Schakowsky Statement Recognizing The 40th Anniversary Of The Reunification Of The City Of Jerusalem

SCHAKOWSKY STATEMENT RECOGNIZING THE 40th ANNIVERSARY OF THE REUNIFICATION OF THE CITY OF JERUSALEM

<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = ST1 />WASHINGTON, D.C.–U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) delivered the following remarks on the House floor in support of H. Con. Res. 152, which recognizes the 40th Anniversary of the Reunification of the City of Jerusalem.

"Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 152, which recognizes the 40^th anniversary of the reunification of the City of Jerusalem.

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This week Israel is recognizing the 40^th Anniversary of the Six-Day War. On June 7, 1967, Israel reunified the city of Jerusalem, opening it to worshippers of all nationalities and religions.

On that day Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan declared: "This morning, the Israel Defense Forces liberated Jerusalem. We have united Jerusalem, the divided capital of Israel. We have returned to the holiest of our holy places, never to part from it again. To our Arab neighbors we extend, also at this hour–and with added emphasis at this hour–our hand in peace. And to our Christian and Muslim fellow citizens, we solemnly promise full religious freedom and rights. We did not come to Jerusalem for the sake of other peoples' holy places, and not to interfere with the adherents of other faiths, but in order to safeguard its entirety, and to live there together with others, in unity....

Madam Speaker, even 40 years after Israel's overwhelming victory in the June 1967 War — a war fought to preserve Israel's very existence in the face of enemies determined to destroy it — Israel's stability is still threatened. At this critical time in Israel's history we must focus on what is of the utmost importance — furthering the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Congress must fully analyze and consider the Arab League Peace Initiative which offers Israel full normalization of relations with the Arab world and is widely viewed in Israel and around the world as an important opportunity and a real basis for negotiations that could end the Israeli-Arab conflict. While not perfect, this plan sets the table for fruitful negotiations and a final resolution of the conflict.

We must also consider negotiations with Syria. If successful, such negotiations could have significant positive impact with respect to limiting Iran's sphere of influence, calming the situation in Lebanon, weakening the support network for Hamas and Hezbollah, and delivering real security to Israel on its northern border.

We must call on President Bush to invest in serious, sustained, and effective efforts to improve the security situation on the ground today and re-establish a viable peace process that can deliver peace and security to Israel, and international acceptance of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Madam Speaker, today I call on all of my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 152, and I pledge to continue to work to maintain Jerusalem as Israel's indivisible capitol and to promote the policy of the United States to support a peaceful, two-state solution to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Thank you Madam Speaker....