rally at madison square garden. as the foot able shows in the middle of new york, storm troopers giving the nazi salute with swastica next to a picture of george washington. that rally was for george washington's birthday. there was an active american fascist movement in the '20s and '30s. earlier than people think. >> university of london literature professor sara churchwell with her book "behold america." u.s. house members now talking about work in congress to protect christian rights. the group called indefen defens christians hosted the annual dinner. a member of the lebanese parliament on christians in

lebanon. [ speaking in a foreign language ] thank you very much for being here. my name is tonia khouri. i proudly serve on the board of idc, and when i look at idc, i don't just see it as a human rights advocacy organization, which we are, but i see so much more. i see a mission, because we are on a mission to protect and defend christianity in the middle east. that is our mission. and religious freedom is the cornerstone of our democracy here in the united states. but more importantly, it's a

god-given right that should be protected and defended throughout the world, especially in the middle east. and many martyrs have gone before us and have given their lives for this cause. it is now up to us to continue this mission in their memory. the apostle james tells us, faith without works is dead. i am so grateful that idc gives us the opportunity to put our faith in action by helping our brothers and sisters in need. now, a very special congressman from my home state of illinois who i respect and he's a friend and a mentor to me, he also puts his faith into action. and his name is congressman

randy hultgren. congressman hultgren has always been a strong supporter of idc as he co-sponsored every bill that idc proposed. congressman hultgren is a reward champion participant, and we especially thank him for co-chairing the world rights commission. so congressman, we thank you for your faith, for your integrity, for your public service, and for your unwavering support for idc and our mission. so please join me in welcoming my friend, congressman randy hultgren. [ applause ] >> thank you, tonia. so good to be with you tonight. this is so important. and we do have a lot to celebrate but we also have so much to remind ourselves that

our work is only just begun. there is so much more that we need to do. aim grateful for tonia and her friendship and her family and their passion for defending christians and religious liberty, religious freedom. this foundational freedom that we as human beings have and must have, and we, as people living in this wonderful country must be active and involved. so thank you for having me here tonight. i do think we come together to recognize and to celebrate this reality. i believe god has a special love and a place in his heart for those who stay faithful to their commitment to god in spite of what they are put through, torture, abuse, imprisonment over and over again that happens around the world. and yet it is our responsibility as those who live in this great country to speak up for them, to

stand up for them, to fight for them, to do everything that we can for them to be able to enjoy that same freedom. as tonia said, it's been such a privilege to be able to serve as co-chairman of the human rights commission, and our office have been working together with you to raise the plight of churches around the world, to defend christians who have been violently targeted, marginalized, even tortured because of their faith in christ. a couple months ago, the human rights commission, along with the defense of christians, organized a briefing on human rights and strategies for accountability in turkey. we were honored to have the director moderate such a timely important discussion on the topic. soon after we had that briefing, we all celebrated the good news of hearing that pastor andrew brunson was going to be released. certainly pastor brunson's

freedom is a testimony to all of us that when we come together, when we speak loudly, when we hold other nations accountable for their improper, illegal abuse of these ultimate freedoms that we need to come together and that we can have and will have success. sometimes it takes far too long, but we can't stop. we can't let up. unfortunately, as i look at turkey today and its treatment of religious freedom, i'm also reminded, as i said earlier, that there is much work to do. our job is not done. over the past couple of years, turkey's action on the world stage and within their own borders has provoked a common outcry from democratic leaders human rights organizations and all who believe in important individuals of universal rights such as freedom of belief, freedom of expression and the

right to due process and a fair trial. it's estimated that over 50,000 people remain in pre-trial detention in turkey since the failed coup attempt in 2016, including journalists, lawyers, judges, human rights defenders, teachers, economics and ngo workers. christians in turkey have a particularly challenging time and have had that challenging time over the past several years. conditions for them continue to worsen. the u.s. commission on international religious freedom or ucirf, has once again recognized turkey as a country for violations of religious freedom.

