[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 156 (Saturday, November 8, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2245]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 102 REAFFIRMING U.S. LINKS WITH ISRAEL ON THE 
  50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MODERN STATE OF ISRAEL

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, November 7, 1997

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on November 29, 1947, the United Nations 
General Assembly voted to partition the British Mandate of Palestine, 
and that action set in place the conditions which led to the 
reestablishment of the State of Israel 6 months later. On May 14, 1948 
the people of Israel formally proclaimed the establishment of the 
modern State of Israel, and on that very same day, the United States 
extended diplomatic recognition to the new state.
  Beginning later this month with the 50th anniversary of the United 
Nations General Assembly vote and continuing through the formal 
celebration of the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of the state 
next May, the people of Israel are marking a half century of the 
flourishing of the modern State of Israel.
  Mr. Speaker, it is most appropriate that we here in the Congress on 
behalf of the American people reaffirm the bonds of warm friendship 
that link us with the Jewish people and Israel. Israel is our only 
democratic ally in the volatile Middle East region, and the strong 
common links that bind us with the people of Israel reflect our shared 
experiences and our strong shared interests.
  Today, with our distinguished colleague and the Chairman of the 
International Relations Committee, Congressman Benjamin Gilman, and a 
number of our other distinguished colleagues in the House, I have 
introduced a Joint Resolution which (1) recognizes the historic 
significance of the fiftieth anniversary of Israel, (2) commends the 
people of Israel for their remarkable achievements in building a new 
state and a pluralistic democratic society in the face of half a 
century of terrorism, hostility and belligerence by many of her 
neighbors, (3) reaffirms the bonds of friendship and cooperation which 
have existed between the United States and Israel for the past half-
century and which have been significant for both countries, and (4) 
extends the warmest congratulations and best wishes to the State of 
Israel and her people for a peaceful and prosperous and successful 
future.
  Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues to join me and Chairman Gilman in 
cosponsoring this resolution, and I ask that the text of our resolution 
be included in the Record.


                             H.J. Res. 102

       Expressing the sense of the Congress on the occasion of the 
     50th anniversary of the founding of the modern State of 
     Israel and reaffirming the bonds of friendship and 
     cooperation between the United States and Israel.
       Whereas on November 29, 1947, the United Nations General 
     Assembly voted to partition the British Mandate of Palestine, 
     and through that vote, to create the State of Israel;
       Whereas on May 14, 1948, the people of Israel proclaimed 
     the establishment of the sovereign and independent State of 
     Israel and the United States Government established full 
     diplomatic relations with Israel;
       Whereas the desire of the Jewish people to establish an 
     independent modern state of Israel is the outgrowth of the 
     existence of the historic Kingdom of Israel established three 
     thousand years ago in the city of Jerusalem and in the land 
     of Israel;
       Whereas one century ago at the First Zionist Congress on 
     August 29 to 31, 1897, in Basel, Switzerland, participants 
     under the leadership of Theodore Herzl affirmed the desire to 
     reestablish a Jewish homeland in the historic land of Israel;
       Whereas the establishment of the modern State of Israel as 
     a homeland for the Jews following the slaughter of more than 
     six million European Jews during the Holocaust;
       Whereas since its establishment fifty years ago, the modern 
     state of Israel has rebuilt a nation, forged a new and 
     dynamic society, and created a unique and vital economic, 
     political, cultural, and intellectual life despite the heavy 
     costs of six wars, terrorism, international ostracism, and 
     economic boycotts;
       Whereas the people of Israel have established a vibrant and 
     functioning pluralistic democratic political system including 
     freedom of speech, a free press, free and fair and open 
     elections, the rule of law, and other democratic principles 
     and practices;
       Whereas, at great social and financial costs, Israel has 
     absorbed hundreds of thousands of Jews from countries 
     throughout the world, many of them refugees from Arab 
     countries, and fully integrated them into Israeli society;
       Whereas for half a century the United States and Israel 
     have maintained a special relationship based on mutually 
     shared democratic values, common strategic interests, and 
     moral bonds of friendship and mutual respect; and
       Whereas the American people have shared an affinity with 
     the people of Israel and regard Israel as a strong and 
     trusted ally and an important strategic partner:
       Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and House of 
     Representatives of the United States of American in Congress 
     assembled, That the United States
       (1) recognizes the historic significance of the fiftieth 
     anniversary of the reestablishment of the sovereign and 
     independent modern State of Israel;
       (2)commends the people of Israel for their remarkable 
     achievements in building a new state and a pluralistic 
     democratic society in the Middle East in the face of 
     terrorism, hostility and belligerence by many of her 
     neighbors;
       (3) reaffirms the bonds of friendship and cooperation which 
     have existed between the United States and Israel for the 
     past half-century and which have been significant for both 
     countries; and
       (4) extends the warmest congratulations and best wishes to 
     the State of Israel and her people for a peaceful and 
     prosperous and successful future.

     

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