PRINTER'S NO. 1617
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
279
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY SCHLOSSBERG, FRANKEL, FREEMAN, KAUFER, SOLOMON,
BARRAR, BERNSTINE, BURNS, CALTAGIRONE, GROVE, HARKINS, HILL-
EVANS, JAMES, JOZWIAK, KINSEY, LONGIETTI, MACKENZIE, MADDEN,
MENTZER, MILLARD, B. MILLER, NEILSON, READSHAW, ROTHMAN,
RYAN, SAYLOR, STAATS, STEPHENS, ZIMMERMAN AND DeLUCA,
APRIL 30, 2019
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
APRIL 30, 2019
A RESOLUTION
Designating May 14, 2019, as "Israel Independence Day" in
Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, The land of Israel is the birthplace of the Jewish
people and, despite Jewish exile, the land remains the place
where their religious, spiritual and national identity was
formed; and
WHEREAS, In 1897, the First Zionist Congress proclaimed the
right of the Jewish people to national revival in their own
country, a right acknowledged in 1917 by the Balfour Declaration
and later reaffirmed in the Mandate of the League of Nations;
and
WHEREAS, The atrocities of the Nazi Holocaust and the deaths
of millions of Jews in Europe reestablished and refocused the
need for an independent Jewish state; and
WHEREAS, The members of the National Council representing the
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Jewish people in Palestine and the Zionist movement of the world
met and issued a Declaration of Israel's Independence on May 14,
1948; and
WHEREAS, On the same day, the President of the United States,
Harry S. Truman, recognized the provisional Jewish government as
de facto authority of the Jewish state; and
WHEREAS, This date is celebrated as Independence Day, a
national holiday in Israel with celebrations and observations to
commemorate this momentous occasion in establishing the State of
Israel; and
WHEREAS, In a relatively brief time and despite difficult
challenges relating to the issues of peace and security, Israel
has emerged from a fledgling state to one with a successful
democracy, a strong economy and a powerful military; therefore
be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate May 14,
2019, as "Israel Independence Day" in Pennsylvania; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That all residents of this Commonwealth recognize
the struggles of the Israeli people for freedom in their
homeland.
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