A congressional resolution recognizing Jewish refugees from Arab lands in a final peace deal “distracts attention” from other refugee situations, the Arab American Institute said.
The nonbinding resolution, sponsored by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), is likely to be passed Monday by the U.S. House of Representatives.
It urges U.S. mediators “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, Christian, and other refugees from Arab countries.”
While the Arab American Institute said last week in an action alert to its members that the resolution “only serves to distract attention from current and urgent refugee situations in the Middle East.”
Nonetheless, the institute did not recommend opposing the measure, and instead suggested using it as a platform to have lawmakers address other refugee issues, including those in Iraq, among the Palestinians and in the Darfur region of Sudan.
