N.J. Admin. Code § Executive Order No. 368 (2024)
An Order Directing that the Flag of the United States of America and the Flag of New Jersey Shall Be Flown at Half-Staff at All State Departments, Offices, Agencies, Instrumentalities, and All Public Buildings During Appropriate Hours on Monday, October 7, 2024, in Recognition and Mourning of All of the Lives Lost and Shattered by the Terrorist Attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, and by the Escalation of the Conflict Caused by these Attacks
Issued: October 4, 2024.
Effective: October 4, 2024.
WHEREAS, on October 7, 2023, nearly 50 years to the day of the attack on Israel that started the Yom Kippur War, Hamas terrorists undertook a coordinated series of horrific attacks on Israel as Israelis were celebrating Shabbat and the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah; and
WHEREAS, the terrorists targeted civilians with thousands of rockets launched from the Gaza Strip and Infiltrated Israel by land, sea, and air, brutally murdering nearly 1200 Innocent people, mostly civilians, including over 40 Americans; and
WHEREAS, Hamas abducted more than 240 people from Israel and took them into Gaza as hostages, Including 19-year-old Edan Alexander of Tenafly, New Jersey and children as young as 9 months old; and
WHEREAS, at least 97 of the hostages remain in Gaza, Including Edan Alexander and at least six other Americans; and
WHEREAS, we mourn for all of the victims of these terrorist attacks by Hamas and the escalation of the conflict caused by these attacks that has led to the loss of tens of thousands of Innocent lives In Gaza, and now Lebanon, for their families, and for the people of the region, who all deserve peace and security; and
WHEREAS, New Jersey has an unbreakable relationship with the State of Israel, beginning with the founding of modern Israel and continuing through our Sister State Agreement of 1988 to the present day; and
WHEREAS, New Jersey is the proud home of some of the largest Jewish, Israeli American, Muslim, and Palestinian American communities In the United States and strives to ensure our State is a safe and welcoming place for all communities; and
WHEREAS, one year after the horrific attacks of October 7, 2023, in the midst of the Jewish community observing its High Holy Days and Iran's missile bombardment on Israel In recent days, we continue to hope for a swift end to the war and restoration of peace throughout the region;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, PHILIP D. MURPHY, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:
N.J. Admin. Code Executive Order No. 368 (2024)