GOOD EVENING MY FELLOW AMERICANS, WE ARE FACING AN INFLECTION POINT IN HISTORY. ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS WHERE THE DECISIONS WE MAKE TODAY ARE GOING TO DETERMINE THE FUTURE FOR DECADES TO COME. I WOULD LIKE TO TALK WITH YOU ABOUT TONIGHT. THIS MORNING I RETURNED FROM ISRAEL. THEY TELL ME I’M THE FIRST AMERICAN PRESIDENT TO TRAVEL THERE DURING A WAR. I MET WITH THE PRIME MINISTER AND MEMBERS OF HIS CABINET. MOST MOVINGLY, I MET WITH ISRAELIS WHO HAD LIVED THROUGH HORRIFIC OR ON THE ATTACK BY HAMAS ON THE SEVENTH OF OCTOBER. MORE THAN 1003 HUNDRED PEOPLE SLAUGHTERED IN ISRAEL, INCLUDING AT LEAST 32 AMERICAN CITIZENS. SCORES OF INNOCENCE FROM INFANTS TO THE ELDERLY GRANDPARENTS. ISRAELIS, AMERICANS TAKEN HOSTAGE. AS I TOLD THE FAMILIES OF AMERICANS BEING HELD CAPTIVE BY HAMAS, WE ARE PURSUING EVERY AVENUE TO BRING THEIR LOVED ONES HOME. AS PRESIDENT, THERE IS NO HIGHER PRIORITY THAN THE SAFETY OF AMERICANS HELD HOSTAGE. THE TERRORIST GROUP HAMAS RELEASED PEOPLE ONTO THE WORLD, BUT SADLY THE JEWISH PEOPLE KNOW BETTER THAN ANYONE, THAT THERE IS NO LIMIT TO THE DEPRAVITY OF PEOPLE WHEN THEY WANT TO INFLICT PAIN ON OTHERS. IN ISRAEL, I SAW PEOPLE WHO ARE STRONG, RESILIENT AND ANGRY, IN SHOCK AND IN DEEP PAIN. I ALSO SPOKE WITH THE PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY AND REITERATED THE UNITED STATES REMAINS COMMITTED TO THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE’S RIGHT TO DIGNITY AND SELF-DETERMINATION. THE ACTION OF HAMAS TERRORISTS DO NOT TAKE THAT RIGHT AWAY. LIKE SO MANY OTHER, I AM HEARTBROKEN BY THE TRAGIC LOSS OF PALESTINIAN LIFE, INCLUDING THE EXPLOSION AT THE HOSPITAL IN GAZA, WHICH WAS NOT DONE BY THE ISRAELIS. WE MOURNED EVERY INNOCENT LIFE LOSS. WE CAN’T IGNORE THE HUMANITY OF INNOCENT PALESTINIANS WHO ONLY WANT TO LIVE IN PEACE AND HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY. THE ASSAULT ON ISRAEL ECHOES NEARLY 20 MONTHS OF WAR, TRAGEDY AND BRUTALITY INFLICTED ON THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE. PEOPLE THAT WERE VERY BADLY HURT SINCE PUTIN LAUNCHED HIS ALL-OUT INVASION. WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN THE MASS GRAVES, THE BODIES FOUND DURING SIGNS OF TORTURE. THE GREAT USE OF WEAPONS BY THE RUSSIANS AND THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF UKRAINIAN CHILDREN FORCIBLY TAKEN INTO RUSSIA, STOLEN FROM THEIR PARENTS, IT’S SICK. HAMAS AND PUTIN REPRESENT DIFFERENT THREATS, BUT THEY SHARED THIS IN COMMON. THEY BOTH WANT TO ANNIHILATE A NEIGHBORING DEMOCRACY, COMPLETELY ANNIHILATE IT. HAMAS HAS A STATE OF PURPOSE FOR EXISTING. IT IS THE STRUCTURE OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL AND THE MURDER FOR JEWISH