[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 50 (Monday, April 29, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E652-E653]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    THE RETURN OF AN ANCIENT HATRED

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                           HON. BARNEY FRANK

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 29, 2002

  Mr. FRANK. Mr. Speaker, one collateral disturbing aspect of the 
current crisis in the Middle East is the rise in anti-Semitism in 
various parts of the world. It is particularly distressing to see the 
virulent outburst of this vicious prejudice in Europe, where many of us 
had hoped that the terrible experience of the past formed a stronger 
barrier against it.
  Obviously people have a right to be critical of particular policies 
of the government of Israel in a given time. Indeed, since Israel 
continues to be a vibrant democracy even in the face of the violence 
now occurring in that part of the world, some of the most trenchant 
criticisms of Israeli policy come from Israelis themselves. But there 
is a sharp line between expressing differences with particular actions 
of the Israeli government and expression of anti-Semitism, and, sadly, 
that line has been crossed far too often in recent months in Europe.
  In a very well reasoned editorial on Saturday, April 20, the New York 
Times speaks out cogently against this renewed anti-Semitism. Because 
this is such a well reasoned and powerful statement on a subject of 
great importance to us in our deliberations, I ask that it be printed 
here.

                    The Return of an Ancient Hatred

       When many in the Muslim world blamed Israel and its 
     supposed desire to discredit Islam for the Sept. 11 attacks, 
     most Americans dismissed the report as a deformed joke. But 
     just as the attacks forced Americans to face the fact that 
     there are deadly serious groups seeking to destroy us, so 
     some of the anti-Semitic actions in Europe in recent months 
     cause us to wonder whether, six decades after the Holocaust, 
     we are witnessing a resurgence of the virulent hatred that 
     caused it.
       Expressions of sympathy for the Palestinians or criticism 
     of the Israeli military campaign in the West Bank are of 
     course entirely appropriate. What is troubling are hateful 
     statements and actions like the bombs thrown at Jewish 
     schools, centers and groups in France, or the Orthodox Jews 
     beaten on the streets of Belgium and Berlin or the truck bomb 
     driven into the ancient synagogue in Tunisia. We worry that 
     such actions, largely by Muslim extremists, touch a historic 
     chord in Europe that is not being confronted.
       Israelis have been too quick, over the years, to view 
     criticism of their government as motivated by anti-Semitism. 
     But it is hard to think of another word for the way some 
     critics of Israel's policy toward the Palestinians are 
     expressing their opposition. The dark of shadow of Europe's 
     past seemed to be reappearing when the liberal Italian daily 
     La Stampa depicted a baby Jesus looking up from the manger at 
     an Israeli tank, saying, ``Don't tell me they want to kill me 
     again.'' Or when a Lutheran bishop in Denmark delivered a 
     sermon in the Copenhagen Cathedral comparing Ariel Sharon's 
     policies toward the Palestinians to those of King Herod, who 
     ordered the slaughter of all male children under the age of 2 
     in Bethlehem.
       Political opinion in Europe is certainly one-sided when it 
     comes to the Mideast conflict. Members of the Norwegian Nobel 
     committee have publicly called for the withdrawal of the 
     Peace Prize from the Israeli foreign minister, Shimon Peres, 
     but not from his co-winner, Yasir Arafat. The European 
     Parliament voted to urge member governments to impose trade 
     sanctions on Israel but urged no action against the 
     Palestinian Authority. Historically, the far right and far 
     left have not agreed on much. These days they seem united in 
     their contempt for the Jewish state.
       This was evident last summer at the international 
     conference against racism in Durban, South Africa, which 
     turned into a celebration of Israel hatred. Zionism was once 
     again equated with racism and Israel's legitimacy came under 
     repeated attack.
       Focusing on the suffering of only one side is also not the 
     same as anti-Semitism, although it is distressing. Just as 
     there are American politicians who believe they have no 
     political room to maneuver when it comes to support for 
     Israeli policies, so there are European politicians with 
     large Muslim constituencies whose voters do not want to see 
     them acknowledging gray areas in this fight. There are also 
     other explanations for the European mood. Guilt over the 
     Holocaust may be salved with the thought that Jews, too, can 
     act with cruelty. And given American sponsorship of Israel, 
     being fashionably anti-American can easily mean being anti-
     Israel.
       But much of Europe has a special responsibility to be 
     cautious. Its cultures are drenched in a history of anti-
     Semitism. The mixing of historic European anti-Semitism with 
     the more modern version in the Muslim world is a dangerous 
     cocktail.
       All this does not mean that Israel should be above 
     criticism. Far from it. But it does

[[Page E653]]

     mean that when you read of hooded men shouting ``Death to 
     Jews'' attacking a Jewish soccer team in suburban Paris, as 
     happened recently, it should prompt some profound soul-
     searching about whether the past has come calling.

     

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