IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 150
Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the protection of religious sites 
and the freedom of access and worship. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 10, 2003
Mr. WILSON of South Carolina (for himself, Mrs. JO ANN DAVIS of Virginia, 
Mr. BLUNT, Mr. CANTOR, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. 
HALL, Mr. COBLE, Mr. BARTON of Texas, Mr. HEFLEY, Mr. HERGER, 
Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. MCCRERY, Mr. KINGSTON, Mr. BARTLETT of 
Maryland, Mr. MANZULLO, Mr. JONES of North Carolina, Mrs. MYRICK, 
Mr. RYUN of Kansas, Mr. GOODE, Mr. ADERHOLT, Mr. TANCREDO, Mr. 
TERRY, Mr. BROWN of South Carolina, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. SUL-
LIVAN, Mr. BARRETT of South Carolina, Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of 
Florida, Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. 
BURGESS, Mr. JANKLOW, Mr. CARTER, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, and Mr. 
GARRETT of New Jersey) submitted the following concurrent resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on International Relations 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the protection 
of religious sites and the freedom of access and worship.
Whereas throughout time various groups have felt special at-
tachment to places that they considered sacred and holy, 
and the sacred texts of the great historical religions in-
clude accounts of specific places where individuals or 
groups experienced significant encounters with God;
•HCON 150 IH 
Whereas holy places create a memory of these encounters 
with the divine and are a part of the character of every 
religious tradition; 
Whereas holy places are as much a common feature of the 
religious traditions of humanity as are sacred time, cere-
monies, and prayer; 
Whereas one of the results of the identification of locations 
as sacred is that these places can become the focus for 
the tensions between the members of different religious 
communities; 
Whereas a place that is considered holy by one group can 
come to be claimed by adherents of another tradition, 
and as a result holy places can become the source of con-
flict as much as of spiritual expression; 
Whereas when religious communities tragically fall into es-
trangement or antagonism, the holy places of each com-
munity often become the target of violence or vengeance 
instead of veneration and reverence, and people act out 
their contempt and anger through occupation, desecra-
tion, and destruction; 
Whereas the location of many holy sites of the three main 
monotheistic religions are located in the State of Israel 
and in the Palestinian territory; 
Whereas this region is especially important to the followers 
of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, and many visitors 
from around the world travel to these sites for personal 
and religious inspiration; 
Whereas under British control the Palestine Mandate of 1922 
contained a number of provisions ensuring freedom of re-
ligion and conscience and protection of holy places, as 
well as prohibiting discrimination on religious grounds;
•HCON 150 IH 
Whereas the British Mandate Government’s Palestine Order 
in Council of that same year provided that ‘‘all persons 
. . . shall enjoy full liberty of conscience and free exercise 
of their forms of worship, subject only to the mainte-
nance of public order and morals’’ and ‘‘no ordinance 
shall be promulgated which shall restrict complete free-
dom of conscience and the free exercise of all forms of 
worship.’’; 
Whereas these provisions of the Mandate and the Palestine 
Orders in Councils have been recognized in the Israeli 
legal system and are instructive of Israeli policy in safe-
guarding freedom of conscience and religion; 
Whereas the Israeli Declaration of Independence of 1948 is 
another legal source that guarantees freedom of religion 
and conscience, and equality of social and political rights 
irrespective of religion; 
Whereas this document states ‘‘the State of Israel . . . will 
be based on freedom, justice, and peace as envisaged by 
the Prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of 
social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespec-
tive of religion, race, or sex; it will guarantee freedom of 
religion, conscience, language, education, and culture.’’; 
Whereas this document expresses Israel’s vision and its 
credo, and adherence to these principles is guaranteed by 
law; 
Whereas each religious community within Israel is free to ex-
ercise its faith, observe its own holy days and weekly day 
of rest, and administer its own internal affairs; 
Whereas the Israeli Protection of Holy Places Law of 1967 
states that freedom of access and worship is ensured at 
all places of worship and religious significance;
•HCON 150 IH 
Whereas this law states ‘‘the Holy Places shall be protected 
from desecration and any other violation and from any-
thing likely to violate the freedom of access of members 
of the various religions to the places sacred to them, or 
their feelings with regard to those places.’’; 
Whereas Israel has abolished any discriminatory laws and has 
adopted standards of safeguarding access to religious 
shrines; 
Whereas in the past fifty-five years Israel has assured the 
safety of all religions and has proven it is reliable; 
Whereas the holy sites in Israel and Palestinian authority-
controlled regions should be protected from desecration 
and any other violation; 
Whereas two years ago, in Nablus, the Tomb of Joseph was 
ransacked and set on fire on live television, and in retal-
iation a lone group twice attempted to torch an old, non-
functioning mosque in the center of Tiberias; 
Whereas these actions were followed by attempts to destroy 
an ancient Jewish synagogue in Jericho; 
Whereas last spring, during the Easter season, heavy unrest 
in the West Bank resulted in a stalemate between Israeli 
soldiers and over 100 armed Palestinians in the Church 
of the Nativity in Bethlehem; and 
Whereas this deadlock lasted over a month and prevented 
anyone from visiting this church of great historical and 
religious importance: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), 
SECTION 1. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that—
•HCON 150 IH 
(1) holy sites around the world, particularly in 
the Israeli and Palestinian region, should be pro-
tected from desecration and any other violation; 
(2) the freedom of access of members of the 
various religions to the holy sites sacred to them 
should not be hindered; 
(3) to assure the safety of American citizens, 
the holy sites currently under the sovereignty of the 
State of Israel should remain under Israeli protec-
tion, and that all holy sites in the region remain 
open to visitors of all faiths; 
(4) the Department of State should continue to 
warn and protect Americans overseas at holy sites 
and regions of historical and religious significance; 
and 
(5) we should condemn all violence directed 
against holy sites. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF HOLY SITE. 
As used in this resolution, ‘‘holy site’’ means a his-
toric location specifically set apart for religious purposes.
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