[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9153-9154]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petitions and memorials were laid before the Senate and 
were referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-41. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the State of 
     Florida opposing United Nations Security Council Resolution 
     2334 and requesting its repeal or fundamental alteration; to 
     the Committee on Foreign Relations.

                       Senate Resolution No. 574

       Whereas, the United States has long supported a negotiated 
     settlement leading to a sustainable two-state solution with 
     the democratic, Jewish state of Israel and a demilitarized, 
     democratic Palestinian state living side-by-side in peace and 
     security, and
       Whereas, since 1993, the United States has facilitated 
     direct, bilateral negotiations between both parties toward 
     achieving a two-state solution and ending all outstanding 
     claims, and
       Whereas, it is the long-standing policy of the United 
     States that a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian 
     conflict will only come through direct, bilateral 
     negotiations between the two parties, and
       Whereas, it was the long-standing position of the United 
     States to oppose and, if necessary, veto United Nations 
     Security Council resolutions dictating additional binding 
     parameters on the peace process, and
       Whereas, it was also the long-standing position of the 
     United States to oppose and, if necessary, veto one-sided or 
     anti-Israel United Nations Security Council resolutions, and
       Whereas, the United States has stood in the minority 
     internationally over successive administrations in defending 
     Israel in international forums, including vetoing one-sided 
     resolutions in 1995, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, and 
     2011 before the United Nations Security Council, and
       Whereas, the United States recently signed a new memorandum 
     of understanding with the Israeli government regarding 
     security assistance, consistent with long-standing support 
     for Israel among successive administrations and Congresses 
     and representing an important United States commitment toward 
     Israel's qualitative military edge, and
       Whereas, on November 29, 2016, the United States House of 
     Representatives unanimously passed House Concurrent 
     Resolution 165, expressing and reaffirming long-standing 
     United States policy in support of a direct, bilaterally 
     negotiated settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and 
     in opposition to United Nations Security Council resolutions 
     that impose a solution to the conflict, and
       Whereas, on December 23, 2016, the United States Permanent 
     Representative to the United Nations disregarded House 
     Concurrent Resolution 165 and departed from long-standing 
     United States policy by abstaining and permitting United 
     Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 to be adopted under 
     Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter, and
       Whereas, the United States' abstention on United Nations 
     Security Council Resolution 2334 contradicts the Oslo Accords 
     and its associated process that is predicated on resolving 
     the Israeli-Palestinian conflict between the parties through 
     direct, bilateral negotiations, and
       Whereas, United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 
     claims that ``the establishment by Israel of settlements in 
     the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East 
     Jerusalem, has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant 
     violation under international law and a major obstacle to the 
     achievement of the two-State solution and a just, lasting and 
     comprehensive peace,'' and
       Whereas, by referring to the ``4 June 1967 lines'' as the 
     basis for negotiations, United Nations Security Council 
     Resolution 2334 effectively states that the Jewish Quarter of

[[Page 9154]]

