III 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 16, 2017 

Mr. CRUZ submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

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. 

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; 


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•SRES 291 IS 

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; 


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•SRES 291 IS 

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 connecVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Oct 17, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR291.IS SR291

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•SRES 291 IS 

tion between the Jewish people and Jerusalem, and have 

been for millennia: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) recognizes and affirms the historical connec3 tion of the Jewish people to the ancient and sacred 

4 city of Jerusalem; 

5 (2) recognizes and affirms that the archae6 ological discoveries from the City of David, the site 

7 of ancient Jerusalem, present undeniable scientific 

8 evidence of the millennia-old connection of Jeru9 salem to the Jewish people, and, by extension, to 

10 Christianity; 

11 (3) commends the Government of Israel for 

12 protecting the freedoms of all faiths in Jerusalem in13 cluding Jews, Christians, and Muslims, ensuring 

14 their access to holy sites so that they may worship 

15 freely; 

16 (4) condemns any past, present, or future ef17 forts at UNESCO to delegitimize Israel through at18 tempts to rewrite and deny the history of Jerusalem; 

19 and 

20 (5) encourages the United States to continue 

21 working with allies to prevent UNESCO from pass22 ing biased and unjust anti-Israel resolutions in the 

23 future. 

Æ 


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