[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 183 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 183

Condemning anti-Semitism as hateful expressions of intolerance that are 
 contradictory to the values and aspirations that define the people of 
the United States and condemning anti-Muslim discrimination and bigotry 
   against minorities as hateful expressions of intolerance that are 
      contrary to the values and aspirations of the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 7, 2019

   Mr. Raskin (for himself and Mr. Richmond) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and 
  in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Condemning anti-Semitism as hateful expressions of intolerance that are 
 contradictory to the values and aspirations that define the people of 
the United States and condemning anti-Muslim discrimination and bigotry 
   against minorities as hateful expressions of intolerance that are 
      contrary to the values and aspirations of the United States.

Whereas the first amendment to the Constitution established the United States as 
        a country committed to the principles of tolerance and religious 
        freedom, and the 14th amendment to the Constitution established equal 
        protection of the laws as the heart of justice in the United States;
Whereas adherence to these principles is vital to the progress of the American 
        people and the diverse communities and religious groups of the United 
        States;
Whereas whether from the political right, center, or left, bigotry, 
        discrimination, oppression, racism, and imputations of dual loyalty 
        threaten American democracy and have no place in American political 
        discourse;
Whereas White supremacists in the United States have exploited and continue to 
        exploit bigotry and weaponize hate for political gain, targeting 
        traditionally persecuted peoples, including African Americans, Native 
        Americans, and other people of color, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, 
        immigrants, and others with verbal attacks, incitement, and violence;
Whereas the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., taught that persecution of any 
        American is an assault on the rights and freedoms of all Americans;
Whereas on August 11 and 12, 2017, self-identified neo-Confederates, White 
        nationalists, neo-Nazis, and Ku Klux Klansmen held White supremacist 
        events in Charlottesville, Virginia, where they marched on a synagogue 
        under the Nazi swastika, engaged in racist and anti-Semitic 
        demonstrations and committed brutal and deadly violence against peaceful 
        Americans;
Whereas a White nationalist murdered nine African-American worshipers at the 
        Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South 
        Carolina, on the evening of June 17, 2015, in the hopes of igniting a 
        nationwide race war;
Whereas, on October 27, 2018, the perpetrator of the deadliest attack on Jewish 
        people in the history of the United States killed 11 worshippers at the 
        Tree of Life Synagogue building in Pittsburgh and reportedly stated that 
        he ``wanted all Jews to die'';
Whereas anti-Semitism is the centuries-old bigotry and form of racism faced by 
        Jewish people simply because they are Jews;
Whereas in 2017 the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported a 37-percent 
        increase in hate crimes against Jews or Jewish institutions and found 
        that attacks against Jews or Jewish institutions made up 58.1 percent of 
        all religious-based hate crimes;
Whereas there is an urgent need to ensure the safety and security of Jewish 
        communities, including synagogues, schools, cemeteries, and other 
        institutions;
Whereas Jews are the targets of anti-Semitic violence at even higher rates in 
        many other countries than they are in the United States;
Whereas it is a foreign policy priority of the United States to monitor and 
        combat anti-Semitism abroad;
Whereas anti-Semitism includes blaming Jews as Jews when things go wrong; 
        calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the 
        name of a radical ideology or extremist view of religion; or making 
        mendacious, dehumanizing, demonizing, or stereotyped allegations about 
        Jews;
Whereas Jewish people are subject in the media and political campaigns to 
        numerous other dangerous anti-Semitic myths as well, including that Jews 
        control the United States Government or seek global, political, and 
        financial domination and that Jews are obsessed with money;
Whereas scapegoating and targeting of Jews in the United States have persisted 
        for many years, including by the Ku Klux Klan, the America First 
        Committee, and by modern neo-Nazis;
Whereas accusing Jews of being more loyal to Israel or to the Jewish community 
        than to the United States constitutes anti-Semitism because it suggests 
        that Jewish citizens cannot be patriotic Americans and trusted 
        neighbors, when Jews have loyally served our Nation every day since its 
        founding, whether in public or community life or military service;
Whereas accusations of dual loyalty generally have an insidious and pernicious 
        history, including--