     the Old City of Jerusalem and the Western Wall, Judaism's 
     holiest site, are ``occupied territory,'' thereby equating 
     these sites with outposts in the West Bank which the Israeli 
     government has deemed illegal, and
       Whereas, passage of United Nations Security Council 
     Resolution 2334 effectively legitimizes efforts by the 
     Palestinian Authority to impose its own solution through 
     international organizations and unjustified boycotts or 
     divestment campaigns against Israel by calling ``upon all 
     States, bearing in mind paragraph 1 of this resolution, to 
     distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the 
     territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied 
     since 1967,'' and will require the United States and Israel 
     to take effective action to counteract the resolution's 
     potential harmful impacts, and
       Whereas, United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 
     did not directly call upon Palestinian leadership to fulfill 
     their obligations toward negotiations or mention that part of 
     the eventual Palestinian state is currently controlled by 
     Hamas, a designated terrorist organization, and
       Whereas, United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 
     sought to impose or unduly influence solutions to final-
     status issues and is biased against Israel: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida, That the 
     Florida Senate finds that:
       (1) The passage of United Nations Security Council 
     Resolution 2334 undermined the long-standing position of the 
     United States to oppose and veto United Nations Security 
     Council resolutions that seek to impose solutions to final-
     status issues or are one-sided and anti-Israel, reversing 
     decades of bipartisan agreement
       (2) The passage of United Nations Security Council 
     Resolution 2334 undermines the prospect of Israelis and 
     Palestinians resuming productive, direct, bilateral 
     negotiations.
       (3) The passage of United Nations Security Council 
     Resolution 2334 contributes to the politically motivated acts 
     of boycotting, divesting from, and sanctioning Israel and 
     represents a concerted effort to extract concessions from 
     Israel outside of direct, bilateral negotiations between the 
     Israelis and Palestinians, which must be actively rejected.
       (4) Any future measures taken by any organization, 
     including the United Nations Security Council, to impose an 
     agreement or parameters for an agreement will set back the 
     peace process, harm the security of Israel, contradict the 
     enduring bipartisan consensus on strengthening the United 
     States-Israel relationship, and weaken support for such 
     organizations.
       (5) A durable and sustainable peace agreement between 
     Israel and the Palestinians is only possible with direct, 
     bilateral negotiations between the parties resulting in a 
     Jewish, democratic state living next to a demilitarized 
     Palestinian state in peace and security.
       (6) The United States government should work to facilitate 
     serious, direct, unconditional negotiations between the 
     parties toward a sustainable peace agreement.
       (7) The United States government should oppose and veto 
     future one-sided, anti-Israel United Nations Security Council 
     resolutions that seek to impose solutions to final-status 
     issues; and be it further
       Resolved, that the Florida Senate opposes and requests the 
     repeal of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 or 
     the fundamental alteration of the resolution so that it:
       (1) Is no longer one-sided and anti-Israel.
       (2) Authorizes all final-status issues toward a two-state 
     solution to be resolved through direct, bilateral 
     negotiations between the parties involved; 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.
                                  ____

       POM-42. A resolution adopted by the Senate of the State of 
     Florida condemning the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions 
     movement and the increasing incidence of acts of anti-
     Semitism; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.

                       Senate Resolution No. 1184

       Whereas, Floridians have, as a matter of public policy, 
     long opposed bigotry, oppression, discrimination, and
       Whereas, Florida and Israel have enjoyed a long history of 
     friendship and are great allies, each supporting the best 
     interests of the other, and
       Whereas, the State of Israel, the only democracy in the 
     Middle East, is the greatest friend and ally of the United 
     States in the region, and
       Whereas, the elected representatives of the state recognize 
     the importance of expressing Florida's unwavering support for 
     the Jewish people and the State of Israel's right to exist 
     and right to self-defense, and
       Whereas, the incidence of acts of anti-Semitism is 
     increasing throughout the world, including in the United 
     States and in Florida, and is 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, the level of activities promoting BDS against 
     Israel has increased in this state, in communities and on 
     college campuses, and contributes to the promotion of anti-
     Semitic and anti-Zionist propaganda, and
       Whereas, the increase in BDS campaign activities on college 
     campuses nationwide has resulted in an increase in 
     confrontations with, intimidation of, 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 Senate of the State of Florida, That the 
     Florida Senate condemns the international Boycott, Divestment 
     and Sanctions movement against the State of Israel and calls 
     upon the governmental institutions of this state to denounce 
     hatred and discrimination whenever they appear; and be it 
     further
       Resolved, that the Florida Senate urges the President of 
     the United States to order withdrawal of the United States 
     Customs and Border Protection statement dated January 23, 
     2016, entitled ``West Bank Country of Origin Marking 
     Requirements,'' so that goods made in the West Bank can 
     continue to be properly labeled ``Made in Israel;'' 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, and the Speaker and 
     Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, and to 
     the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C., for transmission 
     to the proper authorities of the State of Israel as a 
     tangible token of the sentiments expressed herein.

                          ____________________