Mr. Speaker, this past summer I visited the death camps at Majdanek and Auschwitz. I saw young people weeping before mounds of human ashes, shoes of victims, mass graves and monstrous crematoria.
Sadly, the threat to the Jewish people is still with us today. It is clear in the determination of those sworn to destroy the collective Jew, the Jewish state.
The world needs a strong Israel. Israel needs secure borders and neighbours who recognize the state and choose peace.
There are those who advocate dividing Jerusalem, separating the Old City, historic Jerusalem, from the Jewish state, leaving a state without a soul.
The recent Basel Declaration highlights the San Remo commitment of 1920 and the Mandate for Palestine approved by the League of Nations in 1922, solemn commitments that gave the legal foundation for the modern state of Israel, including Jerusalem.
In the pursuit of justice and peace in the Middle East, I urge all nations to handle Jerusalem carefully. The stakes are high; the cost of failure will impact every nation.