turkey's downward spiral in its relation to freedom of belief has included proposed changes to the educational curriculum that excludes non-muslims. an increase in government spending solely for sunni mosques and a lack of progress with respect to legal status and registration for non-muslim communities. they are often targeted with hate speech in social media. the churches in turkey and other nations across the middle east can seem overwhelming. we don't have the luxury for being overwhelmed. we have to continue to speak up, to fight, to make sure their voice is heard. i would like to remind all of us that many of these communities trace their faith lineage back to biblical times, and i truly believe that they will continue to persevere no matter what challenge they face in the future. but i also know that they need us. we must continue to work together to remind them that we stand in solidarity with them and that we will do all in our power to support them and their right to worship as they please. so i wanted to come here tonight to say thank you. thank you for your work, thank you for your partnership. i believe we've accomplished a lot but i also know there is so much more to be done. god bless you and let's continue to fight for every single person, of single christian every place in the world. i hope you have a great night. thank you. [ applause ] >> and the line-up continues

with exciting people. sorry, i was backstage. he and i were making best friends. hagar chemali. she is the leader of community strategies. she is a long-time friend of idc and vice president of global communications for idc. and she was the director of communications and spokesperson for the u.s. mission to the united nations and for ambassador samantha power. from 2010 to 2012, she was the director of syria and lebanon at the national security council. i give you hagar. [ applause ] >> hi, everyone. i don't need a mic, really. hello, idc lovers. thank you for that beautiful introduction. my name is hagar, as marsha noted.

i'm from greenwich, connecticut. my parents are from lebanon. i actually started my career here in washington, d.c. working for congressman christian hayes from connecticut. from there i went to the treasury department working in finance and sanctions policy and i handled the middle east which really focused a lot on counter financing and counterterrorism. from there i went and had the privilege of working on syria-lebanon for the crisis, and from my personal background, which i'll give you a little glimpse into, i am a mutt of sorts, if you can call it that. my great-grandparents were both armenian, one of whom -- yes -- one of whom fled the massacre of debra keir in turkey. my mother is of jewish background. her family came from heifa, and i have maronite background as well. i am really all of them.

my family members suffered their own kind of oppression and escape. as a result of that and my work experiences, i always felt strongly about protecting the weak, fighting for these communities that are on the brink of going extinct and certainly for bipartisan support to fight for the right causes. so that's why we're here. i'm so proud to be part of idc and particularly for fighting for these communities in the middle east. they need all the help we can get. all of you seem a little bit quiet. i guarantee if you give a donation, you'll feel great, you'll perk up. from here i'm going to introduce to you a few of our next speakers. i would like to introduce to you congressman french hill who represents the second

congressional district of arkansas. congressman hill has been a great advocate for the cops in particular. he has introduced legislation this year in calling on the egyptian government to treat egyptian cops better. so with that, i'll ask the congressman to take it away. >> good evening, everybody. thank you very much for being here tonight, for supporting this worthy cause. i want to thank specifically the board for all the work you do across the middle east. the last year has been a good one for the fight to bring religious freedom and tolerance to egypt. if you don't know, i introduced hr-res-63 last year that concerns cop treatment in egypt. i received tremendous support from our colleagues in congress and organizations like this one

that make it much easier to confront opposition and explain the justice of our position. our resolution has 54 bipartisan co-sponsors, 18 democrats and 36 republicans. although not close to 218 needed to pass the house, this is a significant achievement for this type of resolution in its first year. the key in the next congress will be getting more members of the house foreign affairs committee to support and continue to educate all of our members about the resolution's treatment of the egyptian government. i stress to all the members of congress and to the egyptian foreign affairs officials, this is not an attack on president el-sisi. on the contrary. i support our friendship with egypt, but more can always be done in the area of protecting religious freedom and human rights. my staff and i met with the egyptian embassy on numerous

