[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 48 (Thursday, April 25, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S3449]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 253--REITERATING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING 
              THE RISE OF ANTI-SEMITIC VIOLENCE IN EUROPE

  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:

                              S. Res. 253

       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 
     4/11/02 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 22nd 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 UN 
     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,
       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.

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