111th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. CON. RES. 11
Condemning all forms of anti-Semitism and reaffirming the support of Congress for the mandate of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 19, 2009
Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Mr. CARDIN, Ms. SNOWE, Mr. RISCH, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. BAYH, Mr. BENNETT, Mr. CASEY, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. KYL, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. LIEBERMAN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. SHELBY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. BARRASSO, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. BROWN, Mr. SPECTER, Mr. NELSON of Nebraska, Mr. MENENDEZ, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. WICKER, Mr. THUNE, Mr. VOINOVICH, Mr. HATCH, Mr. DORGAN, Mr. NELSON of Florida, Mr. KERRY, Mr. MCCONNELL, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. CORKER, and Mr. BURR) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Condemning all forms of anti-Semitism and reaffirming the support of Congress for the mandate of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, and for other purposes.
Whereas the United States Government has consistently supported efforts to address the rise in anti-Semitism through its bilateral relationships and through engagement in international organizations such as the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Organization of American States;
Whereas, in 2004, Congress passed the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act (Public Law 108-332), which established an Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, headed by a Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism;
Whereas the Department of State, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the OSCE, and others have reported that periods of Arab-Israeli tension have sparked an increase in attacks against Jewish communities around the world and comparisons of policies of the Government of Israel to those of the Nazis and that, despite growing efforts by governments to promote Holocaust remembrance, the Holocaust is frequently invoked as part of anti-Semitic harassment to threaten and offend Jews;
Whereas, since the commencement of Israel's military operation in Gaza on December 27, 2008, a substantial increase in anti-Semitic violence, including physical and verbal attacks, arson, and vandalism against synagogues, cemeteries, and Holocaust memorial sites, has been reported;
Whereas, among many other examples of the dramatic rise of anti-Semitism around the world, over 220 anti-Semitic incidents have been reported to the Community Security Trust in London since December 27, 2008, approximately eight times the number recorded during the same period last year, and the main Jewish association in France, Counsel Representatif des Institutions Juives de France, recorded more than 100 attacks in January, including car bombs launched at synagogues, a difference from 20 to 25 a month for the previous year;
Whereas, interspersed with expressions of legitimate criticism of Israeli policy and actions, anti-Semitic imagery and comparisons of Jews and Israel to Nazis have been widespread at demonstrations in the United States, Europe, and Latin America against Israel's actions, and placards held at many demonstrations across the globe have compared Israeli leaders to Nazis, accused Israel of carrying out a `Holocaust' against Palestinians, and equated the Jewish Star of David with the Nazi swastika;
Whereas, in some countries, demonstrations have included chants of `death to Israel,' expressions of support for suicide terrorism against Israeli or Jewish civilians, and have been followed by violence and vandalism against synagogues and Jewish institutions;
Whereas some government leaders have exemplified courage and resolve against this trend, including President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, who said he `utterly condemned the unacceptable violence, under the pretext of this conflict, against individuals, private property, and religious buildings,' and assured `that these acts would not go unpunished,' Justice Minister of the Netherlands Ernst Hirsch Ballin, who announced on January 14, 2009, that he would investigate allegations of anti-Semitism and incitement to hatred and violence at anti-Israel demonstrations, and parliamentarians who have voiced concern, such as the British Parliament's All-Party Group Against Anti-Semitism, which expressed its `horror as a wave of anti-Semitic incidents has affected the Jewish community';
Whereas, despite these actions, too few government leaders in Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America have taken action against the anti-Semitic environments in their countries and in some cases have even promoted violence;
Whereas other leaders have made hostile pronouncements against Israel and Jews, including the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, who called Israel's actions a `Holocaust against the Palestinian people' and singled out Venezuela's Jewish community, demanding that they publicly renounce Israel's `barbaric acts' and in so doing implying that the Jewish community is co-responsible for any actions by the Government of Israel and thus a legitimate target, the leader of Hamas, Mahmoud al-Zahar, who recently called for Jewish children to be attacked around the world, and the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khameini, who vowed to confer the status of `martyr' on `anyone who dies in this holy struggle against World Zionism';
Whereas incitement to violence against Jews also continues in state-run media, particularly in the Middle East, where government-owned, government-sanctioned, or government-controlled publishing houses publish newspapers which promulgate anti-Jewish stereotypes and the myth of the Jewish blood libels in editorial cartoons and articles, produce and broadcast anti-Semitic dramatic and documentary series, and produce Arabic translations of anti-Semitic tracts such as `The Protocols of the Elders of Zion' and `Mein Kampf';
Whereas Jewish communities face an environment in which the convergence of anti-Semitic sentiment and demonization of Israel in the public debate have fostered a hostile environment and a sense of global insecurity, especially in places such as Belgium, Argentina, Venezuela, Spain, and South Africa;
Whereas, in response, the United States Government and other governments and multilateral institutions have supported international government and civil society efforts to monitor and report on anti-Semitic activities and introduce preventive initiatives such as tolerance education and Holocaust Remembrance; and
Whereas challenges still remain, with the governments of many countries failing to implement and fund preventive efforts, accurately track and report anti-Semitic crimes, and prosecute offenders: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), That Congress--
(1) unequivocally condemns all forms of anti-Semitism and rejects attempts to rationalize anti-Jewish hatred or attacks as a justifiable expression of disaffection or frustration over political events in the Middle East or elsewhere;
(2) decries the comparison of Jews to Nazis perpetrating a Holocaust or genocide as a pernicious form of anti-Semitism, an insult to the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust, and an affront both to those who survived and the righteous gentiles who saved Jewish lives at peril to their own and who fought to defeat the Nazis;
(3) calls on leaders to speak out against manifestations of anti-Semitism that have entered the public debate about the Middle East;
(4) applauds those foreign leaders who have condemned anti-Semitic acts and calls on those who have yet to take firm action against anti-Semitism in their countries to do so;
(5) reaffirms its support for the mandate of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism; and
(6) urges the Secretary of State--
(A) to maintain the fight against anti-Semitism as a foreign policy priority of the Untied States and to convey the concerns of the United States Government in bilateral meetings;
(B) to continue to raise with United States allies in the Middle East their failure to halt incitement to violence against Jews, including through the use of government-run media;
(C) to urge governments to promote tolerance education and establish mechanisms to monitor, investigate, and punish anti-Semitic crimes, including through utilization of the education, law enforcement training, and civil society capacity building initiatives of the Tolerance and Non-discrimination Department of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE);
(D) to swiftly appoint the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism of the Department of State;
(E) to ensure that Department of State Annual Country Reports on Human Rights and International Religious Freedom Reports continue to report on incidents of anti-Semitism and the efforts of foreign governments to address the problem;
(F) to provide necessary training and tools for United States embassies and missions to recognize these trends; and
(G) to ensure that initiatives of the United States Government to train law enforcement abroad incorporate tools to address anti-Semitism.
