[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 53 (Thursday, April 22, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E643-E644]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 22, 2004

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise in honor of this Holocaust Remembrance 
Day, Yom HaShoah, to remember both the best and the worst of humanity. 
Six million Jews and millions of others were rounded up, tortured, and 
murdered, by the Nazis 6 decades ago. The martyrs of these 
indescribably vicious and inhumane deeds will never be forgotten, 
neither their deaths nor the principles for which they stood. We 
remember those who were too weak to defend themselves, who were 
brutally slaughtered in death camps. We remember those like Anne Frank 
who battled to preserve their humanity in their own unique way. We 
remember those who fought back, like the brave men and women who rose 
up against the Nazis in the Warsaw ghetto 60 years ago.

[[Page E644]]

  Yet, nearly 6 decades after the Holocaust concluded, Anti-Semitism 
still exists as the scourge of the world. The Anti-Defamation League 
has found that in 2003 more than 1500 Anti-Semitic incidents occurred 
in the United States alone. Holocaust museums were the victims of arson 
and community centers defaced with swastikas. Tombs of Jews around the 
world, from Argentina to France, have been damaged and disgraced. For 
years we have spoken about this unacceptable situation, but we must 
reinforce our words with actions. As George Washington wrote in a 
letter to the Jewish Community of Newport, Rhode Island 204 years ago, 
the Government of the United States must always give ``to bigotry no 
sanction.''
  As it did 60 years ago, the best of humanity must not stand silent 
but respond. Too small is our world to allow discrimination, bigotry 
and intolerance to thrive in any corner of it, let alone in the United 
States of America. Let this day of memorial strengthen our resolve to 
ensure that tolerance and coexistence will never be defeated by those 
who wish us harm.

                          ____________________