Bill Text: FL S1800 | 2017 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Reunification of Jerusalem 50th Anniversary

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2017-04-06 - Adopted [S1800 Detail]

Download: Florida-2017-S1800-Introduced.html

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       Florida Senate - 2017                            (NP)    SR 1800
       
       
        
       By Senator Powell
       
       
       
       
       
       30-02714-17                                           20171800__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution recognizing the 50th anniversary of the
    3         reunification of Jerusalem.
    4  
    5         WHEREAS, the United States and Israel were built by
    6  idealists, including those who had fled war and oppression, who
    7  planted the seeds of democracy to foster a better world, and the
    8  two nations exist because people before us refused to be
    9  constrained by the past or the difficulties of the present, and
   10         WHEREAS, the relationship between the two nations is based
   11  not only on shared interests, but also on deeply held shared
   12  values, and
   13         WHEREAS, the 1967 Six-Day War was a transformative event in
   14  the history of Israel and the Jewish people, in which Israel,
   15  surrounded on all its borders and threatened with annihilation,
   16  emerged with a decisive military victory against the combined
   17  armies of neighboring aggressor states, and also created
   18  unresolved challenges with which Israel grapples to this day,
   19  and
   20         WHEREAS, after 19 years during which Jerusalem was divided,
   21  Jewish holy sites were desecrated, and access to them was
   22  denied, the conflict resulted in the city’s reunification, and
   23         WHEREAS, since 1967, Israel has respected the right of all
   24  peoples to visit its holy sites, subject to security
   25  requirements, and this right must continue to be maintained, and
   26         WHEREAS, before 1967 and thereafter, Israel has never
   27  ceased struggling to achieve peace with its neighbors, making
   28  painful sacrifices, including the removal of settlements and
   29  military forces from strategically important areas, and
   30         WHEREAS, a peace treaty with Egypt was forged in 1979,
   31  under which Israel withdrew from the Sinai, and, in 1994, Jordan
   32  and Israel signed a peace treaty, and, despite numerous crises,
   33  the treaties remain intact and provide an important source of
   34  stability in the region, leading to vital security cooperation
   35  in the face of threats to these nations, and
   36         WHEREAS, the Six-Day War left Israel in control over the
   37  lives of millions of Palestinians living in the West Bank and
   38  Gaza, causing enormous trauma and suffering on both sides, and
   39         WHEREAS, in the pursuit of peace and reconciliation, Israel
   40  has engaged in direct negotiations with Palestinian leaders
   41  since 1993 and forged interim agreements leading to territorial
   42  concessions under which, despite tensions, terrorism, and other
   43  difficulties, Israel has developed a working administrative and
   44  security relationship with the Palestinian National Authority,
   45  and
   46         WHEREAS, Israel further unilaterally disengaged from Gaza
   47  in 2005, with the aim of improving the situation for
   48  Palestinians, and
   49         WHEREAS, despite numerous efforts over the years, a peace
   50  agreement between Israel and the Palestinian leadership has
   51  proven to be elusive, with Israel accepting and Palestinian
   52  leaders rejecting numerous peace offers since 1947, and
   53         WHEREAS, while the current environment has not been
   54  conducive to peace initiatives, it is hoped that Israel and the
   55  Palestinian National Authority can resume negotiations leading
   56  to a comprehensive conflict-ending agreement resolving all
   57  outstanding issues, including borders; refugees, both
   58  Palestinian and Jewish people from Arab states; security;
   59  settlements; and Jerusalem, and
   60         WHEREAS, this is a time to intensify support for efforts by
   61  Israeli and Palestinian civil society leaders to build an
   62  infrastructure of peace from the ground up through people-to
   63  people initiatives to pursue diplomatic solutions that will
   64  serve to anchor any future agreements, NOW, THEREFORE,
   65  
   66  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   67  
   68         That the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem
   69  is recognized as an occasion to reaffirm the Florida Senate’s
   70  strong support for the democratic State of Israel.
   71         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that peace between Israel and the
   72  Arab world would significantly bolster efforts to confront
   73  extremism and violence in the region by terrorist organizations.
   74         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
   75  the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to the President of
   76  the United States, the President Pro Tempore of the United
   77  States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of
   78  Representatives, the members of the Florida delegation of the
   79  United States House of Representatives and the United States
   80  Senate, and the Ambassador of the State of Israel to the United
   81  States as a tangible token of the sentiments of the Florida
   82  Senate.