[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 21 Referred in House (RFH)]

  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 21


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 21, 1997

          Referred to the Committee on International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Congratulating the residents of Jerusalem and the people of Israel on 
 the thirtieth anniversary of the reunification of that historic city, 
                        and for other purposes.

Whereas for 3,000 years Jerusalem has been Judaism's holiest city and the focal 
        point of Jewish religious devotion;
Whereas Jerusalem is also considered a holy city by members of other religious 
        faiths;
Whereas there has been a continuous Jewish presence in Jerusalem for three 
        millennia and a Jewish majority in the city since the 1840s;
Whereas the once thriving Jewish majority of the historic Old City of Jerusalem 
        was driven out by force during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War;
Whereas from 1948 to 1967 Jerusalem was a divided city and Israeli citizens of 
        all faiths as well as Jewish citizens of all states were denied access 
        to holy sites in the area controlled by Jordan;
Whereas in 1967 Jerusalem was reunited by Israel during the conflict known as 
        the Six Day War;
Whereas since 1967 Jerusalem has been a united city, and persons of all 
        religious faiths have been guaranteed full access to holy sites within 
        the city;
Whereas this year marks the thirtieth year that Jerusalem has been administered 
        as a unified city in which the rights of all faiths have been respected 
        and protected;
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 an undivided city'' and calling on Israel and the 
        Palestinians to undertake negotiations to resolve their differences;
Whereas Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel later cited Senate Concurrent 
        Resolution 106 as having ``helped our neighbors reach the negotiating 
        table'' to produce the historic Declaration of Principles on Interim 
        Self-Government Arrangements, signed in Washington on September 13, 
        1993; and
Whereas the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-45) which became law 
        on November 8, 1995, states as a matter of United States policy that 
        Jerusalem should remain the undivided capital of Israel: Now, therefore, 
        be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That the Congress--
            (1) congratulates the residents of Jerusalem and the people 
        of Israel on the thirtieth anniversary of the reunification of 
        that historic city;
            (2) strongly believes that Jerusalem must remain an 
        undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic and 
        religious group are protected as they have been by Israel 
        during the past 30 years;
            (3) calls upon the President and Secretary of State to 
        publicly affirm as a matter of United States policy that 
        Jerusalem must remain the undivided capital of the state of 
        Israel; and
            (4) urges United States officials to refrain from any 
        actions that contradict United States law on this subject.

            Passed the Senate May 20, 1997.

            Attest:

                                                    GARY SISCO,

                                                             Secretary.