PEOPLE. HAMAS DOES NOT REPRESENT THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE, THEY USE CIVILIANS AS HUMAN SHIELDS AND IN A STUDENT PALESTINIAN FAMILIES ARE SUFFERING BECAUSE OF THAT. MEANWHILE, PUTIN DENIES UKRAINE HAS OR EVER HAD REAL STATEHOOD. HE CLAIMS THE SOVIET UNION CREATED UKRAINE IN JUST TWO WEEKS AGO, HE TOLD THE WORLD THAT IF THE UNITED STATES AND OUR ALLIES WITHDRAW OUR ALLIES — MILITARY SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE WOULD HAVE A WEEK LEFT TO LIVE, BUT WE ARE NOT WITHDRAWING. I KNOW THESE CONFLICTS CAN SEEM FAR AWAY. WHY DOES THIS MATTER TO AMERICA? LET ME SHARE WITH YOU WHY MAKING SURE ISRAEL AND UKRAINE SUCCEED IS VITAL FOR AMERICA’S NATURAL SECURITY. THIS JUST TAUGHT US THAT ONE PAIR — TERRORS DON’T PAY PRICE FOR THEIR TERROR, WHEN DICTATORS DON’T PAY A PRICE FOR THEIR AGGRESSION, THEY CAUSE MORE CHAOS, DEATH, AND MORE DESTRUCTION. THEY KEEP GOING. THE CALLS TO AMERICA IN THE WORLD KEEP RISING. WE DON’T STOP PUTIN’S APPETITE FOR POWER IN THE WAR IN UKRAINE. HE WON’T LIMIT HIMSELF TO UKRAINE. PUTIN HAS ALWAYS THREATENED TO REMIND POLAND THAT THE WESTERN LAND WAS A GIFT FROM RUSSIA. ONE OF HIS TOP ADVISERS, THE FORMER PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA, HAS CALLED IT RUSSIA’S BALTIC PROMISES. THESE ARE ALL NATO ALLIES. FOR 75 YEARS NATO HAS KEPT PEACE IN EUROPE. IT HAS BEEN THE CORNERSTONE OF AMERICAN SECURITY. IF PUTIN ATTACKS A NATO ALLY, WE WILL DEFEND EVERY INCH OF NATO THAT IT CALLS FOR. WE WILL HAVE SOMETHING THAT WE DO NOT SEEK, MAKING CLEAR WE DO NOT SEEK TO HAVE AMERICAN TROOPS FIGHTING IN RUSSIA OR FIGHTING AGAINST RUSSIA. BEYOND EUROPE, WE KNOW THAT OUR ALLIES AND OUR ADVERSARIES AND COMPETITORS ARE WATCHING. THEY ARE WATCHING OUR RESPONSE UKRAINE AS WELL. IF WE WALK AWAY AND LEFT PUTIN TO UKRAINE’S INDEPENDENCE, WOULD BE AGGRESSORS AROUND THE WORLD WOULD BE EMBOLDENED TO DO THE SAME PURITY COULD SPREAD IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD. IN THE IN PACIFIC, IN THE MIDDLE EAST, ESPECIALLY IN THE MIDDLE EAST. IRAN IS SUPPORTING RUSSIA AND UKRAINE AND HAMAS AND OTHER TERRORIST GROUPS IN THE REGION AND WILL CONTINUE TO HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE, I MIGHT ADD. THE UNITED STATES AND OUR PARTNERS ACROSS THE REGION ARE WORKING TO BUILD A BETTER FUTURE FOR THE MIDDLE EAST. ONE WHERE THE MIDDLE EAST IS MORE STABLE, BETTER CONNECTED TO ITS NEIGHBORS, AND THROUGH INNOVATIVE PROJECTS LIKE THE INDIA, MIDDLE EAST, EUROPE RAIL CARTER THAT I ANNOUNCED THIS YEAR AT THE SUMMIT OF THE WORLD’S BIGGEST ECONOMIES, MORE PREDICTABLE MARKETS, MORE IMPORTANT, LESS WAR. IT BENEFITS THE PEOPLE OF THE MIDDLE EAST AND IT WILL BENEFIT US. AMERICAN LEADERSHIP IS WHAT HOLDS