[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 185 Engrossed in House (EH)]


                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                         April 1, 2008.
Whereas armed conflicts in the Middle East have created refugee populations 
        numbering in the millions and comprised of peoples from many ethnic, 
        religious, and national backgrounds;
Whereas Jews have lived mostly as a minority in the Middle East, North Africa, 
        and the Persian Gulf region for more than 2,500 years;
Whereas the United States has long voiced its concern about the mistreatment of 
        minorities and the violation of human rights in the Middle East and 
        elsewhere;
Whereas the United States continues to play a pivotal role in seeking an end to 
        the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East and to promoting a peace 
        that will benefit all the peoples of the region;
Whereas United States administrations historically have called for a just 
        solution to the Palestinian refugee problem;
Whereas the Palestinian refugee issue has received considerable attention from 
        countries of the world while the issue of Jewish refugees from the Arab 
        and Muslim worlds has received very little attention;
Whereas a comprehensive peace in the region will require the resolution of all 
        outstanding issues through bilateral and multilateral negotiations 
        involving all concerned parties;
Whereas approximately 850,000 Jews have been displaced from Arab countries since 
        the declaration of the State of Israel in 1948;
Whereas the United States has demonstrated interest and concern about the 
        mistreatment, violation of rights, forced expulsion, and expropriation 
        of assets of minority populations in general, and in particular, former 
        Jewish refugees displaced from Arab countries as evidenced, inter alia, 
        by--

    (1) the Memorandum of Understanding signed by President Jimmy Carter 
and Israeli Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan on October 4, 1977, which states 
that ``[a] solution of the problem of Arab refugees and Jewish refugees 
will be discussed in accordance with rules which should be agreed'';

    (2) after negotiating the Camp David Accords, the Framework for Peace 
in the Middle East, the statement by President Jimmy Carter in a press 
conference on October 27, 1977, that ``Palestinians have rights . . . 
obviously there are Jewish refugees . . . they have the same rights as 
others do''; and

    (3) in an interview after Camp David II in July 2000, at which the 
issue of Jewish refugees displaced from Arab lands was discussed, the 
statement by President Clinton that ``There will have to be some sort of 
international fund set up for the refugees. There is, I think, some 
interest, interestingly enough, on both sides, in also having a fund which 
compensates the Israelis who were made refugees by the war, which occurred 
after the birth of the State of Israel. Israel is full of people, Jewish 
people, who lived in predominantly Arab countries who came to Israel 
because they were made refugees in their own land.'';

Whereas the international definition of a refugee clearly applies to Jews who 
        fled the persecution of Arab regimes, where a refugee is a person who 
        ``owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, 
        religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or 
        political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is 
        unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the 
        protection of that country'' (the 1951 Convention relating to the Status 
        of Refugees);
Whereas on January 29, 1957, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 
        (UNHCR), determined that Jews fleeing from Arab countries were refugees 
        that fell within the mandate of the UNHCR;
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 of November 22, 1967, 
        calls for a ``just settlement of the refugee problem'' without 
        distinction between Palestinian and Jewish refugees, and this is 
        evidenced by--

    (1) the Soviet Union's United Nations delegation attempt to restrict 
the ``just settlement'' mentioned in Resolution 242 solely to Palestinian 
refugees (S/8236, discussed by the Security Council at its 1382nd meeting 
of November 22, 1967, notably at paragraph 117, in the words of Ambassador 
Kouznetsov of the Soviet Union), but this attempt failed, signifying the 
international community's intention of having the resolution address the 
rights of all Middle East refugees; and

    (2) a statement by Justice Arthur Goldberg, the United States' Chief 
Delegate to the United Nations at that time, who was instrumental in 
drafting the unanimously adopted Resolution 242, where he has pointed out 
that ``The resolution addresses the objective of `achieving a just 
settlement of the refugee problem'. This language presumably refers both to 
Arab and Jewish refugees, for about an equal number of each abandoned their 
homes as a result of the several wars.'';

Whereas in his opening remarks before the January 28, 1992, organizational 
        meeting for multilateral negotiations on the Middle East in Moscow, 
        United States Secretary of State James Baker made no distinction between 
        Palestinian refugees and Jewish refugees in articulating the mission of 
        the Refugee Working Group, stating that ``[t]he refugee group will 
        consider practical ways of improving the lot of people throughout the 
        region who have been displaced from their homes'';
Whereas the Roadmap to a Permanent Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian 
        Conflict, which refers in Phase III to an ``agreed, just, fair, and 
        realistic solution to the refugee issue,'' uses language that is equally 
        applicable to all persons displaced as a result of the conflict in the 
        Middle East;
Whereas Israel's agreements with Egypt, Jordan, and the Palestinians have 
        affirmed that a comprehensive solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict will 
        require a just solution to the plight of all ``refugees'';
Whereas the initiative to secure rights and redress for Jews who were forced to 
        flee Arab countries does not conflict with the right of Palestinian 
        refugees to claim redress;
Whereas all countries should be aware of the plight of Jews and other minority 
        groups displaced from countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and 
        the Persian Gulf;
Whereas an international campaign is proceeding in some 40 countries to record 
        the history and legacy of Jewish refugees from Arab countries;
Whereas a just, comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace cannot be reached without 
        addressing the uprooting of centuries-old Jewish communities in the 
        Middle East, North Africa, and the Persian Gulf; and
Whereas it would be inappropriate and unjust for the United States to recognize 
        rights for Palestinian refugees without recognizing equal rights for 
        Jewish refugees from Arab countries: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That--
            (1) for any comprehensive Middle East peace agreement to be credible 
        and enduring, the agreement must address and resolve all outstanding 
        issues relating to the legitimate rights of all refugees, including 
        Jews, Christians, and other populations, displaced from countries in the 
        Middle East; and
            (2) the President should instruct the United States Representative 
        to the United Nations and all United States representatives in bilateral 
        and multilateral fora to--
                    (A) use the voice, vote, and influence of the United States 
                to ensure that any resolutions relating to the issue of Middle 
                East refugees, and which include a reference to the required 
                resolution of the Palestinian refugee issue, must also include a 
                similarly explicit reference to the resolution of the issue of 
                Jewish refugees from Arab countries; and
                    (B) make clear that the United States Government supports 
                the position that, as an integral part of any comprehensive 
                Arab-Israeli peace, the issue of refugees from the Middle East, 
                North Africa, and the Persian Gulf must be resolved in a manner 
                that includes recognition of the legitimate rights of and losses 
                incurred by all refugees displaced from Arab countries, 
                including Jews, Christians, and other groups.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.