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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 705 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 705

  Expressing the sense of the Senate on the commitment of the United 
    States to the preservation of religious and cultural sites and 
        condemning instances in which such sites are desecrated.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

            October 2 (legislative day, September 17), 2008

Mr. Brownback (for himself, Mr. Levin, and Mr. Voinovich) submitted the 
        following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
  Expressing the sense of the Senate on the commitment of the United 
    States to the preservation of religious and cultural sites and 
        condemning instances in which such sites are desecrated.

Whereas the Senate is committed to protecting and preserving the cultural 
        heritage of all national, religious, and ethnic groups, including 
        cemeteries and other sacred sites of those groups in the United States 
        and abroad;
Whereas the Holocaust annihilated much of the Jewish population of Europe, and 
        in many countries in Europe, no Jewish people were left to care for the 
        communal properties that represent a historic culture in the area and 
        constitute an integral part of the Jewish religion;
Whereas the Holocaust and 45 years of atheistic, Communist governments in 
        Eastern Europe created a critical need that led to the establishment of 
        the United States Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage 
        Abroad under section 1303 of the International Security and Development 
        Cooperation Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 469j);
Whereas the United States Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage 
        Abroad is tasked with identifying and reporting on cemeteries, 
        monuments, and historic buildings in Eastern and Central Europe that are 
        associated with the heritage of United States citizens and obtaining 
        assurances from the governments in those regions that those properties 
        will be protected and preserved;
Whereas many of those properties continue to be endangered and governments and 
        communities continue to face fundamental and compelling challenges in 
        the preservation of those properties;
Whereas experts within Lithuania and from around the world believe that the 
        cemetery located in the Snipiskes area of Vilnius, Lithuania, is an 
        historic Jewish cemetery and is sacred ground;
Whereas, in 2005, municipal authorities in Vilnius, Lithuania, approved the 
        construction of an apartment building at the outer edge of that Jewish 
        cemetery;
Whereas that cemetery dates to the 15th century and is known by scholars in 
        Lithuania and around the world as the first Jewish cemetery in Vilnius;
Whereas it is believed that, before the Government closed the cemetery in the 
        early 1800s, more than 50,000 Jews were buried there;
Whereas, in December 2006, several months after experts and groups from around 
        the world expressed grave concern about the desecration of the Snipiskes 
        cemetery, the Prime Minister of Lithuania established a working group to 
        define the cemetery's borders and to consider how to memorialize it;
Whereas, in 2007, before the conclusion of the working group, authorities of the 
        Government of Lithuania approved additional construction on the disputed 
        ground;
Whereas, in May 2007, the working group, consisting of historians, scientists, 
        and rabbis from Lithuania and around the world, called for a halt in 
        construction activity until completion of a site study to be undertaken 
        using ground-penetrating radar;
Whereas, on September 3, 2008, a group commissioned by the Government of 
        Lithuania to study the area using the ground-penetrating radar concluded 
        that the boundaries of the cemetery included the disputed apartment 
        buildings;
Whereas the Ministry of Culture of Lithuania released a statement dismissing the 
        study as inconclusive;
Whereas the fact that the Government of Lithuania has allowed construction to 
        take place at the Jewish cemetery located in the Snipiskes area of 
        Vilnius, Lithuania, and that desecration of sacred sites continues into 
        the 21st century, is an affront to the international Jewish community, 
        the people of the United States, and everyone who values religious 
        freedom and ethnic diversity around the world;
Whereas the United States and Lithuania signed the Agreement on the Protection 
        and Preservation of Certain Cultural Properties on October 15, 2002;
Whereas Article 1 of the Agreement states, ``Each Party will take appropriate 
        steps to protect and preserve the cultural heritage of all national, 
        religious or ethnic groups . . . who reside or resided in its territory 
        and were victims of genocide in its territory during the Second World 
        War. The term `cultural heritage' for purposes of this Agreement means . 
        . . cemeteries and memorials to the dead . . . .'';
Whereas cemeteries are sacred sites and are established to remain undisturbed in 
        perpetuity, and the sanctity of a cemetery is determined by the bodies 
        buried in the cemetery; and
Whereas, while vandalism of headstones or construction of a commercial building 
        on the site disgraces the cemetery, it does not change its sacred 
        status: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) expresses strongly to the Government of Lithuania that 
        the cemetery located in the Snipiskes area of Vilnius, 
        Lithuania, which is an important part of the cultural heritage 
        of the Jewish people, should not be further desecrated;
            (2) urges the Government of Lithuania to take all the 
        necessary steps to immediately stop and, if necessary, reverse, 
        construction on that cemetery;
            (3) reaffirms that constructive bilateral relations between 
        Lithuania and the United States are important to the 
        Governments and citizens of both countries; and
            (4) expresses strong support for the work of the United 
        States Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage 
        Abroad and for the European countries that continue to work to 
        preserve sacred historical sites, despite ongoing challenges.
                                 <all>
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