•HRES 848 IH
(3) in an interview after Camp David II in July 
2000, at which the issue of Jewish refugees displaced 
from Arab lands was discussed, the statement by Presi-
dent Clinton that ‘‘There will have to be some sort of 
international fund set up for the refugees. There is, I 
think, some interest, interestingly enough, on both sides, 
in also having a fund which compensates the Israelis who 
were made refugees by the war, which occurred after the 
birth of the State of Israel. Israel is full of people, Jewish 
people, who lived in predominantly Arab countries who 
came to Israel because they were made refugees in their 
own land.’’; 
Whereas the international definition of a refugee clearly ap-
plies to Jews who fled the persecution of Arab regimes, 
where a refugee is a person who ‘‘owing to a well-founded 
fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, na-
tionality, membership of a particular social group, or po-
litical opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, 
and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to 
avail himself of the protection of that country’’ (the 1951 
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees); 
Whereas on January 29, 1957, the United Nations High 
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), determined that 
Jews fleeing from Arab countries were refugees that fell 
within the mandate of the UNHCR; 
Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 of 
November 22, 1967, calls for a ‘‘just settlement of the 
refugee problem’’ without distinction between Palestinian 
and Jewish refugees, and this is evidenced by— 
(1) the Soviet Union’s United Nations delegation at-
tempt to restrict the ‘‘just settlement’’ mentioned in Res-
olution 242 solely to Palestinian refugees (S/8236, dis-
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
00:37 May 31, 2006
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR848.IH
HR848
hmoore on PROD1PC68 with HMBILLS
•HRES 848 IH
cussed by the Security Council at its 1382nd meeting of 
November 22, 1967, notably at paragraph 117, in the 
words of Ambassador Kouznetsov of the Soviet Union); 
this attempt failed, signifying the international commu-
nity’s intention of having the resolution address the 
rights of all Middle East refugees; and 
(2) a statement by Justice Arthur Goldberg, the 
United States’ Chief Delegate to the United Nations at 
that time, who was instrumental in drafting the unani-
mously adopted Resolution 242, where he has pointed out 
that ‘‘The resolution addresses the objective of ‘achieving 
a just settlement of the refugee problem’. This language 
presumably refers both to Arab and Jewish refugees, for 
about an equal number of each abandoned their homes 
as a result of the several wars.’’; 
Whereas in his opening remarks before the January 28, 
1992, organizational meeting for multilateral negotiations 
on the Middle East in Moscow, United States Secretary 
of State James Baker made no distinction between Pales-
tinian refugees and Jewish refugees in articulating the 
mission of the Refugee Working Group, stating that 
‘‘[t]he refugee group will consider practical ways of im-
proving the lot of people throughout the region who have 
been displaced from their homes’’; 
Whereas the Roadmap to a Permanent Two-State Solution to 
the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, which refers in Phase III 
to an ‘‘agreed, just, fair, and realistic solution to the ref-
ugee issue,’’ uses language that is equally applicable to 
all persons displaced as a result of the conflict in the 
Middle East; 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
00:37 May 31, 2006
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HR848.IH
HR848
hmoore on PROD1PC68 with HMBILLS
•HRES 848 IH
Whereas Egypt, Jordan, and the Palestinians have affirmed 
that a comprehensive solution to the Middle East conflict 
will require a just solution to the plight of all ‘‘refugees’’; 
Whereas the initiative to secure rights and redress for Jewish 
and other minorities who were forced to flee Arab coun-
tries does not conflict with the right of Palestinian refu-
gees to claim redress; 
Whereas the international community should be aware of the 
plight of Jews and other minority groups displaced from 
countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Per-
sian Gulf; 
Whereas no just, comprehensive Middle East peace can be 
reached without addressing the uprooting of centuries-old 
Jewish communities in the Middle East, North Africa, 
and the Persian Gulf; and 
Whereas it would not be appropriate, and would constitute an 
injustice, were the United States to recognize rights for 
Palestinian refugees without recognizing equal rights for 
former Jewish, Christian, and other refugees from Arab 
countries: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That— 
(1) the United States deplores the past and 
continuing violations of human rights and religious 
freedoms of minority populations in Arab and Mus-
lim countries throughout the Middle East, North Af-
rica, and the Persian Gulf; 
(2) for any comprehensive Middle East peace 
agreement to be credible and enduring, the agree-
ment must address and resolve all outstanding 
VerDate Aug 31 2005 
00:37 May 31, 2006
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HR848.IH
HR848
hmoore on PROD1PC68 with HMBILLS