Assembly Resolution No. 354

BY: M. of A. Rozic

CONGRATULATING the State of Israel upon the
occasion of the 69th Anniversary of its independence
and reaffirming the bonds of friendship and
cooperation between the State of New York and Israel

WHEREAS, May 2, 2017, marks the 69th Anniversary of the founding of
the modern State of Israel in the ancestral home of the Jewish people;
and

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; and

WHEREAS, Israel was officially declared an independent nation on May
14, 1948, in fulfillment of the eternal desire of the Jewish people to
return to the land of the historic Kingdom of Israel established 3,000
years ago and to the holy city of Jerusalem; and

WHEREAS, A century ago at the First Zionist Congress, in Basel,
Switzerland, participants under the leadership of Theodore Herzl
affirmed the desire to reestablish a Jewish homeland in the historic
land of Israel; and

WHEREAS, The modern State of Israel was born out of the ashes of the
Holocaust and World War II where the death of six million Jews did not
eliminate the will of a people to seek dignity in life and a place of
respect and recognition among the people of the civilized world; and

WHEREAS, Israel, since its inception, when the combined forces of
five Arab nations invaded to destroy the dream of the Jewish people,
continues to face the hostility, and frequently through the years of its
statehood, the armed aggression, of its neighbors; and

WHEREAS, Despite these conflicts, in the 69 years since its
establishment, 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 cost of six
wars, terrorism, international ostracism and economic boycotts; and

WHEREAS, In its 69 years of statehood, Israel has established a
modern parliamentary democracy and has become the most successful
democracy in the Middle East, and has provided its citizens with the
highest standards of living and human equality in a region otherwise
beset with poverty and human rights abuses; and

WHEREAS, Israel has made significant global contributions in the
fields of science, medicine, and technology; and

WHEREAS, Israel continues to strive for peace with security and
dignity for itself, its neighbors and throughout the world in order to
fulfill the prophecy of becoming a light unto the nations; and

WHEREAS, The people of New York share an affinity with the people of
Israel and view Israel as a strong and trusted ally; now, therefore, be
it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
congratulate the State of Israel upon the occasion of the 69th
Anniversary of its independence and reaffirming the bonds of friendship
and cooperation between the State of New York and Israel; and be it
further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the Consul General of Israel for New York, Dani Dayan.