[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 53 (Wednesday, April 2, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4715-S4716]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 32--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS 
 REGARDING THE PROTECTION OF RELIGIOUS SITES AND THE FREEDOM OF ACCESS 
                              AND WORSHIP

  Mr. GRAHAM of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. Santorum, Mr. Bunning, 
Mr. Nickles, Mr. Craig, and Mr. Crapo) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 32

       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 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 worked to abolish discriminatory laws 
     and adopt standards of safeguarding access to holy sites;
       Whereas in the past fifty-five years Israel has striven to 
     assure the safety of all religions;
       Whereas the holy sites in Israel and Palestinian 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 group twice attempted to burn a 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 Palestinian fighters 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 Senate (the House of Representatives 
     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;

[[Page S4716]]

       (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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