occasions, and i've had other opportunities to meet with members of the egyptian parliament, including one woman, parliamentarian, who is a cop. egypt and the united states are important partners in the fight against terrorism in the region. egypt's role at camp david has led to some of the closest ties between the u.s., egypt and israel in their history. one still marvels at the bravery of anwar sadat for the speech in 1957 where he said, we all love this land, the land of god. we all, muslims, christians and jews, all worship god. we must rise above all forms of obsolete theories of superiority, and the most important thing is never forget that infallibility is the one thing of god alone. who would think they would attempt to be the arbiters in gaza? i also applaud the changes and message that el-sisi has made in the area of religious tolerance. he continues to say and do the

right things at the top level of the egyptian government. he has a good relationship with the catholic pope, attends mass on multiple occasions, gets some churches reconstructed while constructing the largest christian cathedral in the middle east in the new administrative center outside cairo and holding terrorists accountable for their atrocities. but there is more to do. in my meetings with the egyptian government, i continue to emphasize that el-sisi's message has been the right one, but the message does not trickle down to the country. the attack on the christians is the most violent. the most recent freedom report on egypt published in early 2018

mentions many a province more than any other noted in the report. many asked what are the most recent and some of the most deadly attacks on cops have transpired. the egyptians routinely claim they have no minorities in egypt. we are all egyptian and we all take our water from the nile, they say. but from my studies and in my personal view, the population of egypt does not have the same protections under the rule of law as others. they must do better in places like minea province. if you attack a church, if you murder a christian, the egyptian government must hold you accountable for your actions in a court of law.

this is justice under the law. in the book of proverbs, solomon tells us evil men understand nothing of justice, but those who seek the lord understand all. and from the holy koran, let not the holy people sway you away from justice. as the highest recipient of military aid in the world, the united states government must use the tools that it has to hold our allies to a higher standard if they are to continue to receive that aid. let's encourage today's egypt to live up to the legacy of camp david at home. working to achieve what sadat called permanent peace based on justice. i will continue to engage with the u.s. government, other like-minded governments and those groups like, in defense of christians, that continue to speak out against the plight of intolerance and fear that many christians around the world face on a daily basis.

as president reagan said it best, respect for human rights is not social work. it is not merely an act of compassion. it is the first obligation of government and the source of its legitimacy. the respect for human rights and religious freedom is a fundamental american position. i'm honored to be a champion in promoting this issue for the cop to christians and all egyptians who take their water from the nile. thanks for having me tonight and thanks for your support of this great organization. [ applause ] >> next i'd like to introduce you to congressman brad sherman who represents the 30th congressional district of california. congressman sherman has been a leading advocate on really a wide range of ids issues.

he's been a co-sponsor of every idc-backed bill. he's been a very vocal supporter in calling for the declaration of genocide and he's been very engaged in the issues in lebanon. with that i'd like to introduce you to congressman sherman. [ applause ] >> hello, i'm brad sherman from california's best named city, sherman oaks. i represent everyone you know in the 818 area code, the san fernando valley. with me here is my wife lisa who for more than two decades has devoted her life to human rights and religious rights and religious freedom, working every day at the bureau of democracy human rights and labor and has

particularly been involved in fighting for christians in sudan. i've had the honor of serving on the foreign affairs committee for 22 years, and i will be the second ranking member of the majority next year. [ applause ] >> i was so honored to be recognized as a congressional champion in defense of christians and i look forward to living up to that honor in the years to come. as to the armenian genocide, the first genocide of the 20th century, i have thought from the moment i got to congress -- fought from the moment i got to congress to have our congress recognize historical fact. now we are at the 103rd university of that catastrophe,

and we do america no good when we quiver, when we are afraid, when we bow to turkish pressure and fail to recognize truth and history. [ applause ] >> so from my first day in congress to the day i was able to manage the genocide omission successfully through the foreign affairs committee, to just earlier this year when i was able to speak directly and publicly to secretary of state pompeo, i understand the importance of recognizing the armenian genocide. because genocide denial is the last step of a genocide. where you blot out not only a people but the memory of their destruction. and genocide denial is the first step in the next genocide. for few of us are unaware that hitler was able to tell ms. -- his minions that they could get away with it, because after all,

