November 2, 1971
Page 38753
ADDRESS BY SENATOR MUSKIE BEFORE WEIZMANN INSTITUTE
Mr. RIBICOFF. Mr. President, since 1948, when Israel became a nation, the United States and Israel have had a very special relationship. In times of trouble, Israel has been able to depend upon the support of the United States. That support rests upon the convictions of the American public and the steadfastness of American leaders. Today, one of Israel's strongest supporters is the distinguished Senator from Maine (Mr. MUSKIE). He understands that American interests depend upon Israel's survival. He clearly demonstrated that understanding in a speech he delivered last September at the Weizmann Institute, in Chicago.
I ask unanimous consent that the speech be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the speech was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
REMARKS BY SENATOR EDMUND S. MUSKIE
We meet tonight at the end of a week which marked the beginning of the Jewish people's 5732nd year. The Jewish people live in a land which has no national borders ... in France and Germany – in Russia and Spain – in the United States and in South America. Their greatness has been shaped through 6000 years of hope and despair... six thousand years of building and rebuilding ... homeland and exile ... joy and pain.
And now there is Israel ... a young country sustained by an abiding faith in mankind's oldest heritage. I felt the meaning of that faith when I went to Israel only nine months ago.
I felt it when I stood in Yad Veshem, the memorial to six million dead Jews who will always live in the memory of their martyrdom.
I felt it in the bomb shelter of Kibbutz Gesher, where children had painted wall pictures of the peace that is their dream instead of the war that is their fate.
I felt it when I saw a desert land caressed into giving life ... and I knew the border of Israel by the way the green ended and the brown began.
I talked with David Ben Gurion at the Kibbutz S'deBoker, and with Golda Meir, whose spirit is as young as the country she leads.
For years, I had seen the Congressional reports on the Middle East: statistics and projections ... analyses and conclusions. But not until I was in Israel, did I truly feel in my heart what I had known in my head for a long time. Only then, did I appreciate the full force of Israel's urgent, moral claim on our support – not merely the support of our words – but the support of our deeds.
And in the Middle East I also learned again a stark and simple truth – that the security of Israel is closely related to the security of the United States.
In 1971, this truth must be the foundation for American foreign policy. It is no longer enough – and it was never enough – to rely on the diplomacy of mere reaction to Russian power politics in the Middle East. What seem like details of diplomacy to us may be matters of survival for Israel. Both our policy and our strength must remain constant – so Israel can become as certain of our support as she is of her own resolution.
We must back Israel's demand for defensible borders. From the beginning of nationhood in 1948 to the determined defense of 1967, the weakness of Israel's frontier was an enemy's best ally. The way to prevent a new and similar alliance now is in internationally recognized border adjustment.
That would not be unusual and it would not be unfair. As I pointed out to Premier Kosygin in Moscow, Israel needs the kind of border security Russia claimed to need after the Finnish War and World War II – the security of frontiers that are a shield against attack instead of an invitation to aggression.
And Israel deserves more than that. She deserves the right to determine her own fate – and every other country in the Middle East should have the same right. The great powers should help – but they cannot decide. A lasting peace will result only from negotiations by the parties directly involved. And the United States must do nothing to undermine Israel's bargaining position.
But there is something our country can and must do. Though we hope as much as Israel for a permanent peace, we must also assure her of enough power to deter renewed war. The right aim is to stop the arms race in the Middle East. But arms control on one side and an arms increase on the other will only tighten the tensions and encourage more bloodshed and violence.
That would threaten our own security – and that is another reason why we must secure the strength of Israel.
I have believed that from the beginning. I believed it in 1967 when I co-sponsored the Symington-Javits Resolution for a just settlement in the Middle East.
I believed it in 1970 and last August when I supported more planes for Israel. And I believe it today – as I renew that support. For months, Israel has been requesting more Phantom Jets. The Administration has heard the request again and again – and what the Israelis have heard in return is silence.
But silence will not counter a massive Soviet shipment of fighter aircraft to Egypt and Syria. Silence will not give Israel arms for defense and a chance to protect the balance of power in the Middle East. In 1971, an America truly committed to Israel's survival must provide Israel with tools to do the work of survival.
And the United States should also recognize that Israel's economic development is as important to her security as any arms we could send her ... that the burden of defense can damage even one of history's most stunning economic miracles. And the Weizmann Institute is painfully aware of the tightening squeeze in Israel. Last year, the Institute suffered severe cutbacks in Israeli appropriations, leaving it with a deficit of $3 million.
So I believe we have a responsibility to Israel larger than providing the weapons of war. I believe we have a responsibility to help preserve the prosperity built in peace. So along with nine other members of the Senate, I have sent a letter to the Secretary of State insisting that Israel should now qualify for economic assistance. The United States was the first nation to recognize Israel. We cannot be anything but first in the quality of our support for Israel's safety.
Months ago, while I stood in the Gesher bomb shelter and looked at the children's portraits of a peaceful day, my thoughts drifted to other places ...
To a pyramid built to honor the man who enslaved the twelve tribes of Israel in his land.
To the cindered and desolate shell of Auswichtz, the grim remnant of genocide.
And to the frozen plains of Siberia, where pogroms ended in the snow.
And at that moment, I made a silent pledge – that as long as I have any influence on the course of this nation's history, I will do everything I can to guarantee that the children of Israel have and hold their promised land.
I have learned what that means in my own lifetime. I remember my father's explanation of America's meaning to him – to a man who finally found in Rumford, Maine, a decent refuge from the oppression of Eastern Europe.
The kind of life he built there and the kind of life Jews have built in Israel are things too precious to lose. Surrounded by hostile forces, the Israelis have fashioned a nation where there was none before. They started with only a hope and a prayer. All they ask now – and what we must give – is our help in realizing their hope: a time of peace.
Shalom.