Whereas in 2004, Congress passed the Global Anti-Semitism
Review Act, which established an Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism,
headed by a Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, which provides
Congress with the Contemporary Global Anti-Semitism Report, most recently in
2004 and 2008;
Whereas according to the Contemporary Global Anti-Semitism
Report released by the Department of State’s Office of the Special Envoy to
Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, “[o]ver the last decade, United States
embassies and consulates have reported an upsurge in anti-Semitism”;
Whereas anti-Semitic acts committed and
recorded in 2008 and 2009 include violent attacks and death threats against
Jews, as well as gun violence, arson, graffiti, stoning, and other desecration
of Jewish communal property and places of worship;
Whereas the U.S. Department of State and other foreign
governments and multilateral institutions have noted the challenge of gathering
data on anti-Semitism, particularly in more closed societies with limited
victims’ rights;
Whereas the 2008 Department of State Contemporary Global
Anti-Semitism Report notes the growth of comparisons of Israeli policy to that
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 as a rhetorical means to threaten and offend
Jews;
Whereas since the commencement of Israel’s military
operation in Gaza on December 27, 2008, a substantial increase in violence,
including physical and verbal attacks, arson and vandalism against synagogues,
and desecration of cemeteries and Holocaust memorial sites have been
reported;
Whereas interspersed with expressions of criticism of
Israeli policy and actions, anti-Semitic imagery and comparisons of Jews and
Israel to Nazis have been widespread at demonstrations against Israel’s action
around the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America;
Whereas 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 demonstrations have included chants of
death to Israel
or expressions of support for suicide terrorism
against Israeli or Jewish civilians;
Whereas Jewish communities face an environment in which
the convergence of anti-Semitic sentiment and demonization of Israel in the
media and the public debate have fostered a hostile environment and a sense of
insecurity in these countries;
Whereas incitement to hatred, discrimination, and violence
against Jews continues in some state-run media, particularly in the Middle
East, where government-owned, government-sanctioned, or government-controlled
publishing media promulgate anti-Jewish stereotypes, such as the myth of the
Jewish blood libels in editorial cartoons and articles, and produce Arabic
translations of anti-Semitic tracts such as The Protocols of the Elders
of Zion
and Mein Kampf
;
Whereas some governments fail to respond adequately to
anti-Semitic incidents including attacks on Jewish citizens, monuments,
building, and cemeteries;
Whereas the latest incidents in Venezuela include an
incident on January 30, 2009, when the Tiferet Israel synagogue in Caracas was
attacked by armed men who destroyed religious objects, spray-painted “Jews, get
out” on the synagogue walls, and stole a computer database with the
congregation’s personal information, and an incident on February 26, 2009, when
assailants threw an explosive at a Jewish community center in Caracas;
Whereas, on January 6, 2009, Hamas leader, Mahmoud
al-Zahar, argued that Jewish children and Jewish people around the world are
legitimate
targets for murder;
Whereas Iran’s leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has denied that
the Holocaust ever occurred and has called Israel a filthy
bacteria
and a disgraceful blot
that should be
wiped off the map
;
Whereas, on February 24, 2009, Libya’s leader, Muammar
Gaddafi, falsely accused Israel of being among the countries fueling the
violence in Darfur’s Sudan region;
Whereas, on January 13, 2009, President Nicolas Sarkozy of
France utterly condemned the unacceptable violence … against
individuals, private property, and religious buildings
and assured
that these acts would not go unpunished
;
Whereas, on January 28, 2009, Argentine Justice and
Security Minister Anibal Fernandez pledged to take action against anti-Semitism
in Argentina;
Whereas the Dutch Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin
announced on January 14, 2009, that he would investigate allegations of
anti-Semitism and incitement to hatred and violence at anti-Israel
demonstrations; and
Whereas, on February 25, 2009, Prime Minister Gordon Brown
became the first world leader to sign the London Declaration on combating
anti-Semitism, which calls on governments and parliamentarians to engage in
education, community outreach, training, threat identification, and other
measures and adopt proven and best practice methods of countering antisemitism:
Now, therefore, be it
That the House of
Representatives—
(1)condemns any and all official and
unofficial sanctioning of anti-Semitic activity by any government;
(2)expresses its
commitment to continue to make it a priority to fight anti-Semitism and to
promote tolerance at home and abroad;
(3)urges all
governments to take all steps necessary to eradicate anti-Semitism and to
promote religious tolerance;
(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 to—
(A)maintain the fight against anti-Semitism as
a United States foreign policy priority and to convey United States concern in
bilateral meetings;
(B)urge governments
to ensure that adequate laws are in place to punish anti-Semitic violence as
well as establish mechanisms to monitor, investigate, and punish anti-Semitic
incidents;
(C)swiftly appoint
the Department of State’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat
Anti-Semitism;
(D)ensure that the
Department of State’s Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices and
International Religious Freedom Reports continue to document anti-Semitic
incidents, as required by the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act,
including—
(i)acts of physical violence against, or
harassment of, Jewish people, and acts of violence against, or vandalism of,
Jewish community institutions, such as schools, synagogues, or cemeteries, that
occurred in each country;
(ii)the
responses of the governments of those countries to such actions;
(iii)the actions
taken by such governments to enact and enforce laws relating to the protection
of the right to religious freedom of Jewish people;
(iv)the
efforts by such governments to promote anti-bias and tolerance education;
and
(v)instances of
propaganda in government and nongovernment media that attempt to justify or
promote racial hatred or incite acts of violence against Jewish people;
(E)provide necessary training and instruction
for personnel of United States embassies and missions to analyze and report on
anti-Semitic incidents as well as the response of governments to those
incidents and to support victims;
(F)ensure that United
States efforts to train law enforcement personnel and prosecutors abroad
incorporate tools to address anti-Semitism; and
(G)engage with the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and support its efforts to
monitor and address anti-Semitism, including through support for its law
enforcement and civil society training programs.