IV

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 128

Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the treatment of religious

minorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and particularly the recent

arrests of members of that country’s Jewish community.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 8, 1999

Mr. SHERMAN (for himself, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. GEJDENSON, Mr. SMITH of New

Jersey, Mr. LANTOS, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. ACKERMAN, Mr.

MARTINEZ, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr. HILLIARD, Mr. WEXLER, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mr. NADLER, and Mr. WEINER) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the

Committee on International Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress regarding the treatment of religious minorities in the Islamic Republic of

Iran, and particularly the recent arrests of members

of that country’s Jewish community.

Whereas 10 percent of the citizens of the Islamic Republic of

Iran are members of religious minority groups;

Whereas, according to the State Department and internationally recognized human rights organizations, such as

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, religious minorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran—including Sunni Muslims, Baha’is, Christians, and Jews—have
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•HCON 128 IH

been the victims of human rights violations solely because

of their status as religious minorities;

Whereas the 55th session of the United Nations Commission

on Human Rights passed Resolution 1999/13, which expresses the concern of the international community over

‘‘continued discrimination against religious minorities’’ in

the Islamic Republic of Iran, and calls on that country

to moderate its policy on religious minorities until they

are ‘‘completely emancipated’’;

Whereas more than half the Jews in Iran have been forced

to flee that country since the Islamic Revolution of 1979

because of religious persecution, and many of them now

reside in the United States;

Whereas the Iranian Jewish community, with a 2,500-year

history and currently numbering some 30,000 people, is

the oldest Jewish community living in the Diaspora;

Whereas five Jews have been executed by the Iranian government in the past five years without having been tried;

Whereas there has been a noticeable increase recently in antiSemitic propaganda in the government-controlled Iranian

press;

Whereas, on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Passover 1999,

thirteen or more Jews, including community and religious

leaders in the city of Shiraz, were arrested by the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran; and

Whereas, in keeping with its dismal record on providing accused prisoners with due process and fair treatment, the

Islamic Republic of Iran failed to charge the detained

Jews with any specific crime or allow visitation by relatives of the detained for more than two months: Now,

therefore, be it
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1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that the

3 Clinton administration should—

4 (1) be commended for supporting Resolution

5 1999/13, and should continue to work through the

6 United Nations to assure that the Islamic Republic

7 of Iran implements that resolution’s recommenda8 tions;

9 (2) condemn, in the strongest possible terms,

10 the recent arrest of members of Iran’s Jewish mi11 nority and urge their immediate release;

12 (3) urge all nations having relations with the

13 Islamic Republic of Iran to condemn the treatment

14 of religious minorities in Iran and call for the re15 lease of all prisoners held on the basis of their reli16 gious beliefs; and

17 (4) maintain the current United States policy

18 toward the Islamic Republic of Iran unless and until

19 that country moderates its treatment of religious mi20 norities.

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