THE WORLD TOGETHER. AMERICAN ALLIANCES ARE WHAT KEEPS AMERICA SAFE. AMERICAN VALUES ARE WHAT MAKES US A PARTNER THE OTHER NATIONS WANT TO WORK WITH. TO PUT ALL THAT AT RISK, WE WALK AWAY FROM UKRAINE, WE TURN OUR BACKS ON ISRAEL, IT’S JUST NOT WORTH IT. THAT’S WHY TOMORROW I WILL SEND TO CONGRESS, IN URGENT BUDGET REQUEST TO FUND AMERICA’S NATIONAL SECURITY NEEDS. TO SUPPORT OUR RETICLE PARTNERS INCLUDING ISRAEL AND UKRAINE. IT’S A SMART INVESTMENT THAT’S GOING TO PAY DIVIDENDS FOR AMERICAN SECURITY FOR GENERATIONS. HELP US KEEP AMERICAN TROOPS OUT OF HARM’S WAY. HELP US BUILD A WAR THAT IS SAFER, MORE PEACEFUL, MORE PROSPEROUS FOR OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN. IN ISRAEL, WE MUST MAKE SURE THEY HAVE WHAT THEY NEED TO PROTECT THEIR PEOPLE TODAY AND ALWAYS. THE SECURITY PACKAGE I’M SENDING A CONGRESS AND ASKING CONGRESS IS AN UNPRECEDENTED COMMITMENT TO ISRAEL’S SECURITY THAT WILL SHARPEN ISRAEL’S QUALITATIVE MILITARY EDGE, WHICH WE HAVE COMMITTED TO. QUALITATIVE MILITARY EDGE. WE WILL MAKE SURE THEY CONTINUE TO GUARD THE SKIES OVER ISRAEL. WE WILL MAKE SURE OTHER HOSTILE ACTORS IN THE REGION KNOW THAT ISRAEL IS STRONGER THAN EVER AND PREVENTS THIS CONFLICT FROM SPREADING. LOOK, AT THE SAME TIME, THE PRESIDENT AND I DISCUSSED AGAIN THEIR CRITICAL NEED TO OPERATE BY THE LAWS OF WAR. THAT MEANS PROTECTING CIVILIANS IN COMBAT AS BEST AS THEY CAN. AND THE PEOPLE OF GOD’S — OF GAZA URGENTLY NEED FOOD. YESTERDAY, DISCUSSIONS WITH THE LEADERS OF ISRAEL AND EGYPT I SECURED IN AGREEMENT FOR THE FIRST SHIPMENT OF HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO PALESTINIAN CIVILIANS IN GAZA. HAMAS DOES NOT DIVERT OR STEAL THIS SHIPMENT — THE SHIPMENTS. WE WILL PROVIDE AN OPENING FOR SUSTAINED DELIVERY OF LIFE-SAVING HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE FOR THE PALESTINIANS. AS I SAID IN ISRAEL, AS HARD AS IT IS, WE CANNOT GIVE UP ON PEACE, WE CANNOT GIVE UP ON A TWO STATE SOLUTION. ISRAEL AND PALESTINIANS EQUALLY DESERVE TO LIVE IN SAFETY, DIGNITY, AND PEACE. HERE AT HOME, WE HAVE TO BE HONEST WITH OURSELVES. IN RECENT YEARS, TOO MUCH HATE IS GIVEN TOO MUCH OXYGEN. IT FEELS RACISM, ISLAMAPHOBIA AND ANTISEMITISM RIGHT HERE IN AMERICA. IT HAS LED TO THE HORRIFIC THREATS AND ATTACKS THAT BOTH SHOCK US AND BREAK OUR HEARTS. ON OCTOBER 7, TERROR ATTACKS HAVE TRIGGERED DEEP SCARS AND TERRIBLE MEMORIES AND TERRIBLE MEMORIES IN THE JEWISH COMMUNITY. TODAY, JEWISH FAMILIES WORRIED ABOUT BEING TARGETED IN SCHOOLS, ORDERING SYMBOLS WALKING DOWN THE STREET. OR GOING OUT ABOUT THEIR DAILY LIVES. AND I KNOW MANY OF YOU IN THE MUSLIM AMERICAN COMMUNITY, ARAB AMERICAN COMMUNITY, PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY IN SO MANY