[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 46 (Tuesday, April 25, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S3513]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself and Mr. DeWine):
  S. 2651. A bill to authorize the Secretary of Education to make 
grants to educational organizations to carry out educational programs 
about the Holocaust; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the ``Simon 
Wiesenthal Holocaust Education Assistance Act.'' This important 
legislation would provide competitive grants for educational 
organizations to make Holocaust education more accessible and available 
throughout this Nation.
  And I would like to thank my colleague Senator DeWine for 
cosponsoring this legislation and my former colleague in the House, 
Congresswoman Maloney, for her leadership on this issue.
  This legislation could not come at a more important and solemn day in 
our lives. Today is Yom Hashoah, a day when we commemorate the 
approximately six million men, women and children of Jewish faith, as 
well as millions of others who were persecuted and murdered 65 years 
ago in a systematic, state sponsored genocide. Today, we also honor 
those who stood up against the genocide and risked their own lives to 
save others.
  Today we stand in solidarity with Israel and the Jewish faith, and 
with all people throughout the world, in remembering these tragic 
events.
  And today we honor Simon Wiesenthal who dedicated his life to making 
sure that those who perpetrated the horrors of the Holocaust were 
brought to justice.
  Sixty-five years may seem like a lifetime away, and generations may 
have been raised thinking that the Holocaust, and events like it, is 
from a distant