WHEREAS,  the Charter of the United Nations recognizes the continued validity of rights granted by the League of Nations in 1922 to states or peoples that already existed under international instruments and this action was affirmed by both Houses of the United States Congress; and

WHEREAS,  the State of Israel declared its independence and statehood on May 14, 1948 and the United States immediately recognized the State of Israel's independence and was the first country to do so; and

WHEREAS,  the establishment of the State of Israel as a modern homeland for the Jewish people followed the extermination of more than 6 million European Jews during the Holocaust; and

WHEREAS,  since the country's establishment, the Israeli people have built one of the world's most dynamic cultural, economic, agricultural and intellectual societies while confronting constant terrorism, the immense pressures of imminent war, constant missile barrages, economic boycotts and ostracism from much of the international community; and

WHEREAS,  in spite of these adversities, the State of Israel has established a strong democratic political system that guarantees its people freedom of speech, freedom of the press, fair and open elections and respect for the rule of law for Jews and Arabs alike; and

WHEREAS,  at great financial and social cost, the State of Israel has welcomed millions of immigrants from around the world and has made great strides in assimilating these immigrants into Israeli life and society; and

WHEREAS,  the United States and the citizens of Maine share democratic values, common strategic interests and bonds of friendship and mutual respect with the State of Israel, which is our greatest friend and only true ally in the Middle East; and

WHEREAS,  Maine has had connections with the State of Israel since 1866, when families from Jonesport, Maine established a colony in Jaffa, and in 2004 the houses built by the colonists from Jonesport, Maine were restored to commemorate this historic colony and, for those efforts, a couple from Maine was awarded the Maine Preservation Award; and

WHEREAS,  Maine has economic ties to the State of Israel, had nearly $11 million in exports of goods and services to the State of Israel in 2011 and over $207 million since 1996 and there exists a potential for many more research and business ties through available Israeli grants; and

WHEREAS,  the 4,000-year history of the Jewish people and their land is documented in great detail in the Jewish Torah and throughout the Christian Bible; now, therefore, be it