    (1) the discriminatory incarceration of Americans of Japanese descent 
during World War II on their basis of race and alleged dual loyalty;

    (2) the Dreyfus affair, when Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish French artillery 
captain, was falsely convicted of passing secrets to Germany based on his 
Jewish background;

    (3) when the loyalty of President John F. Kennedy was questioned 
because of his Catholic faith; and

    (4) the post-9/11 conditions faced by Muslim-Americans in the United 
States, including Islamophobia and false and vicious attacks on and threats 
to Muslim-Americans for alleged association with terrorism;

Whereas anti-Muslim bigotry entails prejudicial attitudes towards Muslims and 
        people who are perceived to be Muslim, including the irrational belief 
        that Muslims are inherently violent, disloyal, and foreign;
Whereas Muslims and people perceived to be Muslim are subjected to false and 
        dangerous stereotypes and myths including unfair allegations that they 
        sympathize with individuals who engage in violence or terror or support 
        the oppression of women, Jews, and other vulnerable communities;
Whereas in 2017, mosques were bombed in Bloomington, Minnesota, and burned in 
        Austin, Texas, Victoria, Texas, Bellevue, Washington, and Thonotosassa, 
        Florida, and mass attacks on Muslim communities were planned against 
        communities in Islamberg, New York, in 2019, Jacksonville, Florida, in 
        2017, and Garden City, Kansas, in 2016;
Whereas the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported that hate crimes against 
        Muslims or Muslim institutions in the United States increased by over 99 
        percent between 2014 and 2016;
Whereas attacks motivated by bigotry against those who are Muslim or perceived 
        to be Muslim have substantially increased since the September 11, 2001 
        terrorist attacks;
Whereas the violation of an individual's civil rights based on his or her actual 
        or perceived membership in a particular religious group clearly violates 
        the Constitution and laws of the United States; and
Whereas all Americans, including Jews, Muslims, and Christians and people of all 
        faiths and no faith, have a stake in fighting anti-Semitism, as all 
        Americans have a stake in fighting every form of bigotry and hatred 
        against people based on religion, race, or place of birth and origin: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) rejects the perpetuation of anti-Semitic stereotypes in 
        the United States and around the world, including the 
        pernicious myth of dual loyalty and foreign allegiance, 
        especially in the context of support for the United States-
        Israel alliance;
            (2) condemns anti-Semitic acts and statements as hateful 
        expressions of intolerance that are contradictory to the values 
        that define the people of the United States;
            (3) reaffirms its support for the mandate of the United 
        States Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism as 
        part of the broader policy priority of fostering international 
        religious freedom and protecting human rights all over the 
        world;
            (4) rejects attempts to justify hatred or violent attacks 
        as an acceptable expression of disapproval or frustration over 
        political events in the Middle East or elsewhere;
            (5) acknowledges the harm suffered by Muslims and others 
        from the harassment, discrimination, and violence that result 
        from anti-Muslim bigotry;
            (6) condemns anti-Muslim discrimination and bigotry against 
        all minorities as contrary to the values of the United States;
            (7) condemns the death threats received by Jewish and 
        Muslim Members of Congress, including in recent weeks;
            (8) encourages law enforcement and government officials to 
        avoid conduct that raises the specter of unconstitutional 
        profiling against anyone because of their race, religion, 
        nationality, political, or particular social group, including 
        the assignment of blame or targeting members of an entire 
        religious group for increased suspicion, based on the conduct 
        of a single individual or small group of individuals; and
            (9) encourages all public officials to confront the reality 
        of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism, and other forms of 
        bigotry, as well as historical struggles against them, to 
        ensure that the United States will live up to the transcendent 
        principles of tolerance, religious freedom, and equal 
        protection as embodied in the Declaration of Independence and 
        the first and 14th amendments to the Constitution.
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