H. Res. 1127 
In the House of Representatives, U. S., 
June 18, 2008. 
Whereas a free press and the right of free expression are 
both fundamental, universal human rights and are essen-
tial to making governments accountable to the people 
from whom their powers are derived; 
Whereas the nations of the Middle East, with Israel being the 
sole exception, suffer profound deficits when compared to 
the global community with regard to both measures of 
human development and measures of human freedom and 
dignity; 
Whereas the Middle East is a region of vital national security 
interest to the United States and the twin deficits in 
human development and human freedom negatively affect 
United States efforts to help resolve the Arab-Israeli con-
flict and to stabilize the region for the benefit of all; 
Whereas overt censorship, intimidation, harassment through 
the civil courts, assaults by government agents on jour-
nalists and political activists, arbitrary press, and emer-
gency laws, and extra-legal restrictions on the kinds of 
topics which may be addressed are endemic practices in 
the Middle East, though varying in degree and extent in 
the different Arab countries;
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Whereas many of the countries engaged most actively in ef-
forts to stifle public debate, suppress political discussion, 
and impose capricious limits on thought and expression 
are among the largest recipients of United States foreign 
assistance, potentially giving the mistaken impression 
that the United States endorses or condones the restric-
tive policies of the recipient countries; 
Whereas Holocaust denial regularly appears throughout the 
Middle East in speeches and pronouncements by public 
figures, in articles and columns by journalists and in the 
resolutions of professional organizations; 
Whereas continued anti-Semitic incitement invites violent ac-
tion and creates an environment conducive to, and ac-
cepting of, terrorism; 
Whereas the extensive restrictions on speech and expression 
in the Arab world are uniquely counterposed by the space 
left open by Arab governments for grotesque anti-Semi-
tism, Holocaust denial, incitement to violence, and glorifi-
cation of terrorism; 
Whereas the exception from censorship and restrictions on 
expression for certain kinds of hate speech are not only 
exploited by government proxies, but often even by Arab 
governments themselves, including states that nominally 
prohibit racial, religious, or ethnic hate speech; 
Whereas in the Middle East, where the press is generally not 
free, where there are rules for what can and cannot be 
said, the persistent promulgation of hate-speech indicates 
an obvious and dangerous form of state endorsement; 
Whereas numerous government-owned, government-sanc-
tioned, 
or 
government-controlled 
publishing 
houses 
throughout the region promulgate stories of imaginary
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Israeli massacres, Jewish blood libels, and alleged Israeli 
medical experiments on Palestinian children, and produce 
Arabic translations of anti-Semitic tracts such as ‘‘The 
Protocols of the Elders of Zion’’ and ‘‘Mein Kampf’’; and 
Whereas many of the same Arab governments to which the 
United States has turned for assistance in ending the 
Arab-Israeli conflict are themselves responsible for using 
their government-owned, government-sanctioned, or gov-
ernment-controlled publishing houses and media to en-
gage in anti-Semitic incitement to violence and Holocaust 
denial: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) strongly condemns the endemic restrictions on 
freedom of the press and expression in the Arab world 
and the concurrent and widespread presence of anti-Se-
mitic material, Holocaust denial, and incitement to vio-
lence in the Arab media and press; 
(2) deplores the methods and practices utilized by 
the governments in the Middle East to exert control over 
the press, and on public expression, including— 
(A) overt censorship; 
(B) intimidation and harassment of reporters, 
editors, and publishers by government agents, and 
through manipulation of the civil courts; 
(C) assaults by government agents on journal-
ists and political activists; 
(D) arbitrarily enforced press and emergency 
laws; and
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(E) extra-legal restrictions on the kinds of top-
ics which may be addressed either in public or in 
private; 
(3) expresses deep concern that some Arab govern-
ments, including some that are involved in multilateral 
efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, use 
their government-owned, government-sanctioned, or gov-
ernment-controlled publishing houses and media to pro-
mulgate insidious, incendiary, and poisonous speech re-
garding Israel and the Jewish people that makes United 
States efforts to help resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict all 
the more difficult; 
(4) affirms the unshakable belief of the American 
people in the universal right of all persons to freely and 
peaceably express themselves, to publish and advocate 
for their nonviolent beliefs, and to petition their govern-
ment for redress of their grievances; 
(5) calls on the President to— 
(A) raise the issue of the lack of media free-
dom in the Middle East and the proliferation of 
anti-Semitic incitement in all appropriate bilateral 
and multilateral fora; 
(B) take into account the compliance of gov-
ernments throughout the region with international 
norms and obligations regarding media freedom and
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anti-Semitic incitement when determining the provi-
sion of United States assistance to those govern-
ments; and 
(C) utilize the existing public diplomacy appa-
ratus, professional development, and democratiza-
tion programs to focus on the issues of media free-
dom and anti-Semitic incitement; and 
(6) calls on United States allies and governments 
throughout the Middle East to publicly repudiate pur-
veyors of anti-Semitic incitement. 
Attest: 
Clerk.