[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 311 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 311
Expressing the sense of Congress that the international community
should recognize the plight of Jewish refugees from Arab countries and
that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
in the Near East should establish a program for resettling Palestinian
refugees.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 28, 2003
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen (for herself, Mr. Pallone, and Mr. Nadler) submitted
the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on International Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress that the international community
should recognize the plight of Jewish refugees from Arab countries and
that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
in the Near East should establish a program for resettling Palestinian
refugees.
Whereas disagreement about the status and future of refugees in the Middle East
remains one of the major political and diplomatic obstacles to a lasting
peace settlement to the Middle East conflict;
Whereas although 2 separate and distinct refugee populations exist in the Middle
East, Arabs and Jews, the plight of Jewish refugees from Arab lands has
received little attention or international recognition;
Whereas Jews have lived in areas that are now Arab countries for more than 2,500
years;
Whereas during the time period surrounding the creation of the State of Israel,
nearly 900,000 of these Jews fled Arab countries because they faced a
campaign of ethnic clensing and were forced to leave behind land,
private homes, personal affects, businesses, community assets, and
thousands of years of their Jewish heritage and history;
Whereas Israel absorbed approximately 650,000 Jewish refugees from Arab
countries during its first 10 years of statehood, granting them full
Israeli citizenship and integrating them into Israeli society and
culture, yet this integration does not diminish the plight of the
refugees who left behind their heritage and their respective homelands;
Whereas although the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is the
international body charged with protecting refugees and solving refugee
problems throughout the world, a special agency, the United Nations
Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA),
was established in 1950 for the exclusive benefit of the Palestinian
refugees;
Whereas UNRWA makes no effort to permanently resettle Palestinian refugees, even
those residing under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority,
which has perpetuated the Palestinian refugee problem and the suffering
of the Palestinian refugees;
Whereas there is evidence that UNRWA facilities have been used for terrorist
recruitment and training, as well as bases for terrorist operations,
with little attempt by UNRWA to prevent attacks or alert relevant law
enforcement authorities about terrorist activities;
Whereas Congress has repeatedly raised concerns about connections between UNRWA
facilities and violence and terrorist activities;
Whereas on July 16, 2003 the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1950, the
Millennium Challenge Account, Peace Corps Expansion, and Foreign
Relations Authorization Act of 2003, containing section 731(9), which
``strongly urges UNRWA to meet the requirements, in letter and spirit,
of section 301(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, including by
comprehensively ensuring that no UNRWA assistance is rendered to anyone
who has been involved with terrorism at any time and that all UNRWA
beneficiaries be informed at the earliest possible time, and at regular
intervals thereafter, that anyone involved with terrorism thereafter
will be ineligible for UNRWA benefits''; and
Whereas that Act also contains section 731(11), which ``notes the General
Accounting Office (GAO) audit required by section 580 of the FY 2003
Foreign Operations Appropriations Act (Public Law 108-7), and strongly
encourages the GAO to conduct, as part of this audit, an investigation
and inspection of all recent United States assistance to UNRWA to ensure
that taxpayer funds are being spent effectively and are not directly or
indirectly supporting terrorism, anti-Semitic or anti-Jewish teachings,
or the glorification or incitement of violence'': Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That it is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the international community should formally recognize
the plight of Jewish refugees from Arab countries and the
circumstances surrounding their departure as a part of any
settlement of the Middle East conflict or as part of any
agreement regarding the issue of refugees;
(2) the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) should establish a
program for resettling all of the Palestinian refugees under
the authority of UNRWA in the host countries or territories in
which they are living, other Arab countries, or third party
countries willing to assist, and a timetable for implementing
the program within 6 months of the date of the adoption of this
resolution;
(3) UNRWA should immediately replace textbooks and
educational materials used in the UNRWA education system that
promote anti-Semitism, deny the existence and the right to
exist of the state of Israel, and exacerbate stereotypes and
tensions between Palestinians and Israelis, and take steps to
ensure that UNRWA facilities are not being used to store
weapons or to promote violence or terrorism; and
(4) Arab countries should contribute to a lasting solution
to the refugee problem by accepting a meaningful number of
refugees and taking a larger role in financing UNRWA and the
cost of resettlement.
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