[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 63 (Wednesday, April 30, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E805-E806]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       IN COMMEMORATION OF YOM HASHOAH, HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 29, 2003

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join with 
millions throughout the

[[Page E806]]

world to commemorate the tragic and horrific events of the Holocaust as 
we observe Yom HaShoah. It has been 59 years to the day since the Jews 
of the Warsaw Ghetto rose in revolt against the Nazis. Perhaps now more 
than ever, the courage of these individuals to fight against anti-
Semitism, racism, and prejudicial discrimination is to be honored and 
remembered.
  On April 23, 1943, Jewish resistance fighters in the Warsaw Ghetto 
made their final appeal to the international community for assistance 
in their struggle against the Nazis. They wrote, ``A battle is being 
waged for your freedom as well as ours. For you and our human, civic, 
and national honor and dignity.'' Indeed, these brave and courageous 
men, women, and children were correct, and we were wrong for allowing 
their appeals to go unanswered.
  Sadly, the fight against bigotry is an ongoing struggle, as I well 
know from my own personal experience. I have experienced racism all 
over the world--in Europe, in the Middle East, in Asia and, of course, 
here in the United States. Today, anti-Semitism, racism, and xenophobia 
continue to plague humanity. Those of us who preach and practice 
tolerance recognize that the fight for equality and acceptance 
continues in the 21st century.
  Jews throughout the world, more than 50 years after the Holocaust, 
are forced to combat insidious acts of anti-Semitism on a regular 
basis. Likewise, here in the U.S., we have come a long way since the 
blatant and institutionalized discrimination that was the norm for 
African-Americans a generation ago. However, in each case, we are 
certainly not home yet.
  A few years ago, many believed that anti-Semitism was gradually 
declining and restricted to fringe elements of our society. However, 
recent developments suggest that there is a resurgent anti-Semitism 
with a much broader base that includes elements of the far right, the 
far left, and components of immigrant communities from North Africa and 
the Middle East.
  In the Middle East itself, it appears that the stalled peace process 
has been a convenient excuse to allow anti-Semitism to become a staple 
of the media and mainstream politics. Also, in Europe, there has been a 
resurgence of anti-Semitic and race-based attacks and murders. While 
European governments have begun to crack down on this unfortunate 
reality, their initial smugness toward the problem was quite troubling. 
Now is not a time for us to be silent, and Europe and the Middle East 
are not places where we can afford to be complacent.
  Mr. Speaker, we shall never forget the horrific crimes of murder and 
destruction committed by the Nazis; and we must commit ourselves to 
ensuring that future generations shall never be forced to endure the 
suffering, humiliation, and ultimate death experienced by the victims 
of the Holocaust. As this body honors these memories, we must commit 
ourselves--as a country and as human beings--to never allow the pleas 
of those in need to ever again go unanswered.
  We have but one world, and we have been given the great 
responsibility to make it ours. People of all shapes and sizes, colors 
and religions have been placed here by powers far beyond us to live 
together. It is up to us to decide what we make of our time and our 
world. Thus, as we craft a world in which our children and 
grandchildren will grow up, the days of religious and racial 
intolerance must be left behind. For I refuse to live in a day and age 
where it is acceptable for bigotry and intolerance to trump acceptance 
and coexistence.
  We shall never forget.

                          ____________________