PRINTER'S NO. 664
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
74
Session of
2017
INTRODUCED BY GREENLEAF AND WARD, APRIL 10, 2017
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, APRIL 10, 2017
A RESOLUTION
Urging the President of the United States to honor his pledge to
move the United States Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
WHEREAS, Each sovereign nation, under international law and
custom, may designate its own capital; and
WHEREAS, Since 1950, the City of Jerusalem has been the
capital of the State of Israel; and
WHEREAS, The City of Jerusalem is the seat of Israel's
President, Parliament and Supreme Court and the site of numerous
government ministries and social and cultural institutions; and
WHEREAS, The land of Israel was the birthplace of the Jewish
people; and
WHEREAS, Despite Jewish exile, the land of Israel has
remained the place where the religious, spiritual and national
identity of the State of Israel was formed; and
WHEREAS, Israel has been granted its land under and through
the oldest recorded deed, as recorded in the Old Testament, a
tome of scripture held sacred and revered by Jews and Christians
alike as presenting the acts and words of God; and
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WHEREAS, As the grantor of those lands, God stated to the
Jewish people in the Old Testament, from Leviticus, Chapter 20,
Verse 24: "Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto
you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey"; and
WHEREAS, The legal basis for the establishment of the State
of Israel was a binding resolution under international law,
which was unanimously adopted by the League of Nations in 1922
and subsequently affirmed by both houses of the Congress of the
United States; and
WHEREAS, From 1948 through 1967, Jerusalem was a divided city
and Israeli citizens of all faiths as well as Jewish citizens of
all states were denied access to holy sites in the area
controlled by Jordan; and
WHEREAS, In 1967, the City of Jerusalem was reunited during
the conflict known as the Six-Day War; and
WHEREAS, Since 1967, Jerusalem has been a united city
administered by Israel, and persons of all religious faiths have
been guaranteed full access to holy sites within the city; and
WHEREAS, In 1990, the Congress of the United States
unanimously adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 106, which
declares that the Congress of the United States "strongly
believes that Jerusalem must remain an undivided city in which
rights of every ethnic and religious group are protected"; and
WHEREAS, In 1992, the United States Senate and House of
Representatives unanimously adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution
113 of the 102nd Congress to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of
the reunification of Jerusalem and to reaffirm congressional
sentiment that Jerusalem must remain an undivided city; and
WHEREAS, In June 1993, 257 members of the United States House
of Representatives signed a letter to the Secretary of State
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stating that the relocation of the United States Embassy to
Jerusalem "should take place no later than ... 1999"; and
WHEREAS, In March 1995, 93 members of the United States
Senate signed a letter to the Secretary of State encouraging
"planning to begin now" for relocation of the United States
Embassy to the City of Jerusalem; and
WHEREAS, The United States maintains its embassy in the
functioning capital of every country except in the case of our
democratic friend and strategic ally, the State of Israel; and
WHEREAS, The United States conducts official meetings and
other business in the City of Jerusalem in de facto recognition
of its status as the capital of Israel; and
WHEREAS, On October 23, 1995, the Congress of the United
States passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, which stated
that "Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the State
of Israel; and the United States Embassy in Israel should be
established in Jerusalem no later than May 31, 1999"; and
WHEREAS, The act passed with overwhelming approval in both
the Senate and the House of Representatives, with a vote of 93
to 5 in the Senate and 374 to 37 in the House of
Representatives; and
WHEREAS, The act allows the President of the United States to
exercise a waiver to suspend the time restriction on the
embassy's construction for a six-month period; and
WHEREAS, Every President since 1995 has issued waivers at
six-month intervals, thus preventing the embassy from being
moved; and
WHEREAS, One of the promises presidential candidate Donald
Trump made during his campaign was that he would move the United
States Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv; and
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WHEREAS, In March 2016, presidential candidate Donald Trump
in a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee
stated that "We will move the American Embassy to the eternal
capital of the Jewish people, Jerusalem and we will send a clear
signal that there is no daylight between America and our most
reliable ally, the State of Israel"; and
WHEREAS, On January 3, 2017, several United States Senators
introduced legislation, S. 11, the Jerusalem Embassy and
Recognition Act, aimed at removing the President's waiver
authority and immediately implementing the provisions of the
Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 to begin the process of relocating
the United States Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem; and
WHEREAS, On January 11, 2017, more than 100 members of
Congress signed a letter to the President-Elect expressing
support for his pledge to move our United States Embassy in
Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and urged him to take swift
action upon assuming office; and
WHEREAS, The letter from congressional members indicated that
"moving the embassy will strengthen the unique alliance between
Israel and the United States and send a clear message to the
world that we support Israel in recognizing Jerusalem as its
eternal capital"; and
WHEREAS, The letter further states that "this action is all
the more urgent in light of the Anti-Israel Resolution 2334,
adopted by the United Nations Security Council on December 23,
2016. The resolution invites renewed diplomatic hostility and
economic warfare against Israel and we must act urgently to
mitigate its consequences and to reaffirm our steadfast
commitment to Israel"; and
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of
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Israel have 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 the Middle East; and
WHEREAS, The United States must recommit itself as an ally to
Israel; and
WHEREAS, At this time of continued uncertainty in the world,
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania reaffirms its desire that the
United States of America remain a strong and unequivocal
supporter of the State of Israel; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
urge the President of the United States to honor his pledge to
move the United States Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem; and
be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
the President of the United States, the presiding officers of
each house of Congress and each member of Congress from
Pennsylvania.
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