Date: 2006-05-18
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr.. Speaker. there is nothing more painful than a senseless death. particularly when a childs life is cut short. As parents. we do everything we can to protect them. We keep them in car seats protected by seat belts and air bags. We watch what they eat and lock cabinets and plug outlets. We put safety knobs on exterior doors and put gates up at the top of the stairs and around swimming pools. We give them curfews and cell phones so we know where they are and when theyll be home. We teach them right from wrong and we impart our values. And when they are older. we have no other choice but to hope for the best. We hope that all of the cajouling and caring. crying and cradling. helped them become the best grownups. parents. citizens. professionals. but most of all. we want to help our children to be the best people that they can become. After all of that planning. preparing. protecting and sometimes panicking. most of us are blessed with the fact that our children do become adults. So much of our childrens lives are beyond our control. including their safety. yet we do everything within our power to protect them. But what parent in Gods name would expect their child to be killed in a terrorist attack? Blown up by a suicide bomber at an outdoor cafe? How does one guard against that? What product is made to shield them from explosives strapped to the body of a madman determined to destroy an entire people? How do we teach our children that some parents raise their children with this hatred embedded inside their heart? How. if we want to raise our children as tolerant. understanding. openminded individuals. do we teach them to look out for certain people who may want to do them harm. without painting an entire people with the same broad brush? Naturally. we teach them that they should be cautious about stra.ngers in general. wary of people who act in a certain way. Mr. Speaker. I ask this question today because the other day. Tuesday afternoon. I attended the funeral of a young boy. just 16 years old. He was a constituent of mine who lived in the same town where my family and I live. When I got home. I explained to my two older children where I had been. As inquisitive little ones. they asked how the boy died. And I can still taste the bile in my mouth. Mr. Speaker. when I had to explain that this young boy in our hometown was killed by a bomb that blew up near where he was sitting in a cafe in Israel. I had to explain to my twin 7yearolds that there are some people in the world who have so much hate in their hearts and who dont believe that the Jewish people should have our homeland. Israel. that they will do anything. including bombing innocent people to try to destroy US. Mr. Speaker. I could not bring myself to explain that the bombs were strapped to the bombers body as they were detonated. Thankfully. that was beyond their comprehension. because it was beyond my ability to explain to their young. innocent minds. Daniel Wultz was sitting at an outdoor cafe with his father in Tel Aviv during Passover. A suicide bomber detonated a bomb strapped to his body. which injured Daniels father and critically injured Daniel. Daniel lost his leg in the explosion. and. despite severe injuries. emerged from a comatose state and went through several surgeries with many more in front of him. He lived for a month. but succumbed to his injuries on May 14th. Daniel Wultz was eulogized by his family and friends on Tuesday. He was described as a beautiful young man with a big heart. someone who always did the right thing. who stood up for others. and had a big. beautiful smile. I listened to his Rabbi. Rabbi Yisroel Spalter. talk about officiating at Daniels Bar Mitzvah. I listened to how proud Daniel was of that accomplishment and how his Judaism had become so much more important to him recently. I listened to Daniels best friend and aunts talk about what a righteous person Daniel was. describing how he was always there for his friends and how he taught younger kids basketball and waited with them when their parents were late. I listened to Daniels sister talk about how painful it was to lose her beloved brother and how badly they all wanted him to remain with the family and the struggle they were going through with God. who obviously needed him more. But the most difficult was listening to Daniels fathers angstridden voice. wishing that he could have protected his one and only son. and describing that he knew his sons beautiful body ultimately protected him. Mr. Speaker. as a Jew. as a Member of Congress. as an American. but. more than anything. as a mother. I rise this evening to honor the memory of Daniel Wultz and to ask my colleagues to join me in condemning in the strongest possible way the ongoing cowardly terrorist attacks perpetrated against innocent victims in Israel and throughout the world. As Golda Meir once said. "Peace will come when the Arabs love their children more than they hate us." Hate is a weapon from which there is no safe haven.