[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 178 (Thursday, December 20, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2381]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       SUPPORT FOR BAY AREA COUNCIL FOR JEWISH RESCUE AND RENEWAL

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 20, 2001

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support for the 
Bay Area Council for Jewish Rescue and Renewal (Bay Area Council), an 
exemplary organization which has been carrying out important work in 
the Russian Federation.
  The Bay Area Council has designed and implemented a Climate of Trust 
program to enable Russian law enforcement officials to combat ethnic 
and religious intolerance and xenophobia in Russia by providing a 
sustained and supportive relationship between American and Russian 
communities, law enforcement professionals, city administrators, 
prosecutors, human rights activists, educators, and local media 
representatives. The goal is to promote tolerance and reduce incidents 
of hate-based violence in Russia through training, seminars, workshops, 
and symposiums.
  The Climate of Trust program has brought in tangible results. Over 
the 2000-01 period, more than five hundred Russian officers, civil 
servants, community members, and media representatives have taken part 
in its activities. In the Russian city of Ryazan, which had been marked 
by anti-Semitic acts, the Climate of Trust program proposed several 
initiatives which were later enacted and are in the process of 
implementation. In 2002-03, the Bay Area Council plan is to continue 
their activities in Ryazan and expand them to several other Russian 
communities outside of Moscow. This is a worthy and important work that 
earned Bay Area Council a tribute in the 2001 State Department 
International Religious Freedom Report.
  Not only our government has recognized the Climate of Trust program 
as effective and successful in training Russian law enforcement and 
other government officials in promoting tolerance. The government of 
the Russian Federation also identified the Climate of Trust program as 
a key component of its 2001-2005 national program for preventing 
extremism and promoting tolerance in Russian society. When Congress 
graduates Russia from Jackson-Vanik next session, the role of the Bay 
Area Council and other non-govemmental organization will become even 
more important in the human rights dialogue between our countries.
  The Climate of Trust is exactly the kind of program we should be 
supporting in Russia. It is cost-effective and it works at the grass-
roots level with communities throughout Russian Federation. The program 
is interactive and responsive to the needs of these communities, I am 
confident it has immediate and lasting effect on individuals and 
communities besieged by xenophobia. The Russian Democracy Act, 
legislation which I authored and which passed the House unanimously 
last week, earmarks at least $50 million for activities designed to 
support Russian civil society at all levels. I respectfully ask the 
Administration and the State Department to extend all possible support 
to the Bay Area Council so that the Council may expand and continue its 
grassroots efforts at combating xenophobia and promoting civil society 
in Russia.

                          ____________________