May 23, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD— SENATE S7263 

the Public Schools: Questions and Answers*, a 

pamphlet published by a broad spectrum of 

religious and civil liberties groups. 

EXCUSAL FROM RELIGIOUSLY-OBJECTIONABLE

LESSONS

15.Schools enjoy substantial discretion to 

excuse individual students from lessons 

which are objectionable to that student or to 

his or her parent on the basis of religion. 

Schools can exercise that authority in ways 

which would defuse many conflicts over curriculum content. If it is proved that particular lessons substantially burden a student’s free exercise of religion and if the 

school cannot prove a compelling interest in 

requiring attendance the school would be legally required to excuse the student. 

TEACHING VALUES

16. Schools may teach civic virtues, including honesty, good citizenship, sportsmanship, courage, respect for the rights and freedoms of others, respect for persons and their 

property, civility, the dual virtues of moral 

conviction and tolerance and hard work. 

Subject to whatever rights of excusal exist 

(see T15 above) under the federal Constitution 

and state law, schools may teach sexual abstinence and contraception; whether and how 

schools teach these sensitive subjects is a 

matter of educational policy. However, these 

may not be taught as religious tenets. The 

mere fact that most, if not all, religions also 

teach these values does not make it unlawful 

to teach them. 

STUDENT GARB

17. Religious messages on T-shirts and the 

like may not be singled out for suppression. 

Students may wear religious attire, such as 

yarmulkes and head scarves, and they may 

not be forced to wear gym clothes that they 

regard, on religious grounds, as immodest. 

RELEASED TIME

18. Schools have the discretion to dismiss 

students to off-premises religious instruction, provided that schools do not encourage 

or discourage participation or penalize those 

who do not attend. Schools may not allow 

religious instruction by outsiders on premises during the school day.

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∑ 

INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS AND 

DOMESTIC TERRORISM 

∑ Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, the 

tragedy that took place on April 19 at 

the Federal building in Oklahoma City 

was an unspeakable horror. This was a 

cowardly and heinous act by deranged 

people whose obsessions led to the killing of innocent men, women, and children. I want the people who perpetrated this act to be hunted down 

and to be appropriately, quickly, and 

harshly dealt with by our criminal justice system. 

The tragic bombing at Oklahoma 

City has sparked a debate in our country about how to prevent a tragedy of 

this type from occurring again. It is 

important to understand that in a free 

country it is virtually impossible to 

provide any ironclad protection against 

the violent acts of deranged people. 

But part of being free is the requirement to ensure civil order. That is the 

job that we ask our law enforcement 

officials to do. 

The question we must now ask ourselves is how can we protect Americans 

without infringing on the liberties 

guaranteed by the Constitution. People 

have a constitutional right to criticize 

their government and the institutions 

of this Nation. This right not only applies to people we like—our neighbors 

and our friends—it also applies to people we do not like and associations we 

do not care for. This right must be preserved. 

The Oklahoma City bombing has also 

sparked a debate about militia groups 

in our country. People have every right 

to join organizations. However, I have 

heard some militia leaders say the Federal Government is their avowed 

enemy when they have been interviewed on television programs. Some of 

them talk in terms of violence and battles. I think that is an unhealthy attitude and I think that thinking can lead 

to violence. 

I want to emphasize my commitment 

to preserving the fundamental freedoms that are guaranteed to all Americans under our Constitution. But I also 

want to emphasize that I join those in 

our country who want to send a message to the people who cross the line 

between criticizing our government 

and advocating or resorting to violence 

or terrorism. There is no constitutional right to commit violence in our 

country. There is no constitutional 

right to kill innocent men, women, and 

children. And those who do should be 

dealt with aggressively by our law enforcement agencies. 

It is important that we discuss these 

issues in a thoughtful, reasonable, and 

constructive way. In America, we can 

disagree without being disagreeable. 

We can have a debate without shouting. And we can work together to fix 

things that are wrong in this country 

and to make this a better place. Most 

importantly, we should protect and 

cherish our constitutional rights. One 

of those rights is to live in a free country—free from the unspeakable horrors 

that were perpetrated on innocent people in Oklahoma City.

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∑ 

IN HONOR OF ABBA EBAN 

∑ Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I 

rise this morning to honor a great 

statesman on the occasion of his 80th 

birthday. 

Abba Eban—statesman, diplomat, 

scholar, and author—was born in South 

Africa on February 2, 1915. As a young 

man growing up in London, Mr. Eban 

learned fluent Hebrew and became an 

active member of the Zionist movement. 

He studied at Cambridge University, 

and became a lecturer in Hebrew, Arabic, and Persian literature. 

Mr. Eban served in World War II, 

where he was assigned to Jerusalem as 

liaison officer of Allied Headquarters. 

After the war, he entered the service of 

the Jewish agency in Jerusalem. In 

1947, he became the agency’s liaison officer with the U.N. Special Commission 

on Palestine. 

In 1948, Mr. Eban was appointed as 

Israel’s representative to the United 

Nations and in this capacity, he appeared before the General Assembly to 

plead successfully for his country’s admission to the United Nations. 

In 1950, Abba Eban was appointed 

Israel’s Ambassador to the United 

States. At 35, he was the youngest person to hold such a high rank in Washington’s diplomatic corps. 

In 1959, after returning to Israel, Mr. 

Eban was elected to the Israeli Knesset 

as a member of the Labor Party. He 

joined the Cabinet as Minister Without 

Portfolio, was appointed Minister of 

Education and Culture in 1960, and in 

1963, he became Deputy Prime Minister 

under Prime Minister Levi Eshkol. 

In 1966, Mr. Eban became Israel’s 

Minister for Foreign Affairs, a position 

he held until June 1974. 

Through the years, Mr. Eban has 

been recognized in numerous arenas for 

his diplomatic prowess and his contributions to the state of Israel. He 

holds honorary doctorates from several 

universities, including New York University, Boston University, the University of Maryland, and the University of 

Cincinnati. He is a fellow of the World 

Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the 

only living member of the Orator’s Hall 

of Fame. 

Mr. Eban recently served as host and 

narrator of ‘‘Israel: A Nation is Born,’’

a five-part historical television miniseries, documenting 40 years of Israel’s 

history. 

Mr. President, the Israeli people have 

been fortunate to count Mr. Eban 

among their leaders. He has consistently represented the Jewish state 

with dignity, with strength and with 

aplomb. As he celebrates this birthday, 

we should all take this opportunity to 

celebrate his many accomplishments.

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∑ 

HYDROGEN—AN ENERGY SOURCE 

FOR THE FUTURE 

∑ Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I have 

long advocated greater investment in 

the development of sustainable hydrogen energy. Hydrogen has a tremendous potential to be the energy carrier 

of the future. It is an ideal energy 

source as it is plentiful, efficient and 

clean burning. An excellent article describing the many advantages of hydrogen as an energy source appeared in 

the March 19, 1995 edition of the Los 

Angeles Times Magazine. I urge all of 

my colleagues to read this article and 

I ask that the text of the article be 

printed in the RECORD. 

The article follows: 

[From the Los Angeles Times Magazine, 

March 3, 1995] 

HARNESSING THE BIG H 

HYDROGEN SEEMS THE IDEAL ENERGY SOURCE—

PLENTIFUL, EFFICIENT AND CLEAN. CAN SOMETHING THIS PERFECT BE REAL? JUST ASK THE

JAPANESE

(By Alan Weisman) 

West of Denver, Interstate 70 enters Golden, Colo., and begins to curl through the 

foothills of the Rockies. There is bisects an 

unassuming clump of brick buildings—the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory. 

mmaher on MIKETEMP with SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS