Bill Text: NJ SR38 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced


Bill Title: Supports resolutions in each House of Congress disapproving of decision of U.S. to abstain from voting on United Nations Security Council resolution condemning certain new Israeli settlements.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-02-01 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism & Historic Preservation Committee [SR38 Detail]

Download: New_Jersey-2018-SR38-Introduced.html

SENATE RESOLUTION No. 38

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

218th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 1, 2018

 


 

Sponsored by:

Senator  JOSEPH PENNACCHIO

District 26 (Essex, Morris and Passaic)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Supports resolutions in each House of Congress disapproving of decision of U.S. to abstain from voting on United Nations Security Council resolution condemning certain new Israeli settlements.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

  


A Senate Resolution supporting the resolutions in each House of Congress disapproving of the decision of the United States to abstain from voting on a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning certain new Israeli settlements.

 

Whereas, New Jersey and Israel have always shared deep cultural and economic ties; and

Whereas, The State of Israel has been a loyal friend and strong ally to the United States since its establishment in 1948; and

Whereas, The United States Government has historically opposed and vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions that are one-sided and overly critical of Israel; and

Whereas, On December 23, 2016, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 2334, which condemns Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem; and

Whereas, The United States government, under the direction of President Barack Obama, broke its well-established commitment to the State of Israel, our strongest ally in the Middle East, and broke with longstanding United States foreign policy by refusing to veto this resolution condemning Israel; and

Whereas, Contrary to the United States' objective of encouraging direct, bilateral negotiations, allowing the resolution to pass instead incentivizes parties to seek recourse through international institutions; and

Whereas, Not only does the resolution threaten, rather than promote, peace in the Middle East, it jeopardizes Israel's position with regard to the International Criminal Court (ICC), calling Israel's actions a "flagrant violation under international law" and implicitly encouraging advancement of the preliminary examination of whether Israeli officials have engaged in the "war crime" of settlement building; and

Whereas, The United States chose to abstain from the vote on Resolution 2334 despite the statements of United States Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power that Israel has been treated differently from other nations at the United Nations, as evidenced by the abundance of resolutions against Israel adopted during the U.N. General Assembly and in the Human Rights Council in 2016, more than those focused on any other specific country such as Syria, North Korea, Iran, or South Sudan; and

Whereas, Leaders considered by the Obama Administration as "principled on behalf of peace" and advocates of a two-state solution criticized the resolution and recognized it as damaging to Israel and its interests; and

Whereas, The United States House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of a bipartisan resolution on January 5, 2017, declaring unwavering support for Israel and insisting that the United States reject any future United Nations actions that are "one-sided and anti-Israel"; and

Whereas, A similar measure was introduced in the United States Senate on January 4, 2017, and has also received bipartisan support; and

Whereas, The United Nations is not the appropriate venue and should not be a forum used for seeking unilateral action or dictating the parameters for a two-state solution, including the status of Jerusalem; and

Whereas, Allowing Resolution 2334 to pass was morally wrong, strategically damaging, and reversed decades of past practice; now, therefore,

 

     Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1. This House supports the resolutions in the United State House of Representatives and the United States Senate disapproving of the decision of the United States to abstain from voting on United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, adopted December 23, 2016.

    

     2.  Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the President and Vice President of the United States, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States House of Representatives, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, and each member of the United States Congress elected from this State.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     New Jersey and Israel have always shared deep cultural and economic ties. The State of Israel has been a loyal friend and strong ally to the United States since its establishment in 1948. Though the United States Government has historically opposed and vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions that are overly critical of Israel, on December 23, 2016, the United States Government, under the direction of President Barack Obama, broke its longstanding commitment to the State of Israel by refusing to veto United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which condemns Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

     The United States House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in support of a bipartisan resolution on January 5, 2017, declaring unwavering support for Israel and insisting that the United States reject any future United Nations actions that are "one-sided and anti-Israel." A similar measure was introduced in the United States Senate on January 4, 2017, and has also received bipartisan support.

     Allowing Resolution 2334 to pass was morally wrong, strategically damaging, and reversed decades of past practice. Thus, the Senate of the State of New Jersey supports the resolutions in the United State House of Representatives and the United States Senate disapproving of the decision of the United States to abstain from voting on United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 (2016).

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