[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.