08-R213
2008 -- H 8264
Enacted 05/08/08
H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N
RECOGNIZING AND
CELEBRATING THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL
Introduced By:
Representatives Lewiss, Long, Fox, Murphy, and Ajello
Date Introduced: May 08,
2008
WHEREAS,
On Friday May 14, 1948, on the day the British Mandate over Palestine
expired,
the Jewish People's Council gathered at the Tel Aviv Museum and signed the
Declaration
of the Establishment of the State of Israel; and
WHEREAS,
The Declaration went into effect at midnight, Tel Aviv time. Shortly
thereafter
it was recognized by the United States and newspapers across the globe
announced
“The
State of Israel is Born”; and
WHEREAS,
The words of the proclamation recount the history of the State of Israel and
Jewish
people’s struggle to attain their homeland. It begins with “the Land of Israel
was the
birthplace
of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity
was shaped.
Here
they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and
universal significance
and
gave to the world the eternal Book of Books”; and
WHEREAS,
The desire to establish an independent modern State of Israel had begun
three
thousand years earlier as an outgrowth of the existence of the historic Kingdom
of Israel,
and
for more than 2,000 years, a continuous Jewish presence and residence in the
land comprising
the
modern State of Israel was sustained; and
WHEREAS,
Following the desolation and slaughter of 6,000,000 European Jews in
1945,
from the ashes of the Holocaust, the modern State of Israel was born, and the
people of
Israel
were granted the independence to forge a proud and strong nation; and
WHEREAS,
Citizens in today’s State of Israel enjoy one of the highest standards of
living
in the area. Economic, political, cultural and intellectual life flourishes,
and the nation is
prosperous;
and
WHEREAS,
Nobel Prizes have been bestowed upon eight Israeli citizens and the Israeli
entrepreneurial
spirit has enabled it to become a world leader in high-tech industries and
renewable
energy sources; and
WHEREAS,
Frequent armed aggression, terrorism, unjustified international ostracism
and
economic boycotts have forced the nation to face often difficult and dangerous
years; and
WHEREAS,
Successive leaders in Israel have sought to achieve concord, establishing
peaceful
bilateral relations with neighboring Egypt and Jordan, and making its desire to
establish
peaceful
relations with all Arab states a clear priority; and
WHEREAS,
The American people feel a strong affinity for the Israeli people based on
common
values, shared cultural heritage, mutual respect and moral bonds of friendship;
and
WHEREAS,
Since the declaration of its independence in 1948, the State of Israel and the
United
States have maintained a special relationship based on mutually shared tenets
and
democratic
values and the United States continues to regard Israel as a strong and trusted
ally and
an
important strategic partner; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED,
That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and
Providence
Plantations hereby recognizes the 60th Anniversary of the founding of the
modern
State
of Israel. We furthermore join with the citizens of Rhode Island in celebrating
and
reaffirming
the bonds of friendship and cooperation between the United States and Israel
and
wish
for a peaceful, prosperous, and successful future for the Israeli people; and
be it further
RESOLVED,
That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to
transmit
a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Rhode Island Congressional
Delegation,
Sallai
Meridor, Israeli Ambassador to the United States, the American Israeli Public
Affairs
Committee
(AIPAC), the United States Holocaust Museum, the Jewish Federation of Rhode
Island,
and the Jewish Community Center of Rhode Island.
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LC02820
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