Madam Speaker. I rise today in strong support of House Resolution 185. expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding the creation of refugee populations in the Middle East. North Africa. and the Persian Gulf region as a result of unacceptable human rights violations and blatant antiSemitism. For over 2.500 years. Jewish communities have resided throughout the Middle East. North Africa. and the Gulf region in large numbers. Unfortunately these vibrant Jewish communities have often been considered secondclass citizens under onerous rulers. In the 20th century. widespread persecution and mass violations of human rights against Jewish minorities in Arab countries became unfortunately commonplace.