text: SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
  
      Congress finds the following:
              (1) Armed conflicts in the Middle East have created refugee 
          populations numbering in the millions and comprised of peoples 
          from many ethnic, religious, and national backgrounds.
              (2) Jews have lived mostly as a minority in the Middle 
          East, North Africa, and the Persian Gulf region for more than 
          2,500 years.
              (3) The United States has long voiced its concern about the 
          mistreatment of minorities and the violation of human rights in 
          the Middle East and elsewhere.
              (4) The United States continues to play a pivotal role in 
          seeking an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East 
          and to promoting a peace that will benefit all the peoples of 
          the region.
              (5) United States administrations historically have called 
          for a just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem.
              (6) The Palestinian refugee issue has received considerable 
          attention from countries of the world while the issue of Jewish 
          refugees from the Arab and Muslim worlds has received very 
          little attention.
              (7) A comprehensive peace in the region will require the 
          resolution of all outstanding issues through bilateral and 
          multilateral negotiations involving all concerned parties.
              (8) Approximately 850,000 Jews were displaced from Arab 
          countries since the declaration of the State of Israel in 1948.
              (9) The United States has demonstrated interest and concern 
          about the mistreatment, violation of rights, forced expulsion, 
          and expropriation of assets of minority populations in general, 
          and, in particular, former Jewish refugees displaced from Arab 
          countries as evidenced, inter alia, by--
                      (A) the Memorandum of Understanding signed by 
                  President Jimmy Carter and Israeli Foreign Minister 
                  Moshe Dayan on October 4, 1977, which states that ``[a] 
                  solution of the problem of Arab refugees and Jewish 
                  refugees will be discussed in accordance with rules 
                  which should be agreed'';
                      (B) after negotiating the Camp David Accords, the 
                  Framework for Peace in the Middle East, the statement 
                  by President Jimmy Carter in a press conference on 
                  October 27, 1977, that ``Palestinians have rights . . . 
                  obviously there are Jewish refugees . . . they have the 
                  same rights as others do''; and
                      (C) in an interview after Camp David II in July 
                  2000, at which the issue of Jewish refugees displaced 
                  from Arab lands was discussed, the statement by 
                  President Clinton that ``There will have to be some 
                  sort of international fund set up for the refugees. 
                  There is, I think, some interest, interestingly enough, 
                  on both sides, in also having a fund which compensates 
                  the Israelis who were made refugees by the war, which 
                  occurred after the birth of the State of Israel. Israel 
                  is full of people, Jewish people, who lived in 
                  predominantly Arab countries who came to Israel because 
                  they were made refugees in their own land.''.
              (10) On April 1, 2008, the House of Representatives passed 
          House Resolution 185, expressing the sense of the House of 
          Representatives that--
                      (A) for any comprehensive Middle East peace 
                  agreement to be credible and enduring, the agreement 
                  must address and resolve all outstanding issues 
                  relating to the legitimate rights of all refugees, 
                  including Jews, Christians, and other populations, 
                  displaced from countries in the Middle East; and
                      (B) the President should instruct the United States 
                  Representative to the United Nations and all United 
                  States representatives in bilateral and multilateral 
                  fora to--
                              (i) use the voice, vote, and influence of 
                          the United States to ensure that any 
                          resolutions relating to the issue of Middle 
                          East refugees, and which include a reference to 
                          the required resolution of the Palestinian 
                          refugee issue, must also include a similarly 
                          explicit reference to the resolution of the 
                          issue of Jewish refugees from Arab countries; 
                          and
                              (ii) make clear that the United States 
                          Government supports the position that, as an 
                          integral part of any comprehensive Arab-Israeli 
                          peace, the issue of refugees from the Middle 
                          East, North Africa, and the Persian Gulf must 
                          be resolved in a manner that includes 
                          recognition of the legitimate rights of and 
                          losses incurred by all refugees displaced from 
                          Arab countries, including Jews, Christians, and 
                          other groups.
              (11) The international definition of a refugee clearly 
          applies to Jews who fled the persecution of Arab regimes, where 
          a refugee is a person who ``owing to a well-founded fear of 
          being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, 
          membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, 
          is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, 
          owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the 
          protection of that country'' (the 1951 Convention relating to 
          the Status of Refugees).
              (12) On January 29, 1957, the United Nations High 
          Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), determined that Jews fleeing 
          from Arab countries were refugees who fell within the mandate 
          of the UNHCR.
              (13) Subsequently, in a second UNHCR declaration, Dr. E. 
          Jahn of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner 
          stated, on July 6, 1967: ``I refer to our recent discussion 
          concerning Jews from Middle Eastern and North African countries 
          in consequence of recent events. I am now able to inform you 
          that such persons may be considered prima facie within the 
          mandate of this Office.''.
              (14) United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 of 
          November 22, 1967, calls for a ``just settlement of the refugee 
          problem'' without distinction between Palestinian and Jewish 
          refugees, and this is evidenced by the following:
                      (A) On November 16, 1967, the United Kingdom 
                  submitted a draft of Resolution 242 (S/8247) to the 
                  United Nations Security Council. This United Kingdom 
                  draft called for a just settlement of ``the refugee 
                  problem''. The Soviet Union submitted its own draft of 
                  Resolution 242 (S/8253) to the United Nations Security 
                  Council four days later which restricted the just 
                  settlement to only ``Palestinian refugees''.
                      (B) On November 22, 1967, the United Nations 
                  Security Council unanimously approved the draft of 
                  Resolution 242 advanced by the United Kingdom. It thus 
                  rejected the limitation proposed by the Soviet Union 
                  and accepted the broader notion of a ``just settlement 
                  of the refugee problem'' arising out of the Middle East 
                  conflict to include Palestinian and Jewish refugees.
                      (C) Justice Arthur Goldberg, the United States 
                  Chief Delegate to the United Nations at that time, who 
                  was instrumental in drafting the unanimously adopted 
                  Resolution 242, pointed out that ``The Resolution 
                  addresses the objective of `achieving a just settlement 
                  of the refugee problem'. This language presumably 
                  refers both to Arab and Jewish refugees, for about an 
                  equal number of each abandoned their homes as a result 
                  of the several wars.''.
              (15) In his opening remarks before the January 28, 1992, 
          organizational meeting for multilateral negotiations on the 
          Middle East in Moscow, United States Secretary of State James 
          Baker made no distinction between Palestinian refugees and 
          Jewish refugees in articulating the mission of the Refugee 
          Working Group, stating that ``[t]he refugee group will consider 
          practical ways of improving the lot of people throughout the 
          region who have been displaced from their homes''.
              (16) The Roadmap to a Permanent Two-State Solution to the 
          Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, which refers in Phase III to an 
          ``agreed, just, fair, and realistic solution to the refugee 
          issue'', uses language that is equally applicable to all 
          persons displaced as a result of the conflict in the Middle 
          East.
              (17) Israel's agreements with Egypt, Jordan, and the 
          Palestinians have affirmed that a comprehensive solution to the 
          Arab-Israeli conflict will require a just solution to the 
          plight of all refugees.
              (18) Israel's long-standing position in support of the 
          rights and claims of Jewish refugees from Arab countries and 
          Iran is well-established:
                      (A) On September 28, 1969, Israel adopted 
                  Government Decision number 34, in which it set up a 
                  special, temporary department in the Ministry of 
                  Justice to gather facts and evidence regarding property 
                  expropriated and persecution perpetrated on Jews in 
                  Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.
                      (B) On March 3, 2002, Israel adopted Government 
                  Decision number 1544, in which it reaffirmed Government 
                  Decision number 34 and expanded it to include Jews who 
                  left all Arab countries and Iran.
                      (C) On December 28, 2003, Israel adopted Government 
                  Decision number 1250, in which it reaffirmed Government 
                  Decisions number 34 and 1544 and directed the 
                  Department for the Rights of Jews from Arab Countries 
                  in the Ministry of Justice to continue collecting 
                  information on property expropriated and persecution 
                  perpetrated on Jews in Arab countries, create a 
                  centralized database of this information, and publish 
                  this information to encourage parties to come forward.
              (19) Recently, in February 2010, the Israeli Knesset 
          adopted a law preserving the rights for compensation for Jewish 
          refugees who originated from Arab countries and Iran. According 
          to this law, the Israeli government and its prime minister are 
          instructed to raise the issue of compensation for private and 
          communal property during negotiations.
              (20) The initiative to secure rights and redress for Jews 
          who were forced to flee Arab countries does not conflict with 
          the right of Palestinian refugees to claim redress.
              (21) All countries should be aware of the plight of Jews 
          and other minority groups displaced from countries in the 
          Middle East, North Africa, and the Persian Gulf.
              (22) An international campaign has been proceeding in some 
          20 countries to record the history and legacy of Jewish 
          refugees from Arab countries.
              (23) A just, comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace cannot be 
          reached without addressing the uprooting of centuries-old 
          Jewish communities in the Middle East, North Africa, and the 
          Persian Gulf.
              (24) It would be inappropriate and unjust for the United 
          States to recognize rights for Palestinian refugees without 
          recognizing equal rights for Jewish refugees from Arab 
          countries.
  
