Res. No. 1838 Title Resolution commemorating Yom H'atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day on April 26, 2001. Body By The Speaker (Council Member Vallone) and Council Members Eisland, Fisher, Berman, DiBrienza, Malave-Dilan, Freed, Leffler, Marshall, Michels, Moskowitz, Nelson, The Public Advocate (Mr. Green), and Abel; also Council Members Espada, Koslowitz, Lopez, O'Donovan, Povman, Robles, Rodriguez and Stabile Whereas, When Israel was officially recognized as a state on May 14, 1948 on the 5th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar, for the first time in over 2,000 years of wandering, the Jewish people finally had a homeland; and Whereas, Prior to the founding of the State of Israel, Jews had been displaced, persecuted and subjected to institutional bigotry in country after country, century after century; and Whereas, Anti-Semitism reached its most horrific height with the onset of the Holocaust, perhaps the worst act of genocidal persecution in the history of man, and a dark period that we just recently commemorated on April 20th of this year, Yom H'ashoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day; and Whereas, When the United Nations proclaimed Israel the Jewish homeland and a nation of the modern world, a hopeful new era was born while the ashes of a war-torn Europe, where six million Jews were executed at the hands of the Nazis, would forever serve as a foundation of the mission of Israel - to provide a safe haven for all Jews; and Whereas, Today, Israel is indeed a refuge for its citizens and for Jews all over the world, many of who fled anti-Semitic persecution in countries like the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia; and Whereas, Now over a half-century old, the State of Israel has made vast contributions and advancements to fields such as medicine, technology, agriculture and the arts; and Whereas, A perfect contrast of new and old, Israel offers a singular wealth of history and culture, which has not escaped the millions of religious pilgrims and tourists that visit every year; and Whereas, Since its inception, Israel has faced great adversity from neighboring nations, but it has persevered and has managed to create a society built on the very freedoms and principles that the Jewish people have been carrying with them for thousands of years; and Whereas, Yom H'atzmaut, a national holiday in Israel, which is preceded by Yom Hazikaron, a day of remembrance for fallen Israeli soldiers, is a time for all New Yorkers and all Americans to join the Israeli people and Jews everywhere in celebrating the birth of the great State of Israel; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York commemorates Yom H'atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day on April 26, 2001. MW:bg LS#4000 3/28/01 |10
13| - 2 -