Click here to view Rep. Miller’s speech on YouTube

WASHINGTON – U.S. Congresswoman Candice Miller (MI-10) today released the following statement after an address to a Joint Session of Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Miller said:

“I was proud today to hear the powerful message of the Prime Minister of Israel, Binyamin Netanyahu. In the speech, the Prime Minister reiterated something I feel strongly at my core; that Israel has no better friend than America and America has no better friend than Israel. And in a region, the Middle East, where alliances shift on a constant basis, Israel remains America’s unwavering ally.

“We all hope for peace in that troubled region of the world, but America cannot be party to a process which hopes to achieve an elusive and perhaps illusory peace at the expense of the security of such a close and vital ally, such as Israel. A return to the 1967 borders simply will not happen. That would be like having a nation that at its narrowest point extends from Dequinder Road to Romeo Plank and your potential enemies are only miles from your major population centers. Israel must have borders that allow it to provide for the security of its people.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu was correct in stating that the conflict has never been about the establishment of a Palestinian state, it has been about the existence of a Jewish state. It is impossible to achieve peace when the Palestinians have not yet even stated that they recognize Israel as a Jewish state with which they are ready to live side by side in peace. As Prime Minister Netanyahu said, peace can only be achieved if Palestinian President Abbas stands before his people and states that he is willing to accept the Jewish state of Israel.

“The world should know that until that time and on into the future, the United States of America will always stand side by side with our great ally, the nation of Israel.”

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