  SEC. 2. REPORT.
  
      Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
  and every two years thereafter, the President shall submit to Congress 
  a report on the following:
              (1) Actions the executive branch has taken to fulfill the 
          sense of the House of Representatives, as contained in 
          paragraph (2) of the first section of House Resolution 185 (as 
          passed the House of Representatives on April 1, 2008) and 
          described in section 1(10)(B) of this Act.
              (2) Actions the executive branch has taken to use the 
          voice, vote, and influence of the United States to ensure that 
          any statements that include a reference to the required 
          resolution of the Palestinian refugee issue by the Quartet on 
          the Middle East, which includes the United Nations, the United 
          States, the European Union, and Russia, must also include a 
          similarly explicit reference to the resolution of the issue of 
          Jewish refugees from Arab countries.
              (3) Assistance the United States has provided to Israel to 
          help it accomplish its goal that the interests of Jews 
          displaced from Arab countries are considered in any final 
          settlement of the Middle East refugee question that is part of 
          any comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace.
              (4) Recommended actions that would ensure that the 
          interests of all refugees displaced from Arab countries, 
          including Jews, Christians, and other groups, are considered in 
          any final settlement of the Middle East refugee question that 
          is part of any comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace.
target: Directs the President to report to Congress every two years regarding executive branch actions taken to ensure that the interests of all refugees displaced from Arab countries, including Jews, Christians, and other groups, are considered in any final settlement of the Middle East refugee question that is part of any comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace.
feat_title: To direct the President to submit to Congress a report on actions the executive branch has taken relating to the resolution of the issue of Jewish refugees from Arab countries.