IV 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 505 
Strongly recommending that the United States renegotiate the return of 
the Iraqi Jewish Archive to Iraq. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 6, 2014 
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN (for herself, Mr. ISRAEL, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. ROSKAM, Mr. 
NADLER, Mr. COFFMAN, Mr. GRIMM, Mrs. LOWEY, Mr. STIVERS, Mr. 
CHABOT, Ms. TITUS, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. JOHNSON of Ohio, Mr. 
KING of New York, Mr. WOLF, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Ms. FRANKEL of 
Florida, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, and Mr. MUR-
PHY of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Strongly recommending that the United States renegotiate 
the return of the Iraqi Jewish Archive to Iraq. 
Whereas, before the mid-20th century, Baghdad had been a 
center of Jewish life, culture, and scholarship, dating 
back to 721 B.C.; 
Whereas, as recently as 1940, Jews made up 25 percent of 
Baghdad’s population; 
Whereas, in the 1930s and 1940s, under the leadership of 
Rasheed Ali, anti-Jewish discrimination increased dras-
tically, including the June 1–2, 1941, Farhud pogrom, in 
which nearly 180 Jews were killed; 
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•HRES 505 IH 
Whereas, in 1948, Zionism was added to the Iraqi criminal 
code as punishable by death; 
Whereas, throughout 1950–1953, Jews were allowed to leave 
Iraq under the condition that they renounce their citizen-
ship; 
Whereas, as result of past persecution, few Jews remain in 
Iraq today, and many left their possessions and treasured 
artifacts behind; 
Whereas the Ba’ath regime confiscated these artifacts, later 
dubbed the Iraqi Jewish Archive, from synagogues and 
communal organizations; 
Whereas, on May 6, 2003, members of the United States 
Armed Forces discovered the Iraqi Jewish Archive, which 
included 2,700 books and tens of thousands of docu-
ments, in the heavily damaged and flooded basement of 
the Mukhabarat (secret police) headquarters; 
Whereas, under great urgency and before adequate time 
could be dedicated to researching the history of the Iraqi 
Jewish Archive, an agreement was signed between the 
National Archives and Records Administration and the 
Coalition Provisional Authority on August 20, 2003, stat-
ing that the Iraqi Jewish Archive would be sent to the 
United States for restoration and then would be sent 
back to Iraq after completion; 
Whereas, the Iraqi Jewish community is the constituency of 
the Archive and is now represented by the diaspora out-
side Iraq; 
Whereas, the current Government of Iraq has publicly ac-
knowledged the importance of the Archive and dem-
onstrated a shared respect for the wishes of the Iraqi 
Jewish diaspora by attending the December 2013 burial 
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•HRES 505 IH 
of several Torah fragments from the Archive in New 
York; 
Whereas United States taxpayers have invested $3,000,000 
to restore the Iraqi Jewish Archive, and the National Ar-
chives and Records Administration has worked diligently 
to preserve the artifacts; 
Whereas the National Archives and Records Administration 
is displaying the Iraqi Jewish Archive in Washington, 
DC, from October 11, 2013, to January 5, 2014, and in 
New York City from February 4, 2014, to May 18, 2014; 
and 
Whereas the Iraqi Embassy to the United States has said 
that the Iraqi Jewish community, like other communities 
in Iraq, played a key role in building the country, shared 
in its prosperity, and also suffered exile and forced de-
parture because of tyranny: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) strongly urges the Department of State to 
renegotiate with the Government of Iraq the provi-
sions of the original agreement that was signed be-
tween the National Archives and Records Adminis-
tration and the Coalition Provisional Authority in 
order to ensure that the Iraqi Jewish Archive be 
kept in a place where its long-term preservation and 
care can be guaranteed; 
(2) recognizes that the Iraqi Jewish Archive 
should be housed in a location that is accessible to 
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•HRES 505 IH 
scholars and to Iraqi Jews and their descendants 
who have a personal interest in it; 
(3) recognizes that the agreement between the 
National Archives and Records Administration and 
the Coalition Provisional Authority was signed be-
fore knowing the complete history of the Iraqi Jew-
ish Archive; and 
(4) reaffirms the United States commitment to 
ensuring justice for victims of ethnic and religious 
persecution. 
Æ 
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