who remembered the armenians? what benefit is it? who does it help? first it helps america, it helps the survivors. but it is the greatest help that we could provide to turkey. what kind of ally will turkey be if it continues to deny the genocide? what kind of alliance and relationship would we have if a german government was denying the holocaust? turkey may someday be a democratic ally of the united states, but that won't happen until turkey itself recognizes the first genocide of the 20th century. [ applause ] >> this spring i hosted a congressional round table sponsored by in defense of christians to help focus on lebanon and the perilous situation there.

i worked with in defense of christians along with my colleague, mr. grutman, to enhance the flow of infill that is supposed to support lebanon's stability and needs to protect the border between syria and lebanon. because we cannot see a secure lebanon, we cannot see religious freedom in lebanon unless we prevent the enormous inflow of weapons and missiles and iranian cash across the syrian border

into lebanon. [ applause ] >> i've supported sanctions on the iranian regime since i first arrived in congress in 1997 and every year since then. and we must make sure that hezbollah does not dominate lebanon. [ applause ] >> the largest christian community in the middle east are the cop de christians. that is why i was the sponsor of the cop de lebanese act to restore the churches that had been so desecrated under the rule of the muslim brotherhood. but just last month, a bus carrying cop de christians was ambushed south of cairo, leaving seven dead and 19 injured. i have had a chance not only to co-sponsor h-res-673 along with several of my colleagues introducing that to focus

attention on the persecution of cop de christians and to demand the arrest and prosecution of the individuals who have carried out terrorist acts against them. it's one thing to communicate something by passing a resolution in congress that you hope will be read in cairo, but in my role in the foreign affairs committee, i get a chance to speak directly as i did last year to president el-sisi, as i have time and again to the foreign ambassador making it clear, support of the egyptian cop de community is critical to congress. we are paying attention and the cop de community will not be forgotten. [ applause ]

>> i was pleased to co-sponsor the near east and south central asia religious freedom act which provided for a special envoy to focus on religious minorities in the middle east and to show the bipartisanship of that issue names the person appointed to that person by president obama now continues to serve under president trump. it may be the only obama appointee who has been allowed voluntarily by trump to continue to serve in the new administration. as to syria and iraq, we have seen such terrible acts committed by isis and by others. that's why i co-sponsored the iraq and syria genocide emergency relief and accountability act, to provide aid and to direct our military to provide christians in iraq and syria with what they need to provide for their own defense.

i could go on, but it's a choice between me and dessert, and i do, after all, hold my current position by being popular, at least in the san fernando valley. i've never tested whether i would be more popular than dessert, and i don't intend to do that now. so i look forward to working with all of you. i'm brad sherman from sherman oaks. thank you. [ applause ]

>> this is going to be my last introduction for you. i would like to introduce you to -- you're clapping at that? i'd like to introduce you to congressman jeff fortenberry. you're going to really enjoy his speech. he was a recipient of god award, specifically for his work of being a leader and the legislation that was passed in 2015 declaring isis atrocities against yazidis and others as genocide. he also is proficient in arabic so i hope you all understand him. he has an adorable accent. i would like to introduce you to congressman fortenberry. >> hi, everybody. good evening. so happy to be with you. we just ended the political season, so all of you are very fatigued by this, but let's do this one more time.

let's do a poll, okay? i want everyone to raise their hand -- follow closely, it's a little bit complicated. if this has happened to you, if you have been able to achieve this, i want you to raise your hand. how many of you have ever been able to tell toufic baaklini? i thought it was unanimous; no

one. oh, i found one. your wife? nada. i didn't see you coming in. i would have known it would be 99 to 1. good to see you. sorry the lights are so bright. i'm so proud to be in friendship and solidarity with in defense of christians and with you. because what you're doing is quite extraordinary. let me explain for a moment. there are three things that have to align if you're going to get something done in the united states congress. and, in fact, in life. and i teach a little course and i teach students this. the first is policy. it's called the three p's. policy is the first p. the idea. it has to be sound, it has to be good, it has to be true, it has to be inspiring, it has to invite.

