[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 253 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 253

    Reiterating the sense of the Senate regarding Anti-Semitism and 
                     religious tolerance in Europe.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 25, 2002

 Mr. Smith of Oregon (for himself, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Schumer, and Mr. 
 Hatch) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Reiterating the sense of the Senate regarding Anti-Semitism and 
                     religious tolerance in Europe.

Whereas many countries in Europe are protectors of human rights and have stood 
        as shining examples of freedom and liberty to the world;
Whereas freedom of religion is guaranteed by all Organization for Security and 
        Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) participating states;
Whereas the 1990 Copenhagen Concluding Document declares all participating OSCE 
        States will ``unequivocally condemn'' anti-Semitism and take effective 
        measures to protect individuals from anti-Semitic violence;
Whereas anti-Semitism was one of the most destructive forces unleashed during 
        the last century;
Whereas there has been a startling rise in attacks on Jewish community 
        institutions in cities across Europe in the last 18 months;
Whereas these violent incidents have targeted youth such as an assault on a 
        Jewish teen soccer team in Bondy, France on April 11, 2002, and the 
        brutal beating of two Jewish students in Berlin, Germany, the burning of 
        Jewish schools in Creteil and Marseille, France and even the stoning of 
        a bus carrying Jewish schoolchildren;
Whereas attacks on Jewish houses of worship have been reported in many cities 
        including Antwerp, Brussels, and Marseille and as recently as April 22 
        an automatic weapon attack on a synagogue in Charleroi, Belgium;
Whereas the statue in Paris of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, who was the victim of 
        anti-Semitic accusations and became a symbol of this prejudice in the 
        last century, was defaced with anti-Jewish emblems;
Whereas the French Ministry of Interior documented hundreds of crimes against 
        Jews and Jewish institutions in France in just the first two weeks of 
        April, 2002;
Whereas the revitalization of European right wing movements, such as the strong 
        showing of the National Front party in France's presidential election, 
        reaffirm the urgency for governments to assert a strong public stance 
        against anti-Semitism, as well as other forms of xenophobia and 
        intolerance;
Whereas some government leaders have repeatedly dismissed the significance of 
        these attacks and attributed them to hooliganism and Muslim immigrant 
        youth expressing solidarity with Palestinians;
Whereas the legitimization of armed struggle against Israeli civilians by some 
        governments voting in the U.N. Commission on Human Rights has emboldened 
        some individuals and organizations to lash out against Jews and Jewish 
        institutions;
Whereas hostility, frustration and disaffection over violence in the Middle East 
        must never be permitted to justify personal attacks on Jewish citizens;
Whereas when governments have raised a strong moral voice against anti-Semitism 
        and worked to promote and implement educational initiatives which foster 
        tolerance, we have seen success; and
Whereas Congress recognizes the vital historical alliance between nations of 
        Europe and the United States and has high regard for the commitment of 
        our allies to fighting discrimination, hatred, and violence on racial, 
        ethnic, or religious grounds: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved,
    (a) That it is the sense of the Senate that Congress calls upon 
European governments to--
            (1) acknowledge publicly and without reservation the anti-
        Semitic character of the attacks as violations of human rights; 
        and to utilize the full power of its law enforcement tools to 
        investigate the crimes and punish the perpetrators;
            (2) decry the rationalizing of anti-Jewish attitudes and 
        even violent attacks against Jews as merely a result of 
        justified popular frustration with the conflict in the Middle 
        East; and
            (3) take measures to protect and ensure the security of 
        Jewish citizens and their institutions, many of whom suffered 
        so grievously in Europe in the past century.
    (b) Further, it is the sense of the Senate that--
            (1) both Congress and the Administration must raise this 
        issue in its bilateral contacts;
            (2) the State Department's Annual Country Reports on Human 
        Rights should thoroughly document this phenomenon, not just in 
        Europe but worldwide; and
            (3) the Commission on International Religious Freedom 
        should continue to document and report on this phenomenon in 
        Europe and worldwide.
                                 <all>