Mr. Speaker, yesterday Israelis commemorated Memorial Day, to honor the memory of the more than 24,000 Israeli men, women and children who have been killed in terror attacks and wars over the past sixty-six years.

Immediately following Memorial Day, Israel transitioned to Independence Day, when Israelis and Jews across the globe celebrate the modern day revival of the State of Israel.

This abrupt transition from the solemnity of Memorial Day to the celebration of Independence Day embodies the Israeli and Jewish narrative of resilience in the face of adversity. We recognize our suffering while we appreciate our survival.

Mr. Speaker, as commented by my colleagues who preceded me, the importance of Israel, our best ally in a very unstable region of the world, is so significant in this United States Congress that the first term Members take a tour of Israel to visit leaders and members of civil society.

I was honored to be on that trip this summer. And when we visited Israel we saw a nation at the forefront of innovation, science, and technology. A country where booming modernity sits side-by side in stark contrast with ancient history.

Sixty-six years ago Israel began as a modest nation of 800,000 people fighting for its very survival. Today, Israel’s population stands at well over eight million. It is a thriving liberal democracy, the homeland for the Jewish people, a global economic and high-tech powerhouse, and maintains the region’s most powerful military force.

Yet, as my colleagues mentioned, Israel still faces threats. For anyone who has ever been to the small Middle Eastern country, you are immediately struck by the proximity of unfriendly, or unstable neighbors.

We visited the border with Syria, where war has ravaged the country for years threatening to destabilize the surrounding region; we saw the border with Egypt where the largest Arab nation faces great uncertainty; and at the border with Gaza we saw from an Israeli kibbutz that had suffered thousands of rocket attacks how these good people live in fear.

And of course there is the perpetual threat of a nuclear armed Iran. For Israel, an Iran armed with nuclear weapons represents an unimaginable threat. Without even firing a single weapon, Iran would be able to extend its nuclear umbrella to its terrorist proxies across the globe – including Hamas and Hezbollah sitting on Israel’s doorstep.

And even more terrifying, we would see a proliferation of nuclear arsenals throughout the region.

Yet even in the face of these threats, Israelis remain optimistic for their future and proud of their national identity. Tonight, I want to say that we are proud of our Israeli allies and join them in celebrating their 66^th year of independence.

Mr. Speaker before I yield back my time, I do want to share a story of one of my constituents. His name is Aaron Bell; he is 85 years old. He is a proud Jewish-American resident of Palm Beach County. And today he is celebrating Israel’s Independence Day.

But this is more than just a celebration for him – it is a memory. See, Aaron Bell was born Aaron Bielsky.

For those of you who may have seen Daniel Craig’s blockbuster- movie Defiance, you are familiar with the Bielsky brothers – the Jewish partisans who saved over 1,000 Jews from death camps by building a village of defiance in the forest of Nazi-occupied Poland.  Aaron was the youngest of the four Bielsky brothers depicted in the film.

After his traumatic survival during World War II Aaron emigrated to British Mandate Palestine, having witnessed the horrors of the Holocaust and understanding the increased urgency for Jewish self-determination. 

In 1948, when Israel declared its independence and was immediately attacked by five surrounding Arab nations, Aaron fought in order to protect and secure Israel’s dream of independence.

Aaron’s journey, though remarkable, is not unique.  The story of the Jewish people is riddled with triumph and tragedy. Israel’s national anthem – called Hatikvah, meaning “the hope” – sings of the 2,000-year-old dream to be a free people in a land of our own.

After centuries of pogroms, inquisitions, and genocide, that dream has been realized in the establishment of the state of Israel. 

And I know I speak for my colleagues on both sides of the aisle tonight when I say we celebrate the independence, the birth, of the great state of Israel. And we are here to protect and secure Israel for eternity.”

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