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1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

  
 
2    WHEREAS, During Operation Iraqi Freedom, Pentagon 
3officials discovered a trove of thousands of centuries-old 
4artifacts from Iraq's Jewish community in the basement of 
5Saddam Hussein's intelligence service headquarters; and
  
 
6    WHEREAS, These artifacts were improperly seized by force 
7from their rightful owners by the regime of Saddam Hussein, 
8which then stored them in a flooded basement, most likely in an 
9effort to marginalize the culture and history of Mesopotamian 
10Jews; and
  
 
11    WHEREAS, The artifacts were brought to the United States in 
122003, where they were carefully cleaned, preserved, 
13photographed, and displayed at the National Archives; and
  
 
14    WHEREAS, The United States Department of State has 
15announced its plans to return the collection to the government 
16of Iraq in the summer of 2014, claiming the Iraqi people are 
17the rightful owners; and
  
 
18    WHEREAS, More than 40 American Jewish groups have expressed 
19their deep misgivings about returning the artifacts to Iraq, 
20citing "uncertain conditions" in Iraq and calling for the 
21artifacts to be given to the synagogues of Iraqi Jews around 
 
 
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1the world; and
 
2    WHEREAS, The Pentagon official who discovered the 
3collection, Harold Rhode, has likened the prospective return of 
4the artifacts to "giving the personal effects of Jews killed in 
5the Holocaust back to Germany"; and
  
 
6    WHEREAS, Religious documents and artifacts such as these 
7are sacred and should properly be returned to the Jewish 
8community from which they were stolen, rather than used to 
9obscure Iraq's history of hostility to the Jewish people; 
10therefore, be it
  
 
11    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
12NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE 
13SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge the United States 
14Department of State to rescind its poorly reasoned and 
15inappropriate decision to transfer these artifacts back to the 
16Iraqi government; and be it further
  
 
17    RESOLVED, That we urge the United States Department of 
18State to return the artifacts to their rightful owners in the 
19Jewish community; and be it further
 
20    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be 
21delivered to the President of the United States, the Secretary 
 
 
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1of State of the United States, and the members of the Illinois 
2congressional delegation.