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.