[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15954-15955]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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   SENATE RESOLUTION 291--AFFIRMING THE HISTORICAL CONNECTION OF THE 
     JEWISH PEOPLE TO THE ANCIENT AND SACRED CITY OF JERUSALEM AND 
 CONDEMNING EFFORTS AT THE UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC, AND 
    CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (UNESCO) TO DENY JUDAISM'S MILLENNIA-OLD 
         HISTORICAL, RELIGIOUS, AND CULTURAL TIES TO JERUSALEM

  Mr. CRUZ submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 291

       Whereas for over 3,000 years, Jerusalem has played a 
     central role in the history and identity of the Jewish 
     people;
       Whereas Jerusalem is the location of the holiest site for 
     the Jewish people, the Temple Mount, as well as the Western 
     Wall, where Jews from across the world come to pray;
       Whereas Jerusalem has been a Christian pilgrimage site for 
     over 2,000 years, and holds considerable religious 
     significance for Christians;
       Whereas Jerusalem is home to the third holiest site in 
     Islam, and holds considerable religious significance for 
     Muslims;
       Whereas Jerusalem serves as a cultural and religious 
     inspiration to billions of people around the world;
       Whereas the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and 
     Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has passed a series of anti-
     Israel resolutions in recent years regarding Jerusalem, both 
     at the Committee level and by the Executive Board--a 
     governing body of UNESCO;
       Whereas these biased resolutions are attempts to erase or 
     minimize the Jewish as well as Christian historical and 
     religious ties to Jerusalem, and unjustly single out our 
     close ally Israel with false accusations and criticism;
       Whereas numerous archaeological excavations, such as those 
     taking place in the City of David, Israel's most 
     archaeologically excavated site, have uncovered a myriad of 
     antiquities which scientifically reaffirm Jerusalem's 
     historical significance to Judaism as well as Christianity;
       Whereas the City of David is the archaeological site of 
     ancient Jerusalem, and is believed to be the very site 
     recorded in the Bible upon which King David established the 
     capital of ancient Israel;
       Whereas since 1867, there have been archaeological 
     excavations at the site of the City of David, including 
     international delegations of archaeologists from the United 
     States, England, France, and Germany;
       Whereas these excavations have unearthed antiquities from 
     over 10 different civilizations, including Canaanite, 
     Israelite, Roman, Byzantine, and Persian;
       Whereas the current excavations of the City of David are 
     carried out under the auspices of the Israel Antiquities 
     Authority, and are held to the highest scientific standards;
       Whereas among the most significant archaeological 
     discoveries unearthed from the City of David include the 
     Siloam Inscription (8th century B.C.E.), which recounts the 
     preparations made by King Hezekiah of Judah for the impending 
     Assyrian siege against Jerusalem, consistent with the 
     Biblical account from 2 Kings; clay seal impressions/bullae 
     (6th century B.C.E.) bearing the names of two Judean 
     Government officials who are mentioned in the very same verse 
     in the Bible, Jeremiah 38:1; the Pool of Siloam (1st century 
     B.C.E.), which served during the Second Temple period as a 
     ritual bath for the hundreds of thousands of Jewish pilgrims 
     ascending annually to the Temple, which stood atop the Temple 
     Mount; and the Second Temple Pilgrimage Road (1st century 
     C.E.), which began at the Pool of Siloam and served as the 
     main thoroughfare of Second Temple period Jerusalem that 
     carried hundreds of thousands of people on their annual 
     pilgrimages to the Temple;
       Whereas the Pilgrimage Road located within the City of 
     David, which stretches 600 meters from the Pool of Siloam to 
     the footsteps of the Western Wall, will be open to visitors 
     upon completion of the excavation; and
       Whereas these discoveries affirm the undeniable truth that 
     the City of David, the Western Wall, and the Temple Mount are 
     inextricably linked together--physically, historically, and 
     symbolically--as the bedrock of the connection between the 
     Jewish people and Jerusalem, and have been for millennia: 
     Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--

[[Page 15955]]

       (1) recognizes and affirms the historical connection of the 
     Jewish people to the ancient and sacred city of Jerusalem;
       (2) recognizes and affirms that the archaeological 
     discoveries from the City of David, the site of ancient 
     Jerusalem, present undeniable scientific evidence of the 
     millennia-old connection of Jerusalem to the Jewish people, 
     and, by extension, to Christianity;
       (3) commends the Government of Israel for protecting the 
     freedoms of all faiths in Jerusalem including Jews, 
     Christians, and Muslims, ensuring their access to holy sites 
     so that they may worship freely;
       (4) condemns any past, present, or future efforts at UNESCO 
     to delegitimize Israel through attempts to rewrite and deny 
     the history of Jerusalem; and
       (5) encourages the United States to continue working with 
     allies to prevent UNESCO from passing biased and unjust anti-
     Israel resolutions in the future.

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