[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 10441-10442]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 98--COMMEMORATING THE 39TH ANNIVERSARY OF 
               THE REUNIFICATION OF THE CITY OF JERUSALEM

  Mr. BROWNBACK (for himself, Mr. Lieberman, Mr. Allen, Ms. Collins, 
Mr. Frist, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Pryor, Mr. Santorum, Mr. Smith, Mrs. 
Clinton, Mr. Reid, Mrs. Dole, and Mr. Inhofe) submitted the following 
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 98

       Whereas, for 3,000 years, Jerusalem has been the holiest 
     city of Judaism and the focal point of Jewish religious 
     devotion;
       Whereas Jerusalem is also considered a holy city by members 
     of other religious faiths;
       Whereas, from 1948 to 1967, Jerusalem was a divided city, 
     and Israeli citizens of all faiths, as well as Jewish 
     citizens of all countries, were denied access to certain holy 
     sites;
       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 been guaranteed full 
     access to holy sites within the city;
       Whereas this year marks the 39th year that Jerusalem has 
     been administered as a unified city in which the rights of 
     every ethnic and religious group are protected;
       Whereas, in 1990, the Senate and House of Representatives 
     overwhelmingly adopted S. Con. Res. 106 (101st Congress) and 
     H. Con. Res. 290 (101st Congress), declaring that Jerusalem, 
     the capital of Israel, ``must remain an undivided city'' and 
     calling on Israel and the Palestinians to begin negotiations 
     to resolve their differences;
       Whereas each sovereign country, under international law and 
     custom, has the right to designate its own capital;
       Whereas Jerusalem is the seat of the Government of Israel, 
     including the President, the Parliament, and the Supreme 
     Court;
       Whereas the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-
     45; 109 Stat. 398), which became law on November 8, 1995, 
     states as a matter of United States policy that Jerusalem 
     should remain the undivided capital of Israel in which the 
     rights of every ethnic and religious group are protected;
       Whereas section 214 of the Foreign Relations Authorization 
     Act, Fiscal Year 2003 (5 U.S.C. 8411 note; Public Law 107-
     228) directs that the Secretary of State shall, upon the 
     request of a citizen or a legal guardian of a citizen, record 
     the place of birth of a United States citizen born in the 
     city of Jerusalem as Israel: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That Congress--
       (1) congratulates the residents of Jerusalem and the people 
     of Israel on the 39th anniversary of the reunification of 
     that historic city;
       (2) strongly believes that Jerusalem must remain an 
     undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic and 
     religious group are protected as they have been by Israel 
     during the past 39 years;
       (3) calls upon the President and Secretary of State to 
     publicly affirm, as a matter of United States policy, that 
     Jerusalem must remain the undivided capital of the State of 
     Israel;
       (4) strongly urges the President--
       (A) to discontinue use of the waiver contained in the 
     Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-45; 108 Stat. 
     398);
       (B) to carry out the provisions of that Act immediately; 
     and
       (C) to begin the process of relocating the United States 
     Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem; and
       (5) further urges officials of the United States to carry 
     out section 214 of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, 
     Fiscal Year 2003 (Public Law 107-228; 116 Stat. 1365).

  Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I am honored to join my colleagues in 
the submittal of S. Res. 98 congratulating the Israeli people on their 
celebration of the 39th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem 
and calling for the United States to relocate its embassy in Israel 
from the city of Tel-Aviv to the recognized capital city of Jerusalem.
  This year, Israel celebrates the 39th anniversary of the 
reunification of Jerusalem. Starting in 1948 Jerusalem was a divided 
city. Under Jordanian rule, many of the holy areas were off limits to 
Israelis of any religion and to Jews of any nationality. In 1967, 
during the Six Day War, Israeli troops reunified the city of Jerusalem. 
Then, people of all religious faiths have been guaranteed full access 
to holy sites within the city, and the rights of all faiths have been 
respected and protected.
  In 1995, the U.S. Congress declared that Jerusalem should remain the 
undivided capital of Israel. I was proud to cosponsor the Jerusalem 
Embassy Act of 1995, and I am proud today to join my colleagues in 
urging the administration to move our Embassy to Israel's rightful 
capital. The President of Israel, Israel's Parliament and the Israeli 
Supreme Court are all located in Jerusalem. What is not located in 
Jerusalem is the Embassy of the United States. Every sovereign country 
has the right to designate its own capital and the United States 
maintains its Embassy in the functioning capital

[[Page 10442]]

of every country. The one exception is Israel, a great friend and ally 
to the United States.
  Israel is a steadfast strategic ally of the United States. The United 
States conducts official meetings and other business in the city of 
Jerusalem in de facto recognition of its status as the capital of 
Israel. It is time for the U.S. Embassy to be relocated to Jerusalem, 
the recognized capital of Israel. With this resolution, the Senate 
calls on President Bush to discontinue the waiver contained in the 
Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, relocate the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, 
and reaffirm U.S. policy that Jerusalem must remain the undivided 
capital of Israel.

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