[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 53 (Thursday, April 22, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E641]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JOE BACA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 22, 2004

  Mr. BACA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember the tragic horror of 
the Holocaust. The memory of the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis 
must never be forgotten.
  Yom Ha Shoah, Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day, stands 
as the day when people all over the world remember the inhuman actions 
of Nazis and the righteous actions of heroes.
  Six million people were murdered in concentration camps, in homes, on 
the street, and in the ghettos.
  Their lives were lost and all that is left are memories and mementos.
  We must remember the lives of those who perished during the 
Holocaust. We must teach the children of the horror and terror that can 
happen when the world turns the other way and refuses to notice hatred 
and bigotry, racism and anti-Semitism.
  When I visited Israel and Yad va Shem, I remember walking into the 
Hall of Remembrance and seeing the single memorial flame casting light 
in the dark room.
  The memorial light always burns never forgetting what took place 
during the Holocaust.
  It is this light that I think of when I hear that Temple Emanu-El in 
San Bernardino held an interfaith ceremony commemorating the Holocaust.
  But commemoration should not end with Holocaust Remembrance Day. 
Throughout the year, whenever we see the injustice of anti-Semitism and 
the injustice of racism we need to remember the Holocaust and speak 
out.
  All over Europe, the Middle East and North America, anti-Semitic acts 
occur with disheartening frequency. We must speak out against these 
attacks. We must speak out against the stereotypes and anti-Semitic 
forgeries seen on the Internet and in the foreign press. We must speak 
out against all racist and bigoted actions.
  We must be vigilant, so that we can say that the Holocaust will never 
happen again.

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