[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 90 (Wednesday, May 24, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S3148]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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   SENATE RESOLUTION 176--COMMEMORATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
                       REUNIFICATION OF JERUSALEM

  Mr. McCONNELL (for himself, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Heller, Mr. Graham, Mr. 
Nelson, Ms. Baldwin, Mrs. McCaskill, and Mrs. Gillibrand) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                              S. Res. 176

       Whereas June 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of the Six Day 
     War and the reunification of the city of Jerusalem;
       Whereas there has been a continuous Jewish presence in 
     Jerusalem for 3 millennia;
       Whereas Jerusalem is a holy city and the home for people of 
     the Jewish, Muslim, and Christian faiths;
       Whereas, for 3,000 years, Jerusalem has been Judaism's 
     holiest city and the focal point of Jewish religious 
     devotion;
       Whereas, from 1948 to 1967, Jerusalem was a divided city, 
     and Israeli citizens of all faiths as well as Jews of all 
     nationalities were denied access to holy sites in eastern 
     Jerusalem, including the Old City, in which the Western Wall 
     is located;
       Whereas, in 1967, Jerusalem was reunited by Israel during 
     the conflict known as the Six Day War;
       Whereas, since 1967, Jerusalem has been a united city, and 
     persons of all religious faiths have access to holy sites 
     within the city;
       Whereas this year marks the 50th year that Jerusalem has 
     been administered as a united city in which the rights of all 
     faiths have been respected and protected;
       Whereas the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-
     45), which became law on November 8, 1995, states that 
     Jerusalem should remain the undivided capital of Israel in 
     which the rights of every ethnic and religious group are 
     protected; and
       Whereas it is the longstanding policy of the United States 
     Government that a just resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian 
     conflict can only be achieved through direct, bilateral 
     negotiations without preconditions for a sustainable two-
     state solution: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes the 50th Anniversary of the reunification of 
     Jerusalem and extends its friendship and hopes for peace to 
     the residents of Jerusalem and the people of Israel;
       (2) reaffirms its support for Israel's commitment to 
     religious freedom and administration of holy sites in 
     Jerusalem;
       (3) continues to support strengthening the mutually 
     beneficial American-Israeli relationship;
       (4) commends Egypt and Jordan, former combatant states of 
     the Six Day War, who in subsequent years embraced a vision of 
     peace and coexistence with Israel and have continued to 
     uphold their respective peace agreements;
       (5) reaffirms that it is the longstanding, bipartisan 
     policy of the United States Government that the permanent 
     status of Jerusalem remains a matter to be decided between 
     the parties through final status negotiations towards a two-
     state solution; and
       (6) reaffirms the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 (Public Law 
     104-45) as United States law, and calls upon the President 
     and all United States officials to abide by its provisions.

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