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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, For more than 3,000 years, Jerusalem has played a |
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central role in the history and identity of the Jewish people; and |
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WHEREAS, Jerusalem serves as a cultural and religious |
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inspiration to people around the world; it is the location of the |
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holiest site for the Jewish people, the Temple Mount, as well as the |
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Western Wall, where the faithful come to pray; moreover, the city |
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holds considerable religious significance for Christians and |
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Muslims and has been a pilgrimage site for millennia; and |
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WHEREAS, The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and |
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Cultural Organization has passed a series of anti-Israeli |
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resolutions in recent years regarding Jerusalem, both at the |
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committee level and by the executive board, the governing body of |
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UNESCO; these resolutions attempt to erase or minimize the Jewish |
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and Christian historical and religious ties to Jerusalem, and they |
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unjustly single out our close ally Israel with false accusations |
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and criticism; and |
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WHEREAS, Numerous archaeological excavations have uncovered |
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antiquities which scientifically reaffirm Jerusalem's historical |
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significance to Judaism and Christianity; Israel's most |
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archaeologically excavated site, the City of David, is believed to |
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be the very site recorded in the Bible upon which King David |
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established the capital of ancient Israel; international |
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delegations of archaeologists from the United States, England, |
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France, and Germany have conducted excavations at the site since |
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1867, and they have unearthed antiquities from more than 10 |
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different civilizations, including Canaanite, Israelite, Roman, |
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Byzantine, and Persian societies; current excavations of the City |
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of David are carried out under the auspices of the Israel |
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Antiquities Authority and are held to the highest scientific |
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standards; and |
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WHEREAS, Significant archeological discoveries unearthed |
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from the City of David include the Siloam Inscription, which |
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recounts the preparations made by King Hezekiah of Judah for the |
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impending Assyrian siege against Jerusalem, consistent with the |
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biblical account; clay seal impressions bearing the names of two |
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Judean Government officials who are mentioned in the very same |
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verse in the Bible; the Pool of Siloam, which served during the |
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Second Temple period as a ritual bath for Jewish pilgrims ascending |
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annually to the Temple, which stood atop the Temple Mount; and the |
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Second Temple Pilgrimage Road, which began at the Pool of Siloam and |
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served as the main thoroughfare of Second Temple period Jerusalem |
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and carried hundreds of thousands of people on their annual |
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pilgrimages to the Temple; located within the City of David, the |
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Pilgrimage Road stretches nearly 2,000 feet from the Pool of Siloam |
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to the footsteps of the Western Wall and will be open to visitors |
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upon completion of the excavation; and |
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WHEREAS, These discoveries affirm the undeniable truth that |
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the City of David, the Western Wall, and the Temple Mount are |
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inextricably linked physically, historically, and symbolically as |
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the bedrock of the connection between the Jewish people and |
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Jerusalem and have been for millennia; and |
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WHEREAS, The Government of Israel has done commendable work |
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to protect the freedoms of all faiths in Jerusalem and ensure |
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visitors' access to holy sites so that they may worship freely; any |
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past, present, or future efforts at UNESCO to delegitimize Israel |
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through attempts to rewrite and deny the history of Jerusalem |
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should be condemned, and the United States should continue to work |
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with allies to prevent UNESCO from passing biased and unjust |
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anti-Israeli resolutions in the future; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas |
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Legislature hereby affirm the historical connection of the Jewish |
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people to the ancient and sacred city of Jerusalem and condemn |
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efforts at the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural |
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Organization to deny Judaism's millennia-old historical, |
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religious, and cultural ties to Jerusalem. |