Florida Senate - 2023                             (NP)    SR 8-C
       
       
        
       By Senator Berman
       
       
       
       
       
       26-00004A-23C                                           20238C__
    1                          Senate Resolution                        
    2         A resolution expressing support for the State of
    3         Israel and condemning the attacks and hateful actions
    4         by the Hamas terrorist group.
    5  
    6         WHEREAS, beginning on October 7, 2023, Hamas, a United
    7  States-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, commenced an
    8  unprovoked attack on the State of Israel, killing more than
    9  1,400 innocent individuals, including Israelis, Americans, and
   10  citizens of other nations, among whom were babies, young
   11  children, and the elderly, and raping or torturing countless
   12  defenseless individuals, and
   13         WHEREAS, Hamas indiscriminately launched thousands of
   14  rockets at private homes, schools, and hospitals and took
   15  hundreds of individuals hostage, including young children and
   16  the elderly, and
   17         WHEREAS, this breach of Israel’s borders represents the
   18  most significant threat to its security since the Yom Kippur War
   19  in 1973, and
   20         WHEREAS, following the initial attack by Hamas, the
   21  Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, backed by the Iranian regime
   22  and sharing Hamas’ goal of destroying the Jewish state, has also
   23  waged a savage and unprovoked attack on the State of Israel and
   24  on October 22, 2023, launched antitank missiles into three areas
   25  in Israel, and
   26         WHEREAS, the United States also suffered senseless losses,
   27  with many Americans brutally murdered and many more missing or
   28  taken hostage, and
   29         WHEREAS, Hamas and the Iranian regime have called for the
   30  deaths of Israelis, Americans, Jews, and Christians and have
   31  sought to incite acts of domestic terrorism against Jewish
   32  people and communities around the world, including in the State
   33  of Florida, and
   34         WHEREAS, the Iranian regime provides financial and
   35  logistical support to such terrorist groups as Hamas and
   36  Hezbollah and has praised these recent unconscionable atrocities
   37  committed against innocent civilians, and
   38         WHEREAS, the State of Florida recognizes the right of the
   39  State of Israel to exist as a sovereign and independent nation,
   40  and the right and obligation to defend itself, with the full
   41  rights and privileges afforded to all nations under
   42  international law, and
   43         WHEREAS, the citizens and residents of Israel have the
   44  right to live a peaceful existence without the threat of
   45  indiscriminate violence and without fear of being attacked or
   46  persecuted simply because they are Jewish, and
   47         WHEREAS, the State of Florida has a long-standing bond and
   48  alliance with the State of Israel and is proud to have the
   49  third-largest Jewish population in the United States, and
   50         WHEREAS, the State of Florida prays for the people of the
   51  State of Israel and all those affected by this unjustified and
   52  heinous attack, NOW, THEREFORE,
   53  
   54  Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
   55  
   56         That the Senate of the State of Florida does hereby:
   57         (1) Condemn the unprovoked and barbaric attacks by Hamas
   58  against Israel, its citizens, and Americans.
   59         (2) Unequivocally support the right of the State of Israel
   60  to exist as a sovereign and independent nation.
   61         (3) Support the right of the State of Israel to defend
   62  itself and protect its citizens from indiscriminate violence and
   63  acts of terrorism.
   64         (4) Demand the immediate end to any financial support,
   65  whether direct or indirect, of Hamas, the Iranian regime,
   66  Hezbollah, or any other entity that publicly supports these
   67  attacks and other terrorist activities.
   68         (5) Reject and condemn persistent threats against Jewish
   69  people, institutions, and communities in the State of Florida,
   70  the United States, and abroad, including those from individuals
   71  and organizations committed to the extermination of the Jewish
   72  people.
   73         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
   74  the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to each member of
   75  the Florida Delegation to the United States Congress and the
   76  Ambassador of the State of Israel to the United States as a
   77  tangible token of the sentiments of the Florida Senate.