against Islamic terrorism. Israel, of course, shares America's belief
in freedom and democracy. Like many of us, Mayor Koch is concerned that
President Obama's policies have ``damaged the relationship between the
U.S. and Israel . . . to one in which there is an absence of trust on
both sides.'' Mayor Koch has written a very thoughtful article in which
he describes his opposition to the Obama policies--policies which have
caused the Mayor to ``weep''. I commend this article to my colleagues.

A Dangerous Silence

I weep as I witness outrageous verbal attacks on Israel.
What makes these verbal assaults and distortions all the more
painful is that they are being orchestrated by President
Obama.
For me, the situation today recalls what occurred in 70 AD
when the Roman emperor Vespasian launched a military campaign
against the Jewish nation and its ancient capital of
Jerusalem. Ultimately, Masada, a rock plateau in the Judean
desert became the last refuge of the Jewish people against
the Roman onslaught. I have been to Jerusalem and Masada.
From the top of Masada, you can still see the remains of the
Roman fortifications and garrisons, and the stones and earth
of the Roman siege ramp that was used to reach Masada. The
Jews of Masada committed suicide rather than let themselves
be taken captive by the Romans.
In Rome itself, I have seen the Arch of Titus with the
sculpture showing enslaved Jews and the treasures of the
Jewish Temple of Solomon with the Menorah, the symbol of the
Jewish state, being carted away as booty during the sacking
of Jerusalem.
Oh, you may say, that is a farfetched analogy. Please hear
me out.
The most recent sacking of the old city of Jerusalem--its
Jewish quarter--took place under the Jordanians in 1948 in
the first war between the Jews and the Arabs, with at least
five Muslim states--Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq--
seeking to destroy the Jewish state. At that time, Jordan
conquered East Jerusalem and the West Bank and expelled every
Jew living in the Jewish quarter of the old city, destroying
every building, including the synagogues in the old quarter
and expelling from every part of Judea and Samaria every Jew
living there so that for the first time in thousands of
years, the old walled city of Jerusalem and the adjacent West
Bank were ``Judenrein''--a term used by the Nazis to indicate
the forced removal or murder of all Jews.
Jews had lived for centuries in Hebron, the city where
Abraham, the first Jew, pitched his tent and where he now
lies buried, it is believed, in a tomb with his wife, Sarah,
as well as other ancient Jewish patriarchs and matriarchs. I
have visited that tomb and at the time asked an Israeli
soldier guarding it--so that it was open to all pilgrims,
Christians, Muslims and Jews--``where is the seventh step
leading to the tomb of Abraham and Sarah,'' which was the
furthest entry for Jews when the Muslims were the authority
controlling the holy place? He replied, ``When we retook and
reunited the whole city of Jerusalem and conquered the West
Bank in 1967, we removed the steps, so now everyone can
enter,'' whereas when Muslims were in charge of the tomb, no
Jew could enter it. And I did.
I am not a religious person. I am comfortable in a
synagogue, but generally attend only twice a year, on the
high holidays. When I entered the tomb of Abraham and Sarah,
as I recall, I felt connected with my past and the traditions
of my people. One is a Jew first by birth and then by
religion. Those who leave their religion, remain Jews forever
by virtue of their birth. If they don't think so, let them
ask their neighbors, who will remind them. I recall the words
of the columnist Robert Novak, who was for most of his life
hostile to the Jewish state of Israel in an interview with a
reporter stating that while he had converted to Catholicism,
he was still a cultural Jew. I remain with pride a Jew both
by religion and culture.
My support for the Jewish state has been long and
steadfast. Never have I thought that I would leave the U.S.
to go and live in Israel. My loyalty and love is first to the
U.S. which has given me, the son of Polish Jewish immigrants,
so much. But, I have also long been cognizant of the fact
that every night when I went to sleep in peace and safety,
there were Jewish communities around the world in danger.
And there was one country, Israel, that would give them
sanctuary and would send its soldiers to fight for them
and deliver them from evil, as Israel did at Entebbe in
1976.
I weep today because my president, Barack Obama, in a few
weeks has changed the relationship between the U.S. and
Israel from that of closest of allies to one in which there
is an absence of trust on both sides. The contrast between
how the president and his administration deals with Israel
and how it has decided to deal with the Karzai administration
in Afghanistan is striking.
The Karzai administration, which operates a corrupt and
opium-producing state, refuses to change its corrupt ways--
the president's own brother is believed by many to run the
drug traffic taking place in Afghanistan--and shows the
utmost contempt for the U.S. is being hailed by the Obama
administration as an ally and publicly treated with dignity.
Karzai recently even threatened to join the Taliban if we
don't stop making demands on him. Nevertheless, Karzai is
receiving a gracious thank-you letter from President Obama.
The New York Times of April 10th reported, ``. . . that Mr.
Obama had sent Mr. Karzai a thank-you note expressing
gratitude to the Afghan leader for dinner in Kabul. `It was a
respectful letter,' General Jones said.''
On the other hand, our closest ally--the one with the
special relationship with the U.S., has been demeaned and
slandered, held responsible by the administration for our
problems in Afghanistan and Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle
East. The plan I suspect is to so weaken the resolve of the
Jewish state and its leaders that it will be much easier to
impose on Israel an American plan to resolve the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict, leaving Israel's needs for security and
defensible borders in the lurch.
I believe President Obama's policy is to create a whole new
relationship with the Arab states of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and
Egypt, and Iraq as a counter to Iran--The Tyrannosaurus Rex
of the Muslim world which we are now prepared to see in
possession of a nuclear weapon. If throwing Israel under the
bus is needed to accomplish this alliance, so be it.
I am shocked by the lack of outrage on the part of Israel's
most ardent supporters. The members of AIPAC, the chief pro-
Israel lobbying organization in Washington, gave Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton a standing ovation after she had
carried out the instructions of President Obama and, in a 43-
minute telephone call, angrily hectored Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu.
Members of Congress in both the House and Senate have made
pitifully weak statements against Obama's mistreatment of
Israel, if they made any at all. The Democratic members, in
particular, are weak. They are simply afraid to criticize
President Obama.
What bothers me most of all is the shameful silence and
lack of action by community leaders--Jew and Christian. Where
are they? If this were a civil rights matter, the Jews would
be in the mall in Washington protesting with and on behalf of
our fellow American citizens. I asked one prominent Jewish
leader why no one is preparing a march on Washington similar
to the one in 1963 at which I was present and Martin Luther
King's memorable speech was given? His reply was ``Fifty
people might come.'' Remember the 1930s? Few stood up. They
were silent. Remember the most insightful statement of one of
our greatest teachers, Rabbi Hillel: ``If I am not for
myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am
I? And if not now, when?''
We have indeed stood up for everyone else. When will we
stand up for our brothers and sisters living in the Jewish
state of Israel?
If Obama is seeking to build a siege ramp around Israel,
the Jews of modern Israel will not commit suicide. They are
willing to negotiate a settlement with the Palestinians, but
they will not allow themselves to be bullied into following
self-destructive policies.
To those who call me an alarmist, I reply that I'll be
happy to apologize if I am proven wrong. But those who stand
silently by and watch the Obama administration abandon
Israel, to whom will they apologize?

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