[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 286 Introduced in House (IH)]
106th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. CON. RES. 286
Expressing the sense of Congress concerning the situation in Jericho.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 16, 2000
Mrs. Maloney of New York (for herself, Mr. Boehlert, Mr. Lantos, Mrs.
Mink of Hawaii, Mr. Rahall) submitted the following concurrent
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International
Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress concerning the situation in Jericho.
Whereas on January 15, 2000, the Palestinian Authority seized the Russian
Orthodox Church Outside of Russia's Jericho Gardens Monastery in Jericho
and forcibly evicted the Monastery's resident monks;
Whereas the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia was established by exiled
Russians in Europe and the United States after the Communist government
confiscated all church property in 1918;
Whereas the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia was incorporated in the State
of New York on April 30, 1952;
Whereas since 1920 the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia has
administered all the Russian Orthodox properties in areas controlled by
the Palestinian Authority;
Whereas since 1882 the property in Jericho has been in continuous and
uninterrupted possession of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission (REM) in
Jerusalem;
Whereas the REM has been under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church
Outside of Russia since 1920;
Whereas two United States citizen Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia
nuns, Sister Maria and Sister Xenia, have been forced to live under
harsh and onerous conditions on the Monestary property, and have been
taunted and assaulted by Palestinian and Russian representatives
occupying the Monastery;
Whereas Sister Maria and Sister Xenia have also been denied visitors, a change
of clothes, the ability to meet with their confessors or to receive
communion except through iron bars, to bathe, to cook a hot meal, and
unrestricted access to the press;
Whereas this is the third illegal seizure of religious property of the Russian
Orthodox Church Outside Russia, and its affiliate the Orthodox Palestine
Society, in Jericho and Hebron by the Palestinian Authority;
Whereas the Palestinian Authority signed the Oslo Accord stating that it will
respect and protect holy sites, provide free access to the holy sites,
and respect and protect freedom of worship and practice on holy sites,
but it has flagrantly failed to allow free access to the Jericho
property to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and visitors
to the Jericho holy site and has locked out Sisters Maria and Xenia and
any other member of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia from
worshipping in the Jericho property;
Whereas the Palestinian Authority committed to a Congressional staff delegation,
the United States Consul General, and a representative from the Russian
Orthodox Church Outside of Russia during a fact-finding trip to the
Jericho Gardens Monastery on February 26, 2000, to treat the Russian
Orthodox Church Outside of Russia equally and fairly by allowing free
access to the Jericho Gardens Monastery and by providing equal access to
the Chapel on the property until a permanent resolution of this dispute
could be resolved in accordance with the rule of law, but has blatantly
violated this agreement; and
Whereas the Palestinian Authority has further violated their commitment to fair
and equal treatment by forcefully refusing Russian Orthodox Church
Outside of Russia members access to the Chapel on the property, by
locking the gate to the compound, imprisoning Sister Maria on the
property and not allowing her access to other members of the Russian
Orthodox Church Outside of Russia or free access to the property, and by
further restricting the area in which Sister Maria can venture on the
property: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That it is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the United States should ensure the safety and well-
being of the United States citizen Russian Orthodox Church
Outside of Russia nun, Sister Maria, who has been living under
harsh and onerous conditions on the property of the Jericho
Gardens Monastery in Jericho;
(2) the United States should express to the Palestinian
Authority its grave concerns that property disputes in Jericho
and Hebron are being settled arbitrarily by military fiat
rather than in courts of law;
(3) the resolution of this dispute must be resolved in
accordance with the rule of law;
(4) the Palestinian Authority must act in a responsible
manner in ensuring the rights of the United States citizen nun,
Sister Maria, and the rights of the Russian Orthodox Church
Outside of Russia, so that the dispute can be resolved in a
fair manner and in accordance with due process;
(5) the Jericho Gardens Monastery in Jericho, as well as
the other Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia property in
Jericho and Hebron, should be returned to the conditions before
the illegal seizures by the Palestinian Authority forthwith,
pending a resolution of this dispute in a court of law
following international standards of due process; and
(6) the United States consulate in Jerusalem is to be
commended for its immediate response and ongoing support for
the two United States citizen nuns in Jericho.
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