IV 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 756 

Condemning the Wakf’s digging activities at the Temple Mount site and 

deploring the destruction of artifacts vitally important to Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 18, 2007 

Mr. CANTOR (for himself and Ms. BERKLEY) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning the Wakf’s digging activities at the Temple 

Mount site and deploring the destruction of artifacts 

vitally important to Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths. 

Whereas the Temple Mount, located in the ancient city of Jerusalem, Israel, has tremendous religious significance to 

the world’s three major monotheistic religions; 

Whereas according to the Jewish faith, the Temple Mount is 

the location where Abraham was asked to sacrifice his 

only son, Isaac, in the ultimate test of his commitment 

to God; 

Whereas the Temple Mount was also the site of the First and 

Second Holy Temples; 


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•HRES 756 IH 

Whereas according to Christianity, Jesus was dedicated on 

the Temple Mount in the Second Temple in accordance 

with the Law of Moses; 

Whereas Jesus referred to the Biblical Temple as His Father’s House; 

Whereas Muslims believe that Mohammed ascended to heaven 

from the Temple Mount to make the Night Journey to 

the Throne of Allah; 

Whereas in June 1967, Jerusalem once again became a 

united city under Israel’s sovereignty; 

Whereas the State of Israel has been legally responsible for 

the Temple Mount since 1967 and has been respectful of 

the religious practices of Jews, Christians, and Muslims 

at the site; 

Whereas Israel maintains overall security control of the site; 

Whereas the Wakf, or Islamic Trust, conducts day-to-day administration of the compound; 

Whereas Wakf officials have repeatedly denied the existence 

of the First and Second Jewish Temples; 

Whereas the Wakf has a stained history of damaging sensitive Jewish and Christian cultural sites; 

Whereas in August 1999 the Wakf dug a large stairway at 

the Temple Mount leading down to an underground 

mosque, dumping thousands of tons of archaeologically 

rich soil into the adjacent Kidron Valley; 

Whereas Israel’s Supreme Court declared in 1993 that the 

Wakf had violated Israel’s antiquities laws on 35 occasions; 

Whereas in the summer of 2007 Wakf officials began some 

of the most extensive work on the Temple Mount site in 


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•HRES 756 IH 

more than a decade using tractors and other heavy construction machinery to create a 400-meter-long and 1.5- 

meter-deep trench to replace electrical cables and water 

pipes; 

Whereas in some areas of the Temple Mount the bedrock is 

only a half meter deep, endangering structures that have 

been in place for thousands of years; 

Whereas among the antiquities removed include a 7-meterwide wall widely believed to date back to the Second 

Temple; 

Whereas irresponsible or destructive construction and digging 

threaten to damage this sacred site; and 

Whereas leading Israeli archaeologists have warned of irreversible damage to Jerusalem’s holiest artifacts: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives con2 demns the Wakf’s digging activities at the Temple Mount 

3 site and deplores the destruction of artifacts vitally impor4 tant to Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths. 

Æ 


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