[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 150 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 150

Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the protection of religious 
              sites and the freedom of access and worship.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 10, 2003

    Mr. Wilson of South Carolina (for himself, Mrs. Jo Ann Davis of 
 Virginia, Mr. Blunt, Mr. Cantor, Mr. Saxton, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, 
 Mr. Hall, Mr. Coble, Mr. Barton of Texas, Mr. Hefley, Mr. Herger, Mr. 
 Rohrabacher, Mr. McCrery, Mr. Kingston, Mr. Bartlett of Maryland, Mr. 
Manzullo, Mr. Jones of North Carolina, Mrs. Myrick, Mr. Ryun of Kansas, 
 Mr. Goode, Mr. Aderholt, Mr. Tancredo, Mr. Terry, Mr. Brown of South 
  Carolina, Mr. Miller of Florida, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Barrett of South 
 Carolina, Mr. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida, Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite of 
 Florida, Mr. King of Iowa, Mr. Burgess, Mr. Janklow, Mr. Carter, Mr. 
    Franks of Arizona, and Mr. Garrett of New Jersey) submitted the 
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                        International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the protection of religious 
              sites and the freedom of access and worship.

Whereas throughout time various groups have felt special attachment to places 
        that they considered sacred and holy, and the sacred texts of the great 
        historical religions include accounts of specific places where 
        individuals or groups experienced significant encounters with God;
Whereas holy places create a memory of these encounters with the divine and are 
        a part of the character of every religious tradition;
Whereas holy places are as much a common feature of the religious traditions of 
        humanity as are sacred time, ceremonies, and prayer;
Whereas one of the results of the identification of locations as sacred is that 
        these places can become the focus for the tensions between the members 
        of different religious communities;
Whereas a place that is considered holy by one group can come to be claimed by 
        adherents of another tradition, and as a result holy places can become 
        the source of conflict as much as of spiritual expression;
Whereas when religious communities tragically fall into estrangement or 
        antagonism, the holy places of each community often become the target of 
        violence or vengeance instead of veneration and reverence, and people 
        act out their contempt and anger through occupation, desecration, and 
        destruction;
Whereas the location of many holy sites of the three main monotheistic religions 
        are located in the State of Israel and in the Palestinian territory;
Whereas this region is especially important to the followers of Judaism, Islam, 
        and Christianity, and many visitors from around the world travel to 
        these sites for personal and religious inspiration;
Whereas under British control the Palestine Mandate of 1922 contained a number 
        of provisions ensuring freedom of religion and conscience and protection 
        of holy places, as well as prohibiting discrimination on religious 
        grounds;
Whereas the British Mandate Government's Palestine Order in Council of that same 
        year provided that ``all persons . . . shall enjoy full liberty of 
        conscience and free exercise of their forms of worship, subject only to 
        the maintenance of public order and morals'' and ``no ordinance shall be 
        promulgated which shall restrict complete freedom of conscience and the 
        free exercise of all forms of worship.'';
Whereas these provisions of the Mandate and the Palestine Orders in Councils 
        have been recognized in the Israeli legal system and are instructive of 
        Israeli policy in safeguarding freedom of conscience and religion;
Whereas the Israeli Declaration of Independence of 1948 is another legal source 
        that guarantees freedom of religion and conscience, and equality of 
        social and political rights irrespective of religion;
Whereas this document states ``the State of Israel . . . will be based on 
        freedom, justice, and peace as envisaged by the Prophets of Israel; it 
        will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its 
        inhabitants irrespective of religion, race, or sex; it will guarantee 
        freedom of religion, conscience, language, education, and culture.'';
Whereas this document expresses Israel's vision and its credo, and adherence to 
        these principles is guaranteed by law;
Whereas each religious community within Israel is free to exercise its faith, 
        observe its own holy days and weekly day of rest, and administer its own 
        internal affairs;
Whereas the Israeli Protection of Holy Places Law of 1967 states that freedom of 
        access and worship is ensured at all places of worship and religious 
        significance;
Whereas this law states ``the Holy Places shall be protected from desecration 
        and any other violation and from anything likely to violate the freedom 
        of access of members of the various religions to the places sacred to 
        them, or their feelings with regard to those places.'';
Whereas Israel has abolished any discriminatory laws and has adopted standards 
        of safeguarding access to religious shrines;
Whereas in the past fifty-five years Israel has assured the safety of all 
        religions and has proven it is reliable;
Whereas the holy sites in Israel and Palestinian authority-controlled regions 
        should be protected from desecration and any other violation;
Whereas two years ago, in Nablus, the Tomb of Joseph was ransacked and set on 
        fire on live television, and in retaliation a lone group twice attempted 
        to torch an old, nonfunctioning mosque in the center of Tiberias;
Whereas these actions were followed by attempts to destroy an ancient Jewish 
        synagogue in Jericho;
Whereas last spring, during the Easter season, heavy unrest in the West Bank 
        resulted in a stalemate between Israeli soldiers and over 100 armed 
        Palestinians in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem; and
Whereas this deadlock lasted over a month and prevented anyone from visiting 
        this church of great historical and religious importance: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),

SECTION 1. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) holy sites around the world, particularly in the 
        Israeli and Palestinian region, should be protected from 
        desecration and any other violation;
            (2) the freedom of access of members of the various 
        religions to the holy sites sacred to them should not be 
        hindered;
            (3) to assure the safety of American citizens, the holy 
        sites currently under the sovereignty of the State of Israel 
        should remain under Israeli protection, and that all holy sites 
        in the region remain open to visitors of all faiths;
            (4) the Department of State should continue to warn and 
        protect Americans overseas at holy sites and regions of 
        historical and religious significance; and
            (5) we should condemn all violence directed against holy 
        sites.

SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF HOLY SITE.

    As used in this resolution, ``holy site'' means a historic location 
specifically set apart for religious purposes.
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