[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 11 Reported in Senate (RS)]
Calendar No. 44
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, Mr. Burr, Mr. Martinez, Mr. Kaufman, Mrs.
Boxer, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Begich, Mr. Reid, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr.
Feingold, Mr. Inouye, and Mr. Brownback) submitted the following
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Relations
April 2, 2009
Reported by Mr. Kerry, with amendments
[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
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 <DELETED>global</DELETED>
insecurity in certain countries<DELETED>, especially in places such as
Belgium, Argentina, Venezuela, Spain, and South Africa</DELETED>;
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.
Calendar No. 44
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. CON. RES. 11
_______________________________________________________________________
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
April 2, 2009
Reported with amendments