On February 6, 2014, the US Senate approved the following Resolution (Sen. Res. 333 ATS) by unanimous consent:
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 drastically,
including the June 1-2, 1941, Farhud pogrom, in which nearly 180 Jews were
killed;
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 citizenship;
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 documents, 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,
stating 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 outside
Iraq;
Whereas, the current Government of Iraq has
publicly acknowledged the importance of the Archive and demonstrated a shared
respect for the wishes of the Iraqi Jewish diaspora by attending the December
2013 burial 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 Archives 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 departure because of tyranny: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That
the Senate--
(1)
strongly urges the Department of State to renegotiate with the Government of
Iraq the provisions of the original agreement that was signed between the
National Archives and Records Administration 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 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 before
knowing the complete history of the Iraqi Jewish Archive;
(4)
reaffirms the United States commitment to cultural property under international
law; and
(5)
reaffirms the United States commitment to ensuring justice for victims of
ethnic and religious persecution.
But will the State Department and its Cultural Heritage Center pay heed to the Senate's directions?
And how will ardent repatriationists within the archaeological community react to the Senate's action?