Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) released the following statement after President Donald John Trump announced the withdrawal of the United States from the Iran Nuclear Agreement: “I am deeply concerned that President Trump’s decision to remove the United States from the Iran Nuclear Agreement was made to fulfil a campaign pledge, rather than in the interest of global security. Although I opposed the agreement, in part because of its provisions protecting Iran’s capacity for manufacturing adv...
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Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) made the following statement marking Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day: “I am proud to congratulate the State of Israel as it celebrates its 70th Independence Day. The U.S.-Israel relationship is paramount, and we must never take for granted the close ties between us. “Israel’s story is truly remarkable. I have been privileged to visit Israel as a Member of Congress 18 times, and each time I go I am inspired by what I see. Despite constant challenges ...
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Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) released the following statement after President Trump ordered military strikes against the Syrian regime, in response to the brutal chemical weapons attack on civilians in Douma: “Last week’s chemical weapon attack in Douma, like the one carried out in April 2017 against the town of Khan Shaykhun, is an outrageous war crime perpetrated by the Assad regime. The use of chemical weapons requires a swift, strong, and deliberate international response. “The Presi...
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Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) made the following statement on the seventh anniversary of the Syrian Civil War: “Since 2011, it is estimated that almost 500,000 Syrians have been killed with millions more displaced, creating a refugee crisis across Europe and the Middle East. Today, we will sadly mark the seventh anniversary of the Syrian Civil War, which is one of the bloodiest wars of the last 70 years. “I traveled to Syria in January 2010 and personally met with President Bashar al-Assa...
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Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) made the following statement after President Donald John Trump announced that the United States would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocate its embassy to the city: “I believe that Jerusalem is and should remain the undivided capital of Israel. To deny the Jewish connection to Jerusalem would be to deny world history. That being said, the manner in which the Trump Administration has announced its recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of ...
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I have traveled to Israel 18 times since first being elected to Congress. As a former president of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) and a commissioner of the United States Helsinki Commission, an independent US agency that promotes democracy, human rights, security, and economic cooperation among the OSCE’s 57 member nations, I have had the privilege to represent the United States in Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, and throughout the Middle East,...
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Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) released the following statement on President Donald John Trump's address to the nation on Afghanistan: “President Trump declared that Americans are ‘weary of war without victory.’ Americans are weary of war, period. For more than 17 years, our country has waged a seemingly never-ending war in Afghanistan, at a cost of thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars. “The American people deserve to know what President Trump is asking of their sons and ...
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Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) released the following statement after participating in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) 26th Annual Meeting in Minsk, Belarus, as well as multiple bi-lateral and multi-lateral meetings in regards to national security and defense policy in Egypt, Greece, and Lithuania: “I was honored to once again represent the United States and Congress at this year’s OSCE PA Annual Meeting. Our delegation was the lar...
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Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) released the following statement after the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated the ancient city of Hebron a “Palestinian World Heritage Site" "in Danger”: "Once again UNESCO has adopted an anti-Semitic and revisionist resolution seeking to write Jewish religion and culture out of world history. This biased resolution, notably adopted by secret ballot, is delusional. It does nothing to positively improve the liv...
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Today, Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) introduced a House Resolution expressing support for addressing the Arab-Israeli conflict in a concurrent track with the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and commending Arab and Muslim-majority states that have improved bilateral relations with Israel. The concurrent track approach, sometimes referred to as the “outside-in” approach, encourages Arab and Muslim-majority states to improve bilateral relations with Israel as Israel and the Palestinian Aut...
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