NEW YORK- The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has strongly praised House Deputy Majority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) and his colleagues for their sponsorship of a resolution demanding that the Palestinian Arabs halt their terrorism and incitement against Israel.
ZOA representatives met with Members of Congress and their aides in recent days to urge passage of the resolution.
The resolution, H.R.61, which passed 411 to 2, stated that the House of Representatives “commends the people of Israel for reaffirming their dedication to democratic ideals as expressed in the election on January 28, 2003”; “expresses both its respect for the freely expressed will of the people of Israel, and its intention to engage in constructive relations with the new Government of Israel, and urges the international community to do so as well”; and “reaffirms the close bonds of friendship that have bound the people of the United States and the people of Israel together through turbulent times for more than half a century.”
The resolution then pointedly added that the House “urges the Palestinian leadership to abide by its commitments made to the United States and to Israel and urges the Palestinian people to act on President Bush’s call of June 24, 2002, to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure, end incitement to violence in official media, elect new leaders not compromised by terror, and embrace democracy.”
In a sign of the depth of Congressional opposition to creation of a Palestinian Arab state, the resolution made no reference to the part of Bush’s June 2002 speech endorsing the eventual creation of such a state.
Furthermore, the Cantor resolution emphasizes “the commitment of the United States to a secure peace for Israel” —specifically employing the use of the phrase “secure peace” to emphasize that Israeli security takes priority over photo-ops and peace “processes” that do not lead to peace.
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said: “Representative Cantor and his colleagues are to be praised for making it clear that Congress expects the Palestinian Arabs to fulfill all of President Bush’s June 2002 conditions—halting terror and incitement, dismantling terrorist groups and their infrastructure, electing new leaders that have no ties to terror, ending corruption, embracing democracy, and respecting human rights.”
The ZOA recently issued a report, titled Six Months Since the Bush Middle East Speech, which found that the Palestinian Arabs have not fulfilled any of the conditions that the president set forth. For a free copy of the report, please call the ZOA at 212-481-1500.