[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5759]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petition or memorial was laid before the Senate and was 
referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-165. A resolution adopted by the House of 
     Representatives of the State of Florida condemning the 
     international Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) 
     movement against the State of Israel and calls upon its 
     governmental institutions to denounce hatred and 
     discrimination whenever they appear; to the Committee on 
     Foreign Relations.

                         House Resolution 1001

       Whereas, the citizens of the State of Florida have long 
     opposed bigotry, oppression, discrimination, and injustice as 
     a matter of public policy, and
       Whereas, Florida and Israel have enjoyed a long history of 
     friendship and are great allies in support of each other's 
     interests, and
       Whereas, the State of Israel, the only democracy in the 
     Middle East, is the greatest friend and ally of the United 
     States in that region, and
       Whereas, the elected representatives of the state recognize 
     the importance of expressing Florida's unwavering support of 
     the Jewish people and the State of Israel's right to exist 
     and right to self-defense, and
       Whereas, there are increasing incidents of anti-Semitism 
     throughout the world, including in the United Slates and in 
     Florida, reflected in official hate crime statistics, and
       Whereas, the international Boycott, Divestment, and 
     Sanctions (BDS) movement is one of the main vehicles for 
     spreading anti-Semitic perspectives and advocating the 
     elimination of the Jewish State, and
       Whereas, activities promoting Boycott, Divestment, and 
     Sanctions against Israel have increased in the State of 
     Florida, including on university campuses and in other 
     Florida communities, and contribute to the promotion anti-
     Semitic and anti-Zionist propaganda, and
       Whereas, the increase in BDS campaign activities on college 
     campuses around the country has resulted in increased 
     confrontation, intimidation, and discrimination against 
     Jewish students, and
       Whereas, leaders of the BDS movement express that their 
     goal is to eliminate Israel as the national home of the 
     Jewish people, and
       Whereas, the BDS campaign's call for academic and cultural 
     boycotts has been condemned by many of our nation's largest 
     academic associations, more than 250 university presidents, 
     and many other leading scholars as a violation of the bedrock 
     principle of academic freedom: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of 
     Florida, That the Florida House of Representatives condemns 
     the international Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) 
     movement against the State of Israel and calls upon its 
     governmental institutions to denounce hatred and 
     discrimination whenever they appear; and be it further
       Resolved, That copies of this resolution be presented to 
     the President of the United States, the President and 
     Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Clerk 
     of the United States House of Representatives, and the 
     Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., for transmission to the 
     proper authorities of the State of Israel as a tangible token 
     of the sentiments expressed herein.

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