IV
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. CON. RES. 133
Expressing the sense of Congress relating to remarks by the President of
Syria concerning Israel.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 15, 2001
Mr. FLAKE (for himself, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. CANTOR, and Mr. WEXLER) sub-
mitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on International Relations
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress relating to remarks by
the President of Syria concerning Israel.
Whereas on March 27, 2001, at the first regular Arab sum-
mit gathering in more than 10 years, President Bashar
al-Assad used his speech to lash out at Israel;
Whereas on March 28, 2001, the New York Times reported,
‘‘In electing Mr. Sharon to be their leader, President
Assad said, Israelis had chosen a man who hated any-
thing to do with Arabs and had dedicated his career to
killing them.’’;
Whereas President Assad additionally said, ‘‘We say that the
head of the government is a racist, it’s a racist govern-
ment, a racist army and security force,’’ he said, adding
•HCON 133 IH
that by extension, ‘‘It is a racist society and it is even
more racist than the Nazis.’’;
Whereas on March 28, 2001, State Department spokesman
Richard Boucher described President Assad’s remarks as,
‘‘absolutely wrong . . . totally unacceptable and inappro-
priate.’’;
Whereas on March 29, 2001, the Bush administration’s top
Middle East diplomat, Assistant Secretary of State Ed-
ward Walker, responding to Assad’s remarks stated, ‘‘His
statement at the Arab League was unacceptable, particu-
larly his reference to Zionism as racism.’’;
Whereas on May 5, 2001, in his welcoming speech to Pope
John Paul II, upon the Pope’s arrival in Damascus,
President Assad said, ‘‘They, Israelis, try to kill all the
principles of divine faiths with the same mentality of be-
traying Jesus Christ and torturing Him, and in the same
way that they tried to commit treachery against Prophet
Mohammad.’’;
Whereas on May 6, 2001, at the Umayyad Mosque, Muham-
mad Ziyadah, Syria’s minister of religious affairs, said,
‘‘We must be fully aware of what the enemies of God and
malicious Zionism conspire to commit against Christi-
anity and Islam.’’;
Whereas on May 7, 2001, State Department spokesman
Richard Boucher condemned President Assad’s remarks,
‘‘Our view is that these comments are as regrettable as
they are unacceptable. There’s no place from anyone or
from any side for statements that inflame religious pas-
sions and hatred.’’; and
Whereas it is only through constructive diplomacy, and not
through hateful, counterproductive speech, that peace can
•HCON 133 IH
possibly be achieved in the Middle East: Now, therefore,
be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That, the Congress—
(1) condemns Syrian President Bashar al-Assad
for his inflammatory remarks on March 27, 2001,
and May 5, 2001;
(2) expresses its solidarity with the state and
people of Israel at this time of crisis;
(3) calls upon President Assad and the Syrian
Government to refrain from any future inflam-
matory remarks;
(4) commends the Administration for its swift
response to President Assad’s remarks; and
(5) urges the Administration to emphasize to
Syrian Government officials the concerns of the
United States about the negative impact such re-
marks make on Middle East peace negotiations.
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