00                CS FOR HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 32(STA)                                                               
01 Urging the United States government to condemn violent acts of religious persecution                                    
02 and seek a peaceful resolution to the conflicts in Syria.                                                               
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS thousands of Alaskans have strong spiritual and historical bonds with the                               
05 people of Syria and the Holy Land; and                                                                                  
06       WHEREAS thousands of Alaskans are members of the Orthodox Christian Church, a                                   
07 faith that has been in Alaska since 1794, and are members of the same faith as those of the                             
08 Orthodox Church in Syria and the Holy Land; and                                                                         
09       WHEREAS thousands of Alaskans are Roman Catholic Christians and have been                                       
10 called by Pope Francis in his Christmas prayer to pray for the suffering people of Syria and to                         
11 work toward peace; and                                                                                                  
12       WHEREAS thousands of Alaskans are Protestant Christians who have a deep concern                                 
13 for and pray for the people of Syria, as expressed in articles concerning Syria by the Voice of                         
14 the Martyrs, a nonprofit interdenominational Christian organization; and                                                
15       WHEREAS Alaskans are saddened and outraged by the crimes against humanity in                                    
16 Syria, including such atrocities as the murder of innocent women and children, the massacre                             

01 of Christians in jihadi attacks, the burning and desecration of over 90 Christian churches, the                         
02 kidnapping of Bishops Youhanna Ibrahim and Boulos Yazigi, the recent abduction of Mother                                
03 Pelagia Sayaf and the orphan children she cares for at Saint Tecla monastery, the forced                                
04 conversion of peaceful Syrians to Islam or death to those who do not convert, and the                                   
05 dislocation of hundreds of thousands of Christians from their homeland; and                                             
06       WHEREAS Syria has been the beloved homeland of Christian people, beginning with                                 
07 the presence of Jesus Christ in 33 A.D., and the Christian Church in Damascus and                                       
08 throughout Syria is expressly mentioned in the New Testament; and                                                       
09       WHEREAS, although many western governments and the mass media demonstrate an                                    
10 indifference to the impending demise of Christian people in the land of the birth of                                    
11 Christianity and the crimes against the Syrian people, Alaskans take a courageous stand for                             
12 peace and protection for the Syrian people against terrorism;                                                           
13       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States                                        
14 government to condemn violent acts of religious persecution and seek a peaceful resolution to                           
15 the conflicts in Syria.                                                                                                 
16       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of                             
17 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and                          
18 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable John F. Kerry, United States Secretary of State;                            
19 General Martin E. Dempsey, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; the Honorable Robert                                     
20 Menendez, Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations; the Honorable Barbara                                
21 Mikulski, Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations; the Honorable Dave Camp,                                
22 Chair of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee; the Honorable Bob Corker, ranking                                     
23 member, U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations; the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and                                    
24 the Honorable Mark Begich, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S.                                             
25 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress; and all other members of the                              
26 United States Senate.