OTHERS ARE OUTRAGED AND SAYING TO YOURSELVES, HERE WE GO AGAIN WITH ISLAMAPHOBIA AND DISTRESS WE SAW AFTER 9/11. JUST LAST WEEK A MOTHER WAS BRUTALLY STABBED, A LITTLE BOY — HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, A LITTLE BOY WHO JUST TURNED SIX YEARS OLD WAS MURDERED AT THEIR HOME OUTSIDE OF CHICAGO. HE WAS A PROUD AMERICAN, A PROUD PALESTINIAN-AMERICAN FAMILY. WE CANNOT STAND BY AND STAND SILENT WHEN THIS HAPPENS. WE MUST, WITHOUT EQUIVOCATION, DENOUNCE ANTI-SEMITISM. MUST ALSO, WITHOUT IT — EQUIVOCATION, DENOUNCE ISLAMOPHOBIA. FOR THOSE OF YOU HURTING, I WANT YOU TO KNOW I SEE YOU, YOU BELONG AND I WANT TO SAY THIS TO YOU, YOU ARE ALL-AMERICAN. YOU ARE ALL AMERICAN. IN MOMENTS LIKE THESE, ANGER AND RAGE RUN HARD. WE HAVE TO WORK HARDER THAN EVER TO HOLD ONTO THE VALUES THAT MAKE US WHO WE ARE. WE ARE A NATION OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM, FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION. WE ALL HAVE A RIGHT TO DEBATE AND DISAGREE WITHOUT FEAR OF BEING TARGETED IN SCHOOLS OR WORKPLACES IN OUR COMMUNITIES. IN MUST DENOUNCE VIOLENCE AND VITRIOL. SEE EACH OTHER NOT AS ENEMIES BUT AS FELLOW AMERICANS. AND I WAS IN ISRAEL YESTERDAY, I SAID THAT WHEN AMERICA EXPERIENCED THE HELL OF 9/11, WE FELT ENRAGED. WE MADE MISTAKES. SO I CAUTION THE GOVERNMENT OF ISRAEL NOT TO BE BLINDED BY RAGE. HERE IN AMERICA, LET US NOT FORGET WHO WE ARE. WE REJECT ALL FORMS WHETHER AGAINST MUSLIM, JEWS OR ANYONE. THAT’S WHAT GREAT NATIONS DO AND WE ARE A GREAT NATION. I’M ASKING CONGRESS TO MAKE SURE WE CONTINUE TO SEND UKRAINE THE WEAPONS THEY NEED TO DEFEND THEMSELVES AND THEIR COUNTRY WITHOUT INTERRUPTION. SO UKRAINE CAN STOP PUTIN’S BRUTALITY AND UKRAINE. THEY ARE SUCCEEDING. WHEN PUTIN INVADED UKRAINE, HE THOUGHT HE WOULD TAKE KYIV AND ALL OF UKRAINE IN A MATTER OF DAYS. A LITTLE OVER A YEAR LATER, PUTIN HAS FAILED AND HE CONTINUES TO FAIL. KYIV STILL STANDS BECAUSE THE BRAVERY OF THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE. UKRAINE HAS REGAINED MORE THAN 50% OF THEIR TERRITORY. THAT, BY U.S. LED COALITION AT MORE THAN 50 COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD, ALL DOING THEIR PART TO SUPPORT KYIV. WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE WALKED AWAY? WE ARE THE ESSENTIAL NATION. MEANWHILE, PUTIN HAS TURNED TO IRAN AND NORTH KOREA TO BUY ATTACK DRONES AND AMMUNITION TO TERRORIZE UKRAINIAN CITIES AND PEOPLE. ON THE OUTSET I’VE SAID, I WILL NOT SEND AMERICAN TROOPS TO FIGHT IN UKRAINE. ALL UKRAINE IS ASKING FOR HIS HELP FOR THE WEAPONS, THE CAPABILITY TO PUSH INVADING RUSSIAN FORCES OFF THEIR LANDS. THE AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM TO SHOOT DOWN RUSSIAN MISSILES BEFORE