National Christian Leadership Conference for Israel
Tel. (248) 557-4540 · Fax. (248) 557-4527 · E-mail: NCLCI@MSN.COM

Speeches from the 2002 Pro Israeli Washington Rally 

Washington Mall, April 15, 2002

Sister rose thering

GOV. GEORGE PATAKI

Elie Wiesel

BILL BENNETT

Benjamin Netanyahu

MORTIMER ZUCKERMAN and REP. DICK GEPHARDT

Natan Sharansky

Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz

MARK SOKOLOW and other victims of terrorism

JANET PARSHALL, Robert Goldberg and Sen. Harry Reid

RABBI MICHAEL MELCHIOR

REP. DICK ARMEY

Rudolf Giuliani

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER

Senator Barbara Mikulski

MC: It is our pleasure now to welcome a member of the board of directors of the National Religious Broadcasters, the popular national talkshow host of "Janet Parshall's America" and a spokesperson for the Family Research Council, Janet Parshall. (Cheers)

MS. JANET PARSHALL: Shalom. I wish you could see yourselves. This is a spectacular site. I hope it's carried all over America television. (Cheers; applause) And I hope it's carried on Palestinian television. (Cheers; applause) I stand before you today representing the National Religious Broadcasters. Our chairman, Glenn Plummer is here. We represent millions of Christian broadcasters in this country. We stand with you now and forever. (Applause. Cheers)

When Elijah gathered the people on top Mount Carmel with the prophets of Baal and Ashtereft (ph), he asked a profound question that should be asked again today. He said, How long will you waver between two opinions? The Hebrew word for waver, and I say this recognizing the esteemed company I am in, the Hebrew word means to limp, to vacillate. I am here to tell you today, we Christians and Jews together will not labor any less in our support of Israel. We will never limp, we will never wimp, we will never vacillate in our support of Israel. (Applause. Cheers)

Whoever came up with the idea of land for peace has a very interesting definition of that. Apparently, to some people's way of thinking, it means giving Israel away one piece at a time. (Applause. Cheers) We will never give up the Golan! (Applause. Cheers) We will never divide Jerusalem! (Applause. Cheers) And we will call Yasser Arafat what Yasser Arafat is: a terrorist! (Applause. Cheers) The time has come for moral clarity. Moral clarity! We stand together with our Jewish brothers and sisters, and as God said to Joshua four times in the first chapter of that book, Stand firm. Be courageous. That is our message from God today. We will stand firm, we will be courageous, and next year in Jerusalem! (Applause. Cheers) God bless us.

Ladies and gentlemen, Robert Goldberg, chairman of the executive committee of the United Jewish Community which together is a 189-member federation, is co-sponsoring today's event. (Applause)

MR. GOLDBERG: Representing the Democratic leadership of the Senate of the United States today is the distinguished senator from Nevada, Harry Reid – (applause) – a master consensus-builder, an effective legislator, an effective advocate for children, families and workers. Senator Reid now serves as assistant majority leader of the Senate, working closely with Majority Leader Tom Daschle, in setting Democratic priorities for the Senate. A staunch supporter of Israel, he has particularly focused recently on stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming Senator Harry Reid. (Applause. Cheers)

SEN. REID: I'm happy to be here to represent the United States Senate. We have here today with us Russ Feingold – (applause) – Wisconsin; Ron Wyden, Oregon – (applause). And also, showing how bipartisan this issue is, Republican Bob Smith, New Hampshire. (Applause)

Shalom. This of course means peace. It's the focus of our hope. Salaam means precisely the same thing in Arabic, peace. Shalom, Salaam, both words, are the sum of all our prayers. But the prayers and hope and faith on the part of the victims did not prevent them from being cast into the fire of furnace of the Shoah, the Holocaust. Nor did it prevent the bitter dose of tragedy that America swallowed last September 11th.

There is a certain terribly irony in the numbers. This nation of 280 million people lost 3,000. And when we reacted, as we should and must in our nation's defense, and to find justice for our victims, the world applauded. Israel is comprised of about five million citizens, and six million souls lost in the Holocaust.

