[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 53 (Thursday, April 22, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E639]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       COMMEMORATING YOM HASHOAH

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. HENRY A. WAXMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 22, 2004

  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate Yom HaShoah, Holocaust 
Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day, which memorializes the six 
million Jews murdered during World War II.
  I join my colleagues in mourning the innocent lives and vibrant 
communities destroyed by Nazis while the world shamefully stood by, and 
call upon all of us to redouble our efforts to combat resurgent anti-
Semitism and intolerance around the world.
  As we observe the anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising, when a 
brave cadre of fighters battled a Nazi siege to liquidate the 
community's last remaining Jews, we must also pay tribute to survivors 
who continue today to battle the traumatic horrors of their past.
  I would like to take this opportunity to recognize Cafe Europa, a 
social service and Holocaust survivors advocacy group of Jewish Family 
Services of Los Angeles, which marked its 16th anniversary this week in 
a Yom HaShoah ceremony at Mount Sinai Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills.
  Cafe Europa, like other groups across the country, has played a key 
role in making sure that Holocaust survivors have the social support 
and resources they need to overcome their haunting suffering and live 
out their years in peace.
  We all have a responsibility to make sure the atrocities they 
witnessed are not forgotten and never again repeated. While we have 
come very far in combating Holocaust denial and racial hatred against 
Jews, new and difficult challenges unfortunately remain ahead.
  There is a terrible climate of anti-Semitism growing worldwide. In 
European and Arab countries, there has been a dramatic rise of anti-
Semitism and Holocaust denial fomenting violent attacks against Jews 
and exacerbating tensions in the Middle East. It is incumbent upon the 
United States to speak out, raise awareness, and call for action.
  While the State Department annual country reports on human rights and 
religious freedom have attempted to track anti-Semitism the results 
have been woefully inadequate. For example, the 2003 State Department 
Country Report on the United Arab Emirates mistakenly characterizes the 
closure of the Zayed Centre for Coordination and Follow-up as a form of 
censorship instead of commending the UAE government for taking action 
to shut down an institution widely criticized for promoting vehemently 
anti-Semitic symposia, speakers, and materials.
  At a time when blood libels, canards like the Protocols of the Elders 
of Zion, and other anti-Semitic conspiracy theories are being broadcast 
on Arabic television channels, the United States must be more vigilant 
in its stance on this issue. We cannot allow governments afraid or 
unwilling to confront the blight of anti-Semitism to turn a blind eye 
and permit defamation to be accepted as freedom of speech.
  Today, we must resound the words ``never again'' to the community of 
nations whose failure to take action against hatred and incitement 
against Jews quickly turned to devastation and murder a mere half 
century ago.

                          ____________________