THEY DESTROY UKRAINIAN CITIES. LET ME BE CLEAR ABOUT SOMETHING, WE SEND UKRAINE EQUIPMENT SITTING IN OUR STOCKPILES. AND WHEN WE USE THE MONEY ALLOCATED BY CONGRESS, WE USE IT TO REPLENISH OUR OWN STORES, OUR OWN STOCKPILES WITH NEW EQUIPMENT. EQUIPMENT THAT DEFENDS AMERICA AND IS MADE IN AMERICA. MISSILES FOR AIR DEFENSE BATTERIES MADE IN ARIZONA. ARTILLERY SHELLS MANUFACTURED IN 12 COUNTRIES IN PENNSYLVANIA, OHIO, TEXAS. AND SO MUCH MORE. JUST AS IN WORLD WAR II, TODAY PATRIOTIC AMERICAN WORKERS ARE BUILDING THE ARSENAL OF DEMOCRACY AND SERVING THE CAUSE OF FREEDOM. LET ME CLOSE WITH THIS. EARLIER THIS YEAR I BOARDED AIR FORCE ONE FOR A SECRET FLIGHT TO POLAND. THERE I BOARDED A TRAIN WITH BLACKED OUT WINDOWS FOR A 10 HOUR RIDE EACH WAY TO KYIV TO STAND WITH THE PEOPLE IN UKRAINE AHEAD OF THE ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE BRAVE FIGHT AGAINST PUTIN. I’M TOLD I WAS THE FIRST AMERICAN TO ENTER A WAR ZONE NOT CONTROLLED BY THE UNITED STATES MILITARY SINCE PRESIDENT LINCOLN. WITH ME WAS JUST A SMALL GROUP OF SECURITY PERSONNEL AND ADVISORS. WHEN I EXITED THAT TRAIN, PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY, I DIDN’T FEEL ALONE. I WAS BRINGING WITH ME THE IDEA OF AMERICA, THE PROMISE OF AMERICA TO THE PEOPLE WHO WERE FIGHTING FOR THE SAME THINGS WE VOTE FOR 250 YEARS AGO, FREEDOM, INDEPENDENCE, SELF-DETERMINATION. AS I WALK THROUGH KYIV WITH PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY, WITH A AIR RAID SIRENS SOUNDING IN THE DISTANCE, I FELT SOMETHING I’VE ALWAYS BELIEVED, WE ARE STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE. AMERICA IS A BEACON TO THE WORLD. STILL, STILL. WHEREAS MY FRIEND MADELEINE ALBRIGHT SAID, THE INDISPENSABLE NATION. TONIGHT, THERE ARE INNOCENT PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD WHO HOPE BECAUSE OF US, WHO BELIEVE IN A BETTER LIFE BECAUSE OF US, WHO ARE DESPERATE NOT TO BE FORGOTTEN BY US, AND WHO ARE WAITING FOR US. THE TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE. I KNOW WE HAVE OUR DIVISIONS AT HOME, WE HAVE TO GET PAST THEM. WE CANNOT LET ANY PART OR SIT IN ANGRY POLITICS GET IN THE WAY OF OUR RESPONSIBILITIES AS A GREAT NATION. WE CANNOT AND WILL NOT LET TERRORISTS LIKE HAMAS AND TYRANTS LIKE PUTIN WIN. I REFUSE TO LET THAT HAPPEN. IN MOMENTS LIKE THESE WE HAVE TO REMEMBER WHO WE ARE. WE ARE THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. AND THERE IS NOTHING BEYOND OUR CAPACITY THAN IF WE DO IT TOGETHER. MY FELLOW AMERICANS, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL, AND MAY GOD PROTECT OUR TROOPS.
Biden’s Oval Address: Israel – Ukraine
Date
President Biden explains the importance of supporting Ukraine in a rare Oval Office Address.
