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Below is a resolution proclaiming your
synagogue’s or school’s solidarity with Yerushalayim. We ask that all
synagogues and schools adopt this important proclamation at this crucial
time. Please send it back to us at IPA, 11 Broadway, 14th Floor, New York,
NY 10004, and we will forward it to American and Israeli officials.
May 2003
A Proclamation
of Solidarity with
Jerusalem in the 36th
Year of Reunification and
in the 55th Year
of The State of Israel
WHEREAS 2003 marks fifty-five years of independence of the State of
Israel, a modern-day miracle we are fortunate to witness in our time, and;
WHEREAS King David first declared Jerusalem the capital of ancient
Israel nearly 3000 years ago, and;
WHEREAS over the centuries of exile from Israel, there has always been
a continuous Jewish presence in Jerusalem, and;
WHEREAS Jerusalem has always remained the focus of national,
religious, and spiritual aspirations to the Jewish people despite their
exile, and;
WHEREAS access to the holy sites in the city was regularly denied to
worshippers during the many years Jerusalem was held by outside
conquerors, and;
WHEREAS Jerusalem was divided in two following Israel’s War of
Independence and one half of the city was barred to Jews, and;
WHEREAS Jerusalem was reunited by Israel 36 years ago, and;
WHEREAS in 1990 the United States Senate and House of Representatives
overwhelmingly adopted Senate Concurrent Resolution 106 and House
Concurrent Resolution 290 declaring that Jerusalem, the capital of Israel,
“must remain a united city,” and reaffirmed it on March 17, 1994, and;
WHEREAS 93 United States Senators joined in March of 1995 in an
unprecedented public letter to Secretary of State Warren Christopher
declaring that “Jerusalem is and shall remain the undivided capital of the
State of Israel”, and that “the United States Embassy belongs in
Jerusalem,” and;
WHEREAS in October 1995 the Senate reaffirmed in a loud, near
unanimous vote that United Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and declared
that it is the policy of the United States to relocate our embassy to
Jerusalem where it has always belonged, and;
WHEREAS this year marks the 36th year that Jerusalem has been
administered as a unified city in which the rights of all faiths have been
respected and protected, and;
WHEREAS throughout its long history Jerusalem was controlled by many
sovereigns, but served as the capital only of the Jewish nation, and;
WHEREAS Jerusalem is the eternal, united capital of Israel, and;
WHEREAS the status of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel continues to
be challenged;
THEREFORE IT BE RESOLVED THAT we, the membership of the
______________________ (synagogue, school, or organization chapter) join
with the Orthodox Union, the Rabbinical Council of America, the people of
Israel, and the Jewish community of the United States of America in
reaffirming that Jerusalem is and must remain the eternal capital of
Israel, united and under Israeli sovereignty and that we will increase our
efforts to educate American policy-makers and the public about the unique
status of Jerusalem in the life of Israel and world Jewry and will
strongly urge our government to move the United States Embassy from Tel
Aviv to Jerusalem as legislated by the United States Congress.
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