Sen. Menendez speech at AIPAC

By Arsen Ostrovsky

The entire speech was brilliant. But I wanted to highlight a particular section, starting at 31.10 mins in. It is quite possibly the single most passionate, eloquent justification I have ever heard for Israel’s existence and the Jewish people’s historical and biblical connection to the land of Israel.

This quote was not in his original prepared remarks (I’ve double checked). He said it on the spot and clearly spoke from the heart. It is not just the words which are important, but also the manner in which he delivered them. I would strongly urge you all to watch.

Full quote below (but starts at 31.10 min in the video link above):

    “While the Shoah has a central role in Israel’s identity, it is not the reason behind its founding, and it’s not the main justification for its existence. That extreme characterization of that mistaken view is that Western powers established Israel in 1948 based on their own guilt; at the expense of Arab peoples who lived there. Therefore the current state is
    illegitimate and should be wiped off the face of the map. This flawed
    argument is not only in defiance of basic humanity dignity, but in plain defiance of history. It is in defiance of ancient history as told in
    biblical texts and through archaeological evidence. It ignores the
    history of millennia. Several thousand years of history leads to an
    undeniable conclusion: the establishment of the State of Israel in
    modern times is a political reality with roots going back to King David
    and the time of Abraham and Sarah. The argument for Israel’s legitimacy
    does not depend on what we say in any speech. It has been made by
    history; it has been made by the men and women who made the desert
    green; by Nobel prizes earned; by ground-breaking innovations and
    enviable institutions; by lives saved; by democracy defended; by peace
    made; by battle won. There can be no denying the Jewish people’s
    legitimate right to live in peace and security in a homeland to which
    they have a connection for thousands of years.”
March 6, 2013 | 7 Comments »

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7 Comments / 7 Comments

  1. @ Wallace Brand:

    Israel’s founding may be looked at from several perspectives.

    Israel’s founding may be looked at from several perspectives but only one perspective is totally sound being based on the perfect word and perfect character of Hashem. If you appeal to the laws of men you will be constantly disappointed, being at the mercy of man’s poor willingness and poor ability both to write sound law and to keep it. Better to rely on the promises of Hashem – whose law is perfect, whose character is perfect, and whose power is absolute and eternal.

    Isaiah 40:6 A voice says, “Call out.”
    Then he answered, “What shall I call out?”
    All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.

    7 The grass withers, the flower fades,
    When the breath of the LORD blows upon it;
    Surely the people are grass.

    8 The grass withers, the flower fades,
    but the word of our God stands forever.

  2. @ Wallace Brand:Yes, you nailed it. But the Israeli government itself must accept and put forth the same scenario. Otherwise put, Israel’s failure to do so has allowed other persons, entities and countries to attack its very sovereignty. THAT DEFICIENCY must be corrected.

  3. @ Kenneth Mathews:Israel’s founding may be looked at from several perspectives.
    1. Under International Law: The San Remo Agreement of 1920 adopting the Balfour Declaration of 1917, with its Mandate placing in trust the political or national rights to Palestine with World Jewry as its beneficiary, a trust agreement covering all of Palestine West of the Jordan confirmed by the League of Nations in 1922, and by the US in 1922 and 1924, preserved by Article 80 of the UN Charter, and implemented by the Ottoman Empire’s cession of Sovereignty in Article 95 of the Treaty of Sevres (confirmed, sub silent, in the Treaty of Lausanne).
    2. By Canon Law in the grant in the Old Testament and by its recognition in the Koran.
    3. Under International Law by events following 1947, namely Jordan’s illegal occupation of Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem in an aggressive war and the area’s liberation by Israeli forces in 1967 in a defensive war.
    4. Under the domestic law of the US and the UK in the Anglo-American Convention of 1924.
    5. Under International law established by custom prior to the Treaty of Westphalia, namely by announcement of Independence and holding the ground against all comers by force of arms, per acclaimed International Lawyer Julius Stone..

  4. These words are extremely good if it is backed up by action. I hope Senator Menendez will lobby and vote to destroy, as much as still possible, Iran’s nuclear capabilities. The U.S. should lead the way with Israel’s help and not the other way around.

  5. Sen. Menendez’s words are from a good heart but are ultimately not correct – Israel’s right to the land is not founded on their admittedly awesome achievements or their long history in the land. Israel’s right to the land is based on Hashem’s promise and his authority as the Creator and the true God. Hashem sets the borders of all the nations and their times of existence, the times of their greatness, the times of their weakness, and in some cases the times of their destruction. Why all these defenses of Israel that fail to mention Hashem’s promise?

    Deuteronomy 32:8 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, When He separated the sons of man, He set the boundaries of the peoples According to the number of the sons of Israel.9 For the LORD’S portion is His people; Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance.

    Gen. 15:18 In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 19 The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20 And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

    Gen. 17:7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. 8 And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

  6. by ground-breaking innovations


    Allscripts acquires dbMotion for $235m

    Based in Hod Hasharon, dbMotion pioneers computerized healthcare information systems.

    Healthcare software developer dbMotion Ltd. has been acquired by Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. (Nasdaq: MDRX) for $235 million in cash and shares, the companies announced today. Allscripts will pay $145 million in cash, $50 million of stock and $40 million in cash via a note payable within 18 months.

    Allscripts is dbMotion’s distributor. The companies initiated a strategic partnership in 2009 and Allscripts made an equity investment dbMotion in 2011. dbMotion technology is a key component of the Allscripts Connected Community of Health. 370 hospitals and 2,800 clinics around the world currently use dbMotion technology.

    Founded in 2004, dbMotion is a pioneer in computerized healthcare information and sharing systems. The Hod Hasharon-based company has tens of millions of dollars in annual turnover and 110 employees at its headquarters and technology centers in Ra’anana and Omer. “Globes” named dbMotion as one of Israel’s most promising start-ups of 2006.