I am here today to say loudly and proudly America stands with Israel. (Applause. Cheers) I stand with Israel. (Applause. Cheers) The United States Senate includes members of different faiths, ethnic backgrounds and political ideologies. But despite our differences, we have shown our ability to come together for the good of America. Immediately after our country was attacked, Congress rallied to support the war on terrorism, just as you declare your support for this effort today. And the presence of members of Congress demonstrates that we stand with Israel. (Applause. Cheers)

We stand with Israel, because Israel has been a friend and partner of the United States. We stand with Israel, because Israel is a democracy and shares our values. (Applause)

Last week, Holocaust Remembrance Day was observed. And we reaffirmed its message, Never again. (Applause. Cheers) Never again will the world fail to see, or hear or speak or act when the Jewish people are being persecuted or murdered. We stand with Israel, because we have an obligation to secure the continuance of a Jewish state.

The tragic events of September 11th were eye opening. I went to ground zero in New York City and saw the devastation. I saw the twisted and destroyed buildings. I spoke with those who handled twisted and mutilated bodies. I saw emptiness where the twin towers once rose to the sky. I choked on the smoke that continued to billow. I smelled death.

Whether they have visited ground zero, all Americans have gained an understanding of evil and terror that we had not seen before. The Israelis though have suffered such violence since the state of Israel was born more than 50 years ago. Israel is a small country, and really a small community where it seems everyone knows each other. So when tragedy strikes, the loss is intensely felt by all. Israelis have somehow learned to endure attack after attack. And for most of you terrorism is a normal part of life. Certainly deadly attacks have occurred frequently. But for them to be seen as normal is itself a tragedy.

We stand with Israel, because we too mourn the loss of innocent lives. During the Jewish festival of Passover, 28 Israelis who gathered for a Seder were butchered – 28 innocent victims, including children, mothers, fathers and grandparents; 28 people in a country whose population is small – 28 deaths in Israel is proportionately equivalent to 1,300 Americans massacred. And that was just one day in March in Israel.

America experienced a piercing wound on September 11th, physically and emotionally. We had never before suffered so much at the hands of terrorists. The pain is now a part of who we are, and we'll never be the same. The hurt we felt and continue to feel is the same suffering Israelis have endured and continued under on the scale that crushes the soul. We recall other incidents, like the joyous bat mitzvah celebration that suddenly became a killing field. And we think of Israelis participating in typical activities, like stopping for a nosh at the pizzeria, riding a bus to school or to work, enjoying a night at the disco – not realizing that they would instead be killed. But these are the conditions Israelis face.

While we admire Israel's bravery and perseverance in the face of constant threats, we must not accept a world in which running mate is so commonplace. Americans do not want to be victims again. Nor can we expect Israel to stand idle while her citizens are being slaughtered. (Applause. Cheers) Once we identified those responsible for the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, we sent our troops to Afghanistan, to bring the terrorists to justice and end their ability to strike terror again. We vowed to stamp out evil and to continue our fight as long as necessary. How then can we, or anyone, reasonably ask Israel to allow terrorists responsible for murdering innocent Israelis to remain free and continue to plan more attacks? We can. (Applause. Cheers)

Hundreds of Israelis have been killed by suicide bombers. But the total would be even higher if Israel did not have the ability to protect herself. It's been estimated that up to 85 percent of planned terrorist attacks against Israelis have been foiled. So we must reaffirm our commitment to Israel's security and right to self-defense. (Applause. Cheers) We stand with Israel, because Israel's enemy, terrorism, is also our enemy. And the United States has no better ally than Israel in the war on terrorism. (Applause. Cheers)

During the Passover Seder, it is customary to spill a drop of wine, as each of the plagues visited upon the foes of the Israelites is recited, so as not to rejoice at others' sufferings. We stand with the people of Israel who want a safe, peaceful and prosperous future – not only for themselves, but also for their neighbors. I call on all who share our vision and hopes to continue to spread a message of peace: Shalom, Salaam, peace! (Applause. Cheers)