IV 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 570 
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 Jeru-
salem. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 12, 2017 
Mr. GAETZ (for himself, Mr. BILIRAKIS, and Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN) submitted 
the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs 
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 Je-
rusalem. 
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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•HRES 570 IH 
Whereas Jerusalem has been a Christian pilgrimage site for 
over 2,000 years, and holds considerable religious signifi-
cance 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 inspira-
tion to billions of people around the world; 
Whereas the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cul-
tural Organization (UNESCO) has passed a series of 
anti-Israel resolutions in recent years regarding Jeru-
salem, 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 an-
cient Jerusalem, and is believed to be the very site re-
corded in the Bible upon which King David established 
the capital of ancient Israel; 
Whereas since 1867, there have been archaeological exca-
vations at the site of the City of David, including inter-
national delegations of archaeologists from the United 
States, England, France, and Germany; 
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•HRES 570 IH 
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 car-
ried out under the auspices of the Israel Antiquities Au-
thority, and are held to the highest scientific standards; 
Whereas among the most significant archaeological discov-
eries 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, con-
sistent 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 men-
tioned 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 ascend-
ing 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, his-
torically, and symbolically—as the bedrock of the connec-
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•HRES 570 IH 
tion between the Jewish people and Jerusalem, and have 
been for millennia: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes and affirms the historical connec-
tion of the Jewish people to the ancient and sacred 
city of Jerusalem; 
(2) recognizes and affirms that the archae-
ological discoveries from the City of David, the site 
of ancient Jerusalem, present undeniable scientific 
evidence of the millennia-old connection of Jeru-
salem to the Jewish people, and, by extension, to 
Christianity; 
(3) commends the Government of Israel for 
protecting the freedoms of all faiths in Jerusalem in-
cluding Jews, Christians, and Muslims, ensuring 
their access to holy sites so that they may worship 
freely; 
(4) condemns any past, present, or future ef-
forts at UNESCO to delegitimize Israel through at-
tempts to rewrite and deny the history of Jerusalem; 
and 
(5) encourages the United States to continue 
working with allies to prevent UNESCO from pass-
ing biased and unjust anti-Israel resolutions in the 
future. 
Æ 
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