WHEREAS, After World War I, Great Britain was tasked by the | 6 |
League of Nations to govern the area of the Middle East known as | 7 |
Mandatory Palestine, which was populated by Arabs, Muslims, and | 8 |
Jews, but after World War II, the huge influx of Jewish refugees | 9 |
fleeing the Holocaust led to strife in the region. Unable to | 10 |
resolve disagreements between Arabs and Jews, Great Britain | 11 |
announced plans to withdraw from Mandatory Palestine, and on May | 12 |
14, 1948, the day before the termination of British rule, David | 13 |
Ben-Gurion, the executive head of the World Zionist Organization | 14 |
and president of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, declared the | 15 |
establishment of the State of Israel. The United States was one of | 16 |
the first countries to recognize its independence; and | 17 |
WHEREAS, The people of Israel have established a | 18 |
parliamentary democracy that incorporates the freedoms cherished | 19 |
by the people of the United States, including freedom of speech, | 20 |
freedom of religion, freedom of association, freedom of the press, | 21 |
and government by the consent of the governed. Israel continues to | 22 |
serve as a shining model of democratic values, and it has become a | 23 |
world leader in such areas as economics, technology, health care, | 24 |
energy, and humanitarianism. The Israeli government has worked | 25 |
with the governments of neighboring Egypt and Jordan to establish | 26 |
bilateral peaceful relations, and despite not being recognized by | 27 |
other nearby countries, it continues to seek peace in the Middle | 28 |
East; and | 29 |
WHEREAS, Israel maintains a strategic partnership with the | 30 |
United States based on shared democratic values, friendship, and | 31 |
respect. Because we, as Americans, appreciate and respect the | 32 |
backgrounds of each of our nation's citizens, we are pleased to | 33 |
join in the celebration of Israel's Independence Day, which on the | 34 |
Jewish calendar, coincides with April 16, 2013; therefore be it | 35 |