but you can have all the good ideas in the world, but if you don't understand the process by which you get something done, it doesn't happen. policy, process and finally the third p, the politics. the reservoir of relationships, of commitment around an idea and the mission and the willingness to sacrifice for it. that's a nice, gentle definition of politics. what you have done with idc is create that third leg of the stool, because we can talk all day long about the necessity to define the gravity of the persecution and sacrifice against our brothers -- our brothers and sisters across the world have gone through. we can do that all day long. and we can try and gather colleagues to pass certain things, but it will take too long given the direness of the circumstances and the nature of our system.

but when there are people like you who put the full authority of your credibility, your good names behind this and create a movement that elevates the conscience that invites people to, again, a higher proposition that motivates and inspires your political public service, then we can get things done. that's what i mean by being in solidarity with you. now, this summer i had a very interesting opportunity. i wanted to tell about you it and give you an update about a few things we're working on. at the behest of the vice president, i went to northern iraq. you all know the statistics. there are several hundred thousand christians, perhaps, left in iraq. the yazidi community has been decimated of ancient tradition. others who were attacked there of religious pluralism where there was a certain degree of acceptance of the minority communities, it's just been devastated.

so, of course, we in the congress were able to get through the genocide revolution which, again, was very critical to elevating consciousness about this. but then comes the hard work of next steps. and many of you associated or directly from or have family, for instance, in lebanon who have absorbed a huge burden of refugees from syria primarily, but even iraq and other places, as well as the country of jordan, the united states, and mick mulvaney, i understand, spoke with you earlier. working with mick, we were able to change some funding streams and move money out of certain organizations to a more direct type of aid, but we were worried that there was some difficulties coming out of the gate, so again, at the behest of the vice president, i went to northern iraq. i can't get this image out of my head. i was in a tent in this refugee camp named dehook. a woman with her 14 children were there. it was 80 degrees outside. it was a tent structure they were living in. she told us about her circumstances. my husband is dead and my house is destroyed. and she just starts crying. i don't know what to do. here again, we have this beautiful gift of america which, by the way, we celebrated in a

profound way today at the funeral of president george h.w. bush, which was a real american public liturgy, christian in its orientation because of the faith tradition of that great family, but also very public for all eyes to see. and it was nobling. but for those of us who have the great gift of this country to protect our ideals of religious freedom as much stress as they're under, sitting in a tent with an yazidi woman who has a five-year-old, a ten-year-old and a 13-year-old son just starts crying and says, i don't know what to do. i keep placing myself in those circumstances. how do you know what to do? the christian community, many of whom have had to relocate in the kurdish areas are trickling back to the areas of the movement in iraq. trickling. he's brought 2100 people with

him to rebuild a community in telesgov, which is a tiny community. i see a sign on the wall and it says hungary helps. hungary was the first country in to begin lifting this burden. after visiting with the caldeans and the orthodox, the yazidis and the shabbaq shia, it's pretty evident that what we're doing with aid is pretty important. i kept going back to the

three-word principle. it was possibility. there is real possibility here in northern iraq to regenerate by reestablishing the presence of the religious minority community. second, though, it's urgent. i don't know what to do, was the cry of this woman. if there is much more time that passed, she is permanently parked in a refugee camp, permanently. and lebanon and other places in the middle east know this dynamic. and third, though, and this is a key point, security. it's possible we can do this, it's urgent, but there needs to be a new security overlay. so upon returning, i've written a new security resolution that would actually help the iraqi central government establish a new type of military training

