[WCUSP] Pelosi's speech to AIPAC.. (Please also go to www.stopaipac.org)!

[KATHARLOW at aol.com]

_http://releases.http://relehttp://releaseshttp://relea_ 
(http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=47885) 
 
5/24/2005 12:11:00 PM
 
WASHINGTON, May 24 /U.S. Newswire/ -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi  
addressed the American Israel Public Affairs Committee at their 2005 Policy  
Conference last night. Pelosi discussed the relationship between the United  
States and Israel and the continued effort for peace between Israelis and  
Palestinians. Below are her remarks:  
"Thank you, Amy Friedkin, my dear friend for so many years. Californians,  
North and South, are proud of your great leadership at AIPAC. And to Bernice  
Manocherian, President of AIPAC, thank you. All who care about peace in the  
Middle East are grateful for your strength and wisdom in guiding AIPAC. As a  
native of Baltimore, I take special pride of your incoming President, Howard  
Friedman, who will continue in the tradition of outstanding leadership at AIPAC.  
"I also want to acknowledge all of the students who are here. It is great to  
see so many young people taking such an interest in public affairs, 
especially  on one of the critical issues of our time: peace in the Middle East.  
"This spring, I was in Israel as part of a congressional trip that also took  
us to Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq. One of the most powerful experiences 
was  taking a helicopter toward Gaza, over the path of the security fence. We 
set  down in a field that belonged to a local kibbutz. It was a cool but sunny 
day,  and the field was starting to bloom with mustard. Mustard is a crop 
that grows  in California, and it felt at that moment as if I were home.  
"And then we were told that the reason we had to land in that field, as  
opposed to our actual destination, was because there had been an infiltration  
that morning, and they weren't sure how secure the area was. And that point  
alone brought us back to the daily reality of Israel: even moments of peace and  
beauty are haunted by the specter of violence.  
"While in Israel, we met with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Vice Premier  
Shimon Perez. From them and from other leaders, we heard something I had not  
heard in a long time: cautious optimism. This was an attitude quite different  
from the one that confronted us when I spoke to AIPAC two years ago.  
"One thing, however is unchanged: America's commitment to the safety and  
security of the State of Israel is unwavering. America and Israel share an  
unbreakable bond: in peace and war; and in prosperity and in hardship.  
"Prime Minister Sharon's leadership of Israel at this crucial time has been  
remarkable. He has brought Israel through an extremely challenging period, and 
 now he has made the difficult decision that it is in Israel's national 
security  interest to disengage from Gaza.  
"In the next few months, Israeli settlers will be evacuated entirely from  
Gaza and from four settlements in the northern West Bank. This courageous  
decision is gut-wrenching for Israel.  
"Israel's decision can be a decisive milestone on the road to peace. If the  
Palestinians agree to coordinate with Israel on the evacuation, establish the  
rule of law, and demonstrate a capacity to govern, the world may be convinced 
 that finally there is a real partner for peace.  
"Any progress on the Roadmap for Peace must be based on real change on the  
ground, as evidenced by the establishment of an accountable, and reconstituted  
Palestinian security force that prevents terrorism, not promotes it.  
"Fortunately, Palestinian Authority President Abbas is no Yasir Arafat. He  
has condemned terrorism in Arabic, stating that it prolongs the day that the  
Palestinian goal of statehood can be achieved, and, at least as significant,  
stating that terrorism is immoral. He has begun to restructure the security  
services. All that is commendable.  
"But he has not removed Arafat's corrupt cronies from positions of power, nor 
 has he moved to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure. That is, I am sorry 
to  say, cause for concern. President Abbas has said his goal is to establish 
the  rule of law, but he has done nowhere near enough to realize that vision, 
and now  he is confronted with a huge challenge: by the end of summer, Israel 
will be out  of Gaza.  
"Can Gaza become a pilot case for self-government for a Palestinian state? Or 
 will it become a terrorist haven, a launching pad for rockets into Israel?  
"President Abbas must act, for his own good, against those he must know are  
his enemies and are the enemies of the aspirations of the Palestinian  people. 
"The United States, just as Israel, wants to see him succeed. That is why I  
was so pleased when President Bush dispatched Jim Wolfensohn to help with the  
Gaza withdrawal. It is why I supported additional aid to the Palestinians in 
the  Emergency Supplemental bill that recently passed Congress.  
"There are those who contend that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is all  
about Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. This is absolute nonsense.  
In truth, the history of the conflict is not over occupation, and never has  
been: it is over the fundamental right of Israel to exist.  
"The greatest threat to Israel's right to exist, with the prospect of  
devastating violence, now comes from Iran. For too long, leaders of both  political 
parties in the United States have not done nearly enough to confront  the 
Russians and the Chinese, who have supplied Iran as it has plowed ahead with  its 
nuclear and missile technology.  
"Proliferation represents a clear threat to Israel and to America. It must be 
 confronted by an international coalition against proliferation, with a  
commitment and a coalition every bit as strong as our commitment to the war  
against terror.  
"The people of Israel long for peace and are willing to make the sacrifices  
to achieve it. We hope that peace and security come soon - and that this 
moment  of opportunity is not lost. As Israel continues to take risks for peace, 
she  will have no friend more steadfast that the United States.  
"In the words of Isaiah, we will make ourselves to Israel 'as hiding places  
from the winds and shelters from the tempests; as rivers of water in dry 
places;  as shadows of a great rock in a weary land.' 
"The United States will stand with Israel now and forever. Now and  forever."




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