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[Page S1942]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS
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SENATE RESOLUTION 120--OPPOSING EFFORTS TO DELEGITIMIZE THE STATE OF
ISRAEL AND THE GLOBAL BOYCOTT, DIVESTMENT, AND SANCTIONS MOVEMENT
TARGETING ISRAEL
Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Mr. Portman) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:
S. Res. 120
Whereas the democratic Jewish State of Israel is a key ally
and strategic partner of the United States;
Whereas, since Israel's founding in 1948, Congress has
repeatedly expressed our Nation's unwavering commitment to
the security of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state;
Whereas United States policy has long sought to bring peace
to the Middle East and recognized that both the Israeli and
Palestinian people should be able to live in safe and
sovereign states, free from fear and violence, with mutual
recognition;
Whereas support for peace between the Israelis and
Palestinians has long-standing bipartisan support in
Congress;
Whereas it is the long-standing policy of the United States
that a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict should come through direct negotiations between the
Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority, with the
support of countries in the region and around the world;
Whereas it is a hallmark of American democracy for citizens
to petition the United States Government in favor of or
against United States foreign policy;
Whereas cooperation between Israel and the United States is
of great importance, especially in the context of rising
anti-Semitism, authoritarianism, and security problems in
Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa;
Whereas the Global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions
Movement (BDS Movement) targeting Israel is a campaign that
does not favor a two-state solution and that seeks to exclude
the State of Israel and the Israeli people from the economic,
cultural, and academic life of the rest of the world;
Whereas the BDS Movement targets not only the Government of
Israel, but also academic, cultural, and civil society
institutions in Israel, as well as individual Israeli
citizens of all political persuasions, religions, and
ethnicities, and in some cases even Jews of other
nationalities who support Israel;
Whereas the BDS Movement does not recognize, and many of
its supporters explicitly deny, the right of the Jewish
people to national self-determination;
Whereas a founder of the BDS Movement has denied the right
of the Jewish people in their homeland, saying, ``We oppose a
Jewish state in any part of Palestine. No Palestinian,
rational Palestinian, not a sell-out Palestinian, will ever
accept a Jewish state in Palestine.'';
Whereas university-based BDS efforts violate the core goals
of the university and global cultural development, which
thrive on free and open exchange and debate; and
Whereas the BDS Movement promotes principles of collective
guilt, mass punishment, and group isolation, which are
destructive of prospects for progress towards peace and a
two-state solution: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) opposes the Global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions
Movement (BDS Movement) targeting Israel, including efforts
to target United States companies that are engaged in
commercial activities that are legal under United States law
and all efforts to delegitimize the State of Israel;
(2) affirms that the BDS Movement undermines the
possibility for a negotiated solution to the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict by demanding concessions of one party
alone and encouraging the Palestinians to reject negotiations
in favor of international pressure;
(3) urges Israelis and Palestinians to return to direct
negotiations as the only way to achieve an end to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict;
(4) supports the full implementation of the United States-
Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-296;
128 Stat. 4075) and new efforts to enhance governmentwide,
coordinated United States-Israel scientific and technological
cooperation in civilian areas, such as with respect to
energy, water, agriculture, alternative fuel technology,
civilian space technology, and security, in order to counter
the effects of actions to boycott, divest from, or sanction
Israel; and
(5) reaffirms its strong support for a negotiated solution
to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict resulting in two states--
a democratic Jewish State of Israel and a viable democratic
Palestinian state--living side-by-side in peace, security,
and mutual recognition.
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