mission, international in its character so that it is a multinational effort, that would integrate christians and yazidis and shabbaq shia tied to the government in iraq so there is the possibility again of more militia, tied to the central government of iraq with special authority for the protection of sinjar. and why is this important? number one, it's a matter of justice. they issue on the verge of tears. congressman, do something. my mother, my sister is on mount sinjar. they will be killed. there is no more time. do something. of course, you all are aware

that america undertook air strikes and saved a number of people. a very weak and tenuous security situation which prevents that woman from contemplating the possibility of returning to her home. so we do this because it is a matter of humanitarian need and justice. we do this because if we lose the religious minority populations across iraq or across anywhere in the middle east, those of you who are directly connected to that region know that it will simply default back to triable and ethnic allegiance. there will never be a chance for peace. second, iran is back fielding a lot of these areas. we were in areas controlled by iranian militia.

and have a lot of security assets. third, permanent refugee camps will do two things. put increased pressure on the kurdish government, the iraqi government for resources they're strained over. it will force out migration at higher numbers than perhaps we've seen before. it will permanently lose the presence of religious minorities in that area. and, of course, finally, there's the possibility it's almost unthinkable that isis could regenerate itself. people there say that to you regularly. the possibility exists for regeneration of isis. and we can defeat them. we can defeat them militarily, and we will, but this harder, long-term work or the longer term work which is harder in many ways because it takes a view of the horizon to rethink the security situation so that

our economic aid is sustainable. so that the religious minority population has a chance to not just regenerate but flourish and reintegrated into iraqi society. creates a template for maybe, maybe, what's possible in syria next, which, of course, would decrease pressure on lebanon and jordan. it's critically important. so we'll be pushing this quickly. it's being socialized across our government and in the military. budget director muare aware of this. the hungarians are aware of this. other countries have been introduced to the possibility, again, of a new multinational mission. it has to be multinational. but it's a new way of thinking rather than what i fear is

adrift with the status quo which then becomes a permanent status quo which means that we lose. we can't afford to lose. it's unjust and the future of peace in the middle east is at stake. the other beautiful, beautiful gift that the religious minority communities bring, frankly, i couldn't believe he said it. former secretary of state recollection tillerson came before our committee, he said every major arab leader tells him this, without christians, there's not peace. the contribution of the religious minority communities and the christian communities to being a level, a presence, bridge builders, providing services to the poor, to those who are downtrodden no matter their religious affiliation is critical for the well being of all peoples there. you all know this.

without indefensive christians leaving this purely in the hands of congress, don't do that, please. help us by remaining in solidarity with us. push us to get this done because it is urgent. create the ever larger communities. the fruit is on the tree of the communities. particularly the lebanese communities. create a linkage so that there is a singular voice of movement that continues to raise this for the united states congress. even if we want to talk in terms of justice and humanitarian relief for those in need, or peace in the middle east itself or stopping those who have dark and twisted theology.

tevin if we want to talk about that it would be enough. what is at stake here is human dignity. the architecture of diplomatic relations in the 21st century has to go beyond the nation state and the traditional role. it's about a fundamental philosophical principle called human dignity. if with can embrace that, we did begin to build out the just space for governance, just market systems, protective measures for those incapacitated. i'm telling you, you know this, a ground zero for all of this is what happens right there in the and gent homeland of the christian community. is t is grou-- it is ground zer.

if we can pull this off, i think we can demonstrate that these ideas that appeal to reason but also have a place in every human heart can actually be lived out and we start to pull the world away from the brink of disaster. how do we coffin form ourselves to this idea of human dignity so, again, just governance can reign? that's going to save us. that's why i want to come tonight and i'm a bit distracted. i have to tell you. i got out of the taxi and i left my phone in the taxi. so we've been on the phone trying to get the taxi. i'm even praying to saint

anthony now to help me find it. i wanted to come and say thank you to all of you who have sacrificed so tremendously for this. my colleagues are not telling you this, but they're moved by what they're seeing. you're in solidarity with us. this is about fundamentals. it's about things that transcend to what is noble and good. god bless you. thank you for having me tonight.

