Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) discusses Iran's threat to peace on the House floor.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Thank you, Madam Speaker.
00:02I am one of only a few Jewish members of the House, and I'm leading this special order
00:07hour to help provide some clarity in this time of challenge and confusion.
00:14It has been said that there are four barriers to peace in the Middle East, but we are here
00:21tonight because there's only one barrier to peace, and that is the government of Iran.
00:28This war in the Middle East has impacted two historically traumatized people who share
00:34a history, they share a land, and unfortunately, they share this reality that no one in the
00:41world wants either one of them.
00:43Watching this trauma and this history unfold has had a deep impact on caring people all
00:51over the world.
00:53We want this war to end.
00:55We want the hostages returned.
00:58We want a future peace for Israelis and Palestinians.
01:05We may be nearing a ceasefire, and I pray Hamas agrees to the proposal that is on the
01:11table now.
01:15That won't resolve the larger issue of Iran.
01:18Before October 7th, we were nearing peace in the region.
01:24In fact, over the past several decades, there have been major efforts to bring peace between
01:30Israel and Arab nations.
01:33Historically, Arab nations were united against Israel, launching frequent attacks with the
01:39intent on destroying the Jewish state.
01:42But things slowly changed, one realignment at a time, achieved through American leadership
01:49and American partnership.
01:53However, there is one glaring exception toward this progress, the totalitarian regime in
02:01Iran, which remains intent on Israel's destruction and disrupting the path to peace.
02:10It creates chaos in the region.
02:14President Carter worked with Egypt and Israel to bring those two states to a sustainable
02:19peace.
02:20President Clinton worked with Jordan and Israel to normalize relations between those
02:25two nations.
02:26Four years ago, the United States formed the Abraham Accords, where the UAE and Bahrain
02:32recognized Israel's sovereignty.
02:34Sudan and Morocco would later join.
02:37Then just days before October 7th, Saudi Arabia and Israel were near a deal.
02:51It would have brought the region closer to peace.
02:58At that point, Iran had seen enough.
03:01Hamas, an Iranian-backed army, had seen enough, too, and they attacked, massacred, raped,
03:08and took Israeli and American hostages.
03:12People have looked at this war as a David and Goliath story, and in some ways it is.
03:19We all know the story.
03:21The Philistines were attacking the Israelites in the Valley of Eli.
03:25Every morning, Goliath, this giant, challenged the Israelites to fight.
03:30One day, David, a young shepherd boy, did what no one else would do.
03:35He defeated the giant with just a sling, against all odds.
03:40It's a story about the imbalance of power and strength, but also courage and ingenuity.
03:50Israel, in the last eight months, has been painted as this Goliath in the war today.
03:56If you looked at a map and you zoomed in, you may think that, too.
04:03So there's Israel, and there is Gaza, very small.
04:10But if you zoom out, you'd see the reality of what's going on, and that the Goliath isn't
04:19Israel, but it's Iran.
04:23Iran has funded over 20 terrorist organizations, all surrounding Israel.
04:28They've funded groups that were responsible for killing three U.S. service members earlier
04:33this year, funding the Houthi rebels in Yemen, responsible for attacking U.S. ships in the
04:39Red Sea, and most recently, they funded Swedish gangs to carry out terror attacks against
04:45Israelis and their embassy.
04:48So today, just like the story, eight million Jews are in the Valley of Eli, surrounded
04:53by the Goliath Iran and its terrorist-backed armies.
04:59Iran is not alone in this effort.
05:01It is supported by global chaos agents like Russia.
05:05What's happening in the Middle East and what's happening in Ukraine are not isolated events.
05:11Putin attacked Ukraine because he believes it's a fictional state, just as Iran and Hamas
05:18and Hezbollah believe Israel is a fictional state.
05:26This partnership between Iran and Russia has sowed conflict, chaos.
05:32Russian-made weapons have found their way to Hamas for years, and the same Iranian drones
05:38that were fired into Israel weeks ago have been used in Russia's offensive against Ukraine.
05:46There are those who seek to put us on a path to a peaceful future and those who seek to
05:51disrupt it and sow chaos and destruction.
05:54Russia, Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthi, they're all part of this group.
06:01Following October 7th, Israel was suddenly up against Goliath and confronted with an
06:08impossible choice.
06:11What was Israel to do after October 7th?
06:14When their enemy Hamas went underground, taking Israeli and American hostages with them?
06:21What was Israel to do when they hid in tunnels and shielded themselves by leaving innocent
06:26Palestinians above ground?
06:29What was Israel to do when Hamas vowed to end Israel if they were to survive?
06:36Hamas could cease their actions at any moment to save innocent lives, but they choose not to.
06:42If Israel stops now, they would not only abandon their people and Americans, but they
06:48would also relinquish the hard-earned stability in the Middle East, opening the door for further chaos.
06:56The truth is, we aren't seeing the forest through the trees.
07:00We aren't zooming out to see the Goliath here.
07:06The Iranians, the Russians, the terrorists that they support against the global community,
07:15they've done this by abandoning innocent people, hiding behind civilians and stealing aid from Palestinians.
07:24Unfortunately, their plan has succeeded.
07:29Recently, Canadian protesters gathered and declared, quote,
07:36what happened on October 7th was the beginning of the Great Intifada.
07:43It has spread in the minds of people of the free world.
07:48When you scream with a loud voice, as they said, long live October 7th, you will understand that
07:56these people decided to end their misery and their nightmare called Israel.
08:03In response to calls like these, the Iranian Ayatollah has said it's working.
08:11That's right. He sees all of these protests against Israel.
08:18He has said, the Ayatollah, it's working.
08:23Just last week, in reaction to U.S. protests, the Ayatollah praised American protesters
08:28in a letter that also contained anti-Semitic tropes and accused Israel of being a terrorist state.
08:35Iran and Russia's goal of terror isn't limited to the Middle East.
08:41It's spreading globally.
08:44If we want this war to end, which I desperately do,
08:47if we want the hostages returned, which I desperately do,
08:51and a new future for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, which I desperately do,
08:57then we have to firmly stand against the ongoing Iranian aggression.
09:03The path forward requires bold, ethical leadership from Israel
09:07to urgently end the deepening humanitarian crisis, defeat the terror groups once and for all,
09:13and to rally global diplomatic support.
09:17It is also a requirement that the leaders of the international community
09:22and these Arab nations be all in for peace and be willing to stand up to Iran once and for all.
09:30Crucially, the work ahead requires all of us to work together
09:36to reject the tactics of terror and chaos and choosing to build a brighter future.
09:45Iranian aggression has pitted two groups with a deep history of trauma into further trauma and pain.
09:53Yet in this shared trauma lies the potential for profound peace.
09:59This conflict can be the foundation upon which we build lasting and sustainable stability,
10:06where both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace.
10:11With that, Madam Speaker, I yield back.