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--H.J. Res. 102-

H.J. Res. 102

One Hundred Fifth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,

the twenty-seventh day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight

Joint Resolution

Expressing the sense of the Congress on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the
modern State of Israel and reaffirming the bonds of friendship and cooperation between the United
States and Israel.

Whereas on November 29, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly voted to partition the British
Mandate of Palestine, and through that vote, to create the State of Israel;

Whereas on May 14, 1948, the people of Israel proclaimed the establishment of the sovereign and independent State of Israel and the United States Government established full diplomatic relations with Israel;

Whereas the desire of the Jewish people to establish an independent modern State of Israel is the
outgrowth of the existence of the historic Kingdom of Israel established three thousand years ago in the
city of Jerusalem and in the land of Israel;

Whereas one century ago at the First Zionist Congress on August 29 to 31, 1897, in Basel, Switzerland,
participants under the leadership of Theodore Herzl affirmed the desire to reestablish a Jewish homeland
in the historic land of Israel;

Whereas the establishment of the modern State of Israel as a homeland for the Jews followed the
slaughter of more than six million European Jews during the Holocaust;

Whereas since its establishment 50 years ago, the modern State of Israel has rebuilt a nation, forged a
new and dynamic society, and created a unique and vital economic, political, cultural, and intellectual
life despite the heavy costs of six wars, terrorism, international ostracism, and economic boycotts;

Whereas the people of Israel have established a vibrant and functioning pluralistic democratic political
system including freedom of speech, a free press, free and fair and open elections, the rule of law, and
other democratic principles and practices;

Whereas, at great social and financial costs, Israel has absorbed hundreds of thousands of Jews from
countries throughout the World, many of them refugees from Arab countries, and fully integrated them
into Israeli society;

Whereas for half a century the United States and Israel have maintained a special relationship based on
mutually shared democratic values, common strategic interests, and moral bonds of friendship and
mutual respect; and

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Whereas the American people have shared an affinity with the people of Israel and regard Israel as a
strong and trusted ally and an important strategic partner: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled, That the United States--

(1) recognizes the historic significance of the 50th anniversary of the reestablishment of the
sovereign and independent modern State of Israel;

(2) commends the people of Israel for their remarkable achievements in building a new state
and a pluralistic democratic society in the Middle East in the face of terrorism, hostility and
belligerence by many of her neighbors;

(3) reaffirms the bonds of friendship and cooperation which have existed between the
United States and Israel for the past half-century and which have been significant for both
countries; and

(4) extends the warmest congratulations and best wishes to the State of Israel and her people for a peaceful and prosperous and successful future.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.

END

7/30/98 11:42 AM

Statement of Representative Christopher H. Smith

Chairman, Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights

Mr. Chairman, I urge every member of the Committee to vote in

favor of S. Con. Res. 37, a resolution that recognizes that Little League Baseball is a bona fide nongovernmental organization and should be treated as such by our government and those of other nations.

The resolution makes clear that Little League Baseball, Incorporated, is a nonprofit membership organization that was chartered by Congress in 1964 to promote participation by children around the world in Little League baseball. Unfortunately, the charter did not explicitly use the words "nongovernmental

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organization”--- which were not in vogue in those days so there has been some

confusion, particularly in nations where Little League Baseball is relatively new,

about the undeniable fact that this organization is indeed a nonprofit,

nongovernmental organization. Because the Congress of the U.S. originally

chartered the organization, it falls to us to clarify the matter.

S. Con. Res. 37 was introduced by Senator Coverdell and has already passed the Senate. It also passed the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, by a voice vote on February 12 of this year. I want to point out the relentless dedication to this issue of our colleague Joe McDade, who is a principal co-author of the Senate resolution. Congressman McDade brought the resolution to the attention of the Subcommittee and has pushed every step of the way to ensure the success of the resolution.

Again, Mr. Chairman, I urge a unanimous YES vote for S. Con. Res. 37.

Congressman Donald M. Payne

Subcommittee on The Western Hemisphere

Guyana Mark-up

March 4, 1998
Gilman

Thank you Mr. Chairman (Cong. Galtegly) for letting me speak on this Resolution. Although I am not a member of the Subcommittee on The Western Hemisphere, I am very concerned about the recent events in Guyana.

First, let me congratulate the people of The Co-operative Republic of Guyana for holding multiparty elections on December 15, 1997. I was saddened to learn about the violence that erupted post-elections. Although the Guyanese people showed their strong belief in the democratic process as shown by an 88 per cent voter turnout, factions in the country called for civil disobedience and there was looting and rioting for many days following the elections. In January, between 15,000-20,000 people were rioting in the streets.

I know Janet Jagan of the People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) won by a small majority--nonetheless a win is a win. Opposition political parties and International Observers invited to monitor the elections concluded that while the voting on election day was free and fair, there were some concerns with the counting of the votes. The results have since been challenged and an audit of the votes and processes have been started the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), an organization deemed acceptable to all parties. However suspicious the confusion in the Election Commission; however wronged the opposition feels, mob violence does not address any of these issues.

I will be anxious, as I am sure all of your are to hear the results of the audit. At that time, I believe we can move forward with the President on a number of issues.

In conclusion, I would hope that all parties along with the newly elected president of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana will respect the rule of law and human rights.

I know that Taylor in Liberia has appointed members opposing his faction. I would hope that Janet Jagan would extend her government offices to the peoples of Afro-Guyanese descent. Thank you again Mr. Chairman for marking up this bill.

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