Bill Text: NY J02079 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Memorializing Governor Kathy Hochul to proclaim May 2022, as Jewish Empowerment Month in the State of New York

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-03-10 - REFERRED TO FINANCE [J02079 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-J02079-Introduced.html

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Senate Resolution No. 2079

BY: Senator REICHLIN-MELNICK

        MEMORIALIZING  Governor  Kathy  Hochul to proclaim
        May 2022, as Jewish Empowerment Month in  the  State
        of New York

  WHEREAS,  It  is the sense of this Legislative Body, in keeping with
its time-honored traditions, to  recognize  and  pay  tribute  to  those
organizations  which  foster  religious pride and enhance the profile of
cultural diversity which strengthens the fabric of  the  communities  of
New York State; and

  WHEREAS,  Attendant  to  such  concern,  and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this  Legislative  Body  is  justly  proud  to
memorialize  Governor  Kathy  Hochul  to  proclaim  May  2022, as Jewish
Empowerment Month in the State of New York; and

  WHEREAS, For millennia,  the  Jewish  people  have  sustained  their
shared  religious,  cultural,  and ethnic identity and traditions in the
face   of   enslavement,   persecution,   genocide,   segregation    and
discrimination, and all manner of adversity; and

  WHEREAS, Ever since the first Jew set foot in New Amsterdam in 1654,
members of the Jewish community have made indelible contributions to the
culture,  history,  and  social  fabric of New York State and the United
States of America, strengthening the country and helping shape all areas
of American life; and

  WHEREAS, The belief in the greatness of the American  way  of  life,
the  freedoms  enshrined  in  American  law  and  jurisprudence, and the
opportunities sustained by American democracy drew generations of Jewish
immigrants to America, including Jews fleeing persecution and pogroms in
Europe and the Middle East, Holocaust survivors, and Jews trapped behind
the Iron Curtain; and

  WHEREAS,  This  history  encouraged  many  Jews  to  become  leading
proponents  and  supporters  of  the  civil  rights  movement,  marching
shoulder to shoulder  with  African  Americans  and  others,  united  in
support  for  equal  rights,  equal  protection  under  the law, and the
recognition and respect of human dignity; and

  WHEREAS,  The  Jewish  community  has  prominently  participated  in
virtually every civil rights effort in the American experience, fighting
against  discrimination  and  bigotry in all its forms and demanding the
equal rights of every member of society; and

  WHEREAS, On April 20, 2006, President Bush proclaimed the  month  of
May  as  Jewish  American  Heritage  Month,  following  resolutions that
unanimously passed the House of Representatives in December 2005 and the
Senate in February 2006; and

  WHEREAS, Despite the proclamation and resolutions, and  despite  the
advances made in promoting social justice for other minority groups, the
Jewish  community  has  continued  to  be  subjected to antisemitism and

Jew-hatred, including discrimination in the workplace, at school, and in
society; and

  WHEREAS,   Furthermore,   this   antisemitism   and  Jew-hatred  has
manifested in the workplace, on campuses,  and  in  society,  expressing
itself  as  both  discrimination  and  violence targeting Jews for their
identity and seeking to deny  their  shared  identity,  including  their
indigenous connection to their ancestral homeland; and

  WHEREAS,  Hate  crimes  directed  against  the Jewish community have
skyrocketed in recent years, inspiring the formation of a grassroots End
Jew Hatred civil rights movement to  alter  public  discourse  and  make
Jew-hatred  unacceptable  in  contemporary society, empowering Jews with
positivity  and  strength  to  discover  and  enjoy  their  heritage  in
whichever manner they choose, without fear of attack or persecution; and

  WHEREAS,  The  State  of New York expresses appreciation, gratitude,
and admiration for the substantial contributions made to  the  State  of
New  York  and  the  United  States  of America by members of the Jewish
community; and

  WHEREAS, The State of New York condemns Jew-hatred in all its  forms
and  stands resolute to end the discrimination and persecution affecting
the Jewish community; it shares an  obligation  to  condemn  and  combat
Jew-hatred in all its forms; now therefore be it

  RESOLVED,  That  this  Legislative  Body memorializes Governor Kathy
Hochul to proclaim May 2022 as Jewish Empowerment Month in the State  of
New York; and be it further

  RESOLVED,  That  copies  of  this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
sent to The Honorable Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New York.