[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 77 (Thursday, May 22, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7068-S7069]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PREVENTION OF ANTI-SEMITIC VIOLENCE
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed
to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 105, S. Con. Res. 7.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 7) expressing the
sense of Congress that the sharp escalation of anti-Semitic
violence within many participating States of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is a profound
concern and effort that should be undertaken to prevent
future occurrences.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the
concurrent resolution.
Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I appreciate the broad bipartisan
support given to Senate Concurrent Resolution 7, and the prompt action
by the Committee on Foreign Relations, allowing for timely
consideration of this resolution by the full Senate. Anti-Semitism is
an evil that has bedeviled previous generations, formed a black spot on
human history, and remains a problem to this day. As Co-Chairman of the
Helsinki Commission, I have been particularly concerned over the
disturbing rise
[[Page S7069]]
in anti-Semitism and related violence in many participating States of
the 55-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe,
OSCE, including the United States.
The anti-Semitic violence we witnessed in 2002, which stretched the
breadth of the OSCE region, is a wake-up call that this evil still
lives today, often coupled with a resurgence of aggressive nationalism
and an increase in neo-Nazi ``skin head'' activity. Together with
colleagues on the Helsinki Commission, we have diligently urged the
leaders of OSCE participating States to confront and combat the plague
of anti-Semitism. Through concerted efforts by the State Department and
the U.S. Mission to the OSCE, a conference focused on anti-Semitism--
called for in the pending resolution--will be convened in Vienna,
Austria, June 19-20.
Meanwhile, the Helsinki Commission has undertaken a number of
initiatives aimed at further elevating the attention given to rising
anti-Semitism. In the year since the Commission's hearing on this
issue, Commissioners have pursued it within the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly as well as in contacts with officials from countries of
particular concern. I would point to France as a country that has
recognized the problem and acted to confront anti-Semitism and related
violence with tougher laws and more vigorous law enforcement. I urge
French officials to remain vigilant, while recognizing that none of our
countries is immune.
A recent opinion survey of adults in five European countries
conducted by the Anti-Defamation League, ADL, found that 21 percent
harbor ``strong anti-Semitic views.'' At the same time, the survey
revealed that 61 percent of the individuals polled stated they are
``very concerned'' or ``fairly concerned'' about violence directed
against European Jews. An ADL national poll of 1000 American adults
found that 17 percent of Americans holds views about Jews that are
``unquestionably anti-Semitic,'' an increase of 5 percent from the
previous survey conducted four years earlier. According to ADL there
were 1,559 reported anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. in 2002, with
attacks on campuses rising by 24 percent over the previous year.
Mr. President, if anti-Semitism is ignored and allowed to fester and
grow, our societies and civilization will suffer. A particularly
disturbing element we have observed is the growth of anti-Semitic acts
and attitudes among young people ranging from a rise in incidents on
U.S. college campuses to violent attacks perpetrated on Jews by young
members of immigrant communities in Western Europe. Education is
essential to reversing the rise in anti-Semitism. Our young people must
be taught about the Holocaust and other acts of genocide. Institutions
such as the Holocaust Memorial Museum are making valuable contributions
to promote the sharing of this experience at home and abroad. Such
activity should have our strong support as a vital tool in confronting
and combating anti-Semitism.
Mr. President, passage of the Senate Concurrent Resolution 7 will put
the United States Senate on record and send an unequivocal message that
anti-Semitism must be confronted, and it must be confronted now.
Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the concurrent
resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to
reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or
debate.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 7) was agreed to.
The preamble was agreed to.
The concurrent resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:
S. Con. Res. 7
Whereas the expressions of anti-Semitism experienced
throughout the region encompassing the participating States
of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) have included physical assaults, with some instances
involving weapons or stones, arson of synagogues, and
desecration of Jewish cultural sites, such as cemeteries and
statues;
Whereas vicious propaganda and violence in many OSCE States
against Jews, foreigners, and others portrayed as alien have
reached alarming levels, in part due to the dangerous
promotion of aggressive nationalism by political figures and
others;
Whereas violence and other manifestations of xenophobia and
discrimination can never be justified by political issues or
international developments;
Whereas the Copenhagen Concluding Document adopted by the
OSCE in 1990 was the first international agreement to condemn
anti-Semitic acts, and the OSCE participating States pledged
to ``clearly and unequivocally condemn totalitarianism,
racial and ethnic hatred, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and
discrimination against anyone as well as persecution on
religious and ideological grounds'';
Whereas the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly at its meeting in
Berlin in July 2002, unanimously adopted a resolution that,
among other things, called upon participating States to
ensure aggressive law enforcement by local and national
authorities, including thorough investigation of anti-Semitic
criminal acts, apprehension of perpetrators, initiation of
appropriate criminal prosecutions, and judicial proceedings;
Whereas Decision No. 6 adopted by the OSCE Ministerial
Council at its Tenth Meeting held in Porto, Portugal in
December 2002 (the ``Porto Ministerial Declaration'')
condemned ``the recent increase in anti-Semitic incidents in
the OSCE area, recognizing the role that the existence of
anti-Semitism has played throughout history as a major threat
to freedom'';
Whereas the Porto Ministerial Declaration also urged ``the
convening of separately designated human dimension events on
issues addressed in this decision, including on the topics of
anti-Semitism, discrimination and racism, and xenophobia'';
and
Whereas on December 10, 2002, at the Washington
Parliamentary Forum on Confronting and Combating anti-
Semitism in the OSCE Region, representatives of the United
States Congress and the German Parliament agreed to denounce
all forms of anti-Semitism and agreed that ``anti-Semitic
bigotry must have no place in our democratic societies'':
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
(1) officials of the executive branch and Members of
Congress should raise the issue of anti-Semitism in their
bilateral contacts with other countries and at multilateral
fora, including meetings of the Permanent Council of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
and the Twelfth Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary
Assembly to be convened in July 2003;
(2) participating States of the OSCE should unequivocally
condemn anti-Semitism (including violence against Jews and
Jewish cultural sites), racial and ethnic hatred, xenophobia,
and discrimination, as well as persecution on religious
grounds whenever it occurs;
(3) participating States of the OSCE should ensure
effective law enforcement by local and national authorities
to prevent and counter criminal acts stemming from anti-
Semitism, xenophobia, or racial or ethnic hatred, whether
directed at individuals, communities, or property, including
maintaining mechanisms for the thorough investigation and
prosecution of such acts;
(4) participating States of the OSCE should promote the
creation of educational efforts throughout the region
encompassing the participating States of the OSCE to counter
anti-Semitic stereotypes and attitudes among younger people,
increase Holocaust awareness programs, and help identify the
necessary resources to accomplish this goal;
(5) legislators in all OSCE participating States should
play a leading role in combating anti-Semitism and ensure
that the resolution adopted at the 2002 meeting of the OSCE
Parliamentary Assembly in Berlin is followed up by a series
of concrete actions at the national level; and
(6) the OSCE should organize a separately designated human
dimension event on anti-Semitism as early as possible in
2003, consistent with the Porto Ministerial Declaration
adopted by the OSCE at the Tenth Meeting of the OSCE
Ministerial Council in December 2002.
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