Bill Text: TX HR16 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Affirming the historical connection of the Jewish people to Jerusalem and condemning efforts of UNESCO to deny Judaism's historical, religious, and cultural ties to Jerusalem.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 5-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-04-11 - Reported enrolled [HR16 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HR16-Enrolled.html
| H.R. No. 16 | ||
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| WHEREAS, For more than 3,000 years, Jerusalem has played a | ||
| central role in the history and identity of the Jewish people; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Jerusalem serves as a cultural and religious | ||
| inspiration to people around the world; it is the location of the | ||
| holiest site for the Jewish people, the Temple Mount, as well as the | ||
| Western Wall, where the faithful come to pray; moreover, the city | ||
| holds considerable religious significance for Christians and | ||
| Muslims and has been a pilgrimage site for millennia; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and | ||
| Cultural Organization has passed a series of anti-Israeli | ||
| resolutions in recent years regarding Jerusalem, both at the | ||
| committee level and by the executive board, the governing body of | ||
| UNESCO; these resolutions attempt to erase or minimize the Jewish | ||
| and Christian historical and religious ties to Jerusalem, and they | ||
| unjustly single out our close ally Israel with false accusations | ||
| and criticism; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Numerous archaeological excavations have uncovered | ||
| antiquities which scientifically reaffirm Jerusalem's historical | ||
| significance to Judaism and Christianity; Israel's most | ||
| archaeologically excavated site, the City of David, is believed to | ||
| be the very site recorded in the Bible upon which King David | ||
| established the capital of ancient Israel; international | ||
| delegations of archaeologists from the United States, England, | ||
| France, and Germany have conducted excavations at the site since | ||
| 1867, and they have unearthed antiquities from more than 10 | ||
| different civilizations, including Canaanite, Israelite, Roman, | ||
| Byzantine, and Persian societies; current excavations of the City | ||
| of David are carried out under the auspices of the Israel | ||
| Antiquities Authority and are held to the highest scientific | ||
| standards; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Significant archeological discoveries unearthed | ||
| from the City of David include the Siloam Inscription, which | ||
| recounts the preparations made by King Hezekiah of Judah for the | ||
| impending Assyrian siege against Jerusalem, consistent with the | ||
| biblical account; clay seal impressions bearing the names of two | ||
| Judean Government officials who are mentioned in the very same | ||
| verse in the Bible; the Pool of Siloam, which served during the | ||
| Second Temple period as a ritual bath for Jewish pilgrims ascending | ||
| annually to the Temple, which stood atop the Temple Mount; and the | ||
| Second Temple Pilgrimage Road, which began at the Pool of Siloam and | ||
| served as the main thoroughfare of Second Temple period Jerusalem | ||
| and carried hundreds of thousands of people on their annual | ||
| pilgrimages to the Temple; located within the City of David, the | ||
| Pilgrimage Road stretches nearly 2,000 feet from the Pool of Siloam | ||
| to the footsteps of the Western Wall and will be open to visitors | ||
| upon completion of the excavation; and | ||
| WHEREAS, These discoveries affirm the undeniable truth that | ||
| the City of David, the Western Wall, and the Temple Mount are | ||
| inextricably linked physically, historically, and symbolically as | ||
| the bedrock of the connection between the Jewish people and | ||
| Jerusalem and have been for millennia; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The Government of Israel has done commendable work | ||
| to protect the freedoms of all faiths in Jerusalem and ensure | ||
| visitors' access to holy sites so that they may worship freely; any | ||
| past, present, or future efforts at UNESCO to delegitimize Israel | ||
| through attempts to rewrite and deny the history of Jerusalem | ||
| should be condemned, and the United States should continue to work | ||
| with allies to prevent UNESCO from passing biased and unjust | ||
| anti-Israeli resolutions in the future; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas | ||
| Legislature hereby affirm the historical connection of the Jewish | ||
| people to the ancient and sacred city of Jerusalem and condemn | ||
| efforts at the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural | ||
| Organization to deny Judaism's millennia-old historical, | ||
| religious, and cultural ties to Jerusalem. | ||
| King of Parker | ||
| Goldman | ||
| Price | ||
| Toth | ||
| Miller | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Speaker of the House | ||
| I certify that H.R. No. 16 was adopted by the House on April | ||
| 9, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 116, Nays 0, 27 present, not | ||
| voting. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