[ applause ] on sunday i had the privilege of spending sunday afternoon with john who today gave the eulogy for president bush. one of the things that john said, and i think we can witness this tonight, he said power is only good when it's used for the purpose of the people. and i think that congressmen we've heard tonight, they're using their power for the purpose of the people. i think they should be honored for taking time from their busy time to be with us. i think it's all a tribute to indefensive christians and the great work being done here. i have another friend to introduce you to. i'm walking away with so many friends tonight. a member of the parliament of lebanon and board of trustees. he's a former president of the

association of lebanese industrialists, and chief executive of the multinational company. he was the founding president of phoenix machinery and he was born in lebanon. [ applause ] >> good evening, ladies and gentlemen. i am really, really humbled to talk after the congressman and all the great congressmen com. g coming from lebanon, it's not easy in those days. so i'll try to be as -- with my jet lag it's not going to be easy.

i want to start by thanking all the team of idc who has done a remarkable job in bringing a cause has long been of passing interests. i will particularly like to extend on behalf of the christians of the middle east our sincere and everlasting gratitude to the u.s. congressmen and senators who embraced our cause, with no other interests but to stand for what's right, to stand for the set of values that this great nation has entrusted to nurture and spread to all nations. dear friends, i'm coming straight from lebanon and i fned to tell you, i have no good news

for you tonight. lebanon is dying as we speak, this is why. lebanon is collapsing under the weight of a million and a half syrian displaced. lebanon is disintegrating under the pressure of a gigantic social and economic crisis. this is why. the lebanese infrastructure are floundering as a result of a convoluted political and economic vicious spiral that has evolved into an environmental disaster. never experienced in the beautiful and glamorous lebanon. all that -- and that is not all. there is another looming disaster in the making.

about 60,000 syrian children are born in lebanon every year. more than lebanese children, by the way. >> why? >> why? because -- are born in lebanon every year, more than lebanese children, for the last six years. we could expect to have more than 300,000 children already born in lebanon, most of them without syrian papers and will result in lebanese citizenship. this might be the next big regional crisis of the middle east. millions of paperless citizens of nowhere. this is a new stand.

dear friends, what the civil war could not achieve, what political and religious persecution could not realize, the faltering of the lebanese state will. the massive exodus of the christians of lebanon, along with the enlightened and moderate muslims. history has taught us that the christians of lebanon and the christians of the middle east in general flourish and expand in ap environment of order and state. in a failed state -- in the failed state, the future is bleak. the recent success of idc in achieving the recognition of the genocide by isis is a very important step in establishing justice and in supporting the

christian presence in the middle east. unfortunately, that will not be enough to preserve the ethnic and religious diversity of the middle east. i strongly believe that we should direct all our efforts now towards fighting an immediate solution for the syrian refugeeses in lebanon a outside lebanon and embark on the complex task of building state building initiatives, productive, professional and corruption-free public service to all citizens with with no discrimination should be our next goal in our quest for rooting the christians in their homeland. this is a completely new dimension. this is a difficult and

challenging task. we can do it. we can do it. if we believe that our duty is to be the salt of the earth and the yeast of the dawn. i sincerely believe that jesus' message of brotherhood to all mankind across all religions, all races and colors, jen genti and jews, is our true mission for the middle east. we should offer functioning, productive systems for the middle east. we shall give life and give it abundantly. this is our new objective. thank you all for this wonderful event. [ applause ]

now you know why. >> c-span, where history unfolds daily. in 1979 c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television companies, and today we continue to bring you unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and public policy events in washington, d.c., and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your cable or satellite provider. >> we are live in the senate office building on capitol hill to hear from top officials from the homeland security and justice departments as well as the fbi. they are going to answer questions this morning on china's nontraditional espionage efforts against the u.s. this is a hearing of the senate judiciary committee. it's expected to start in just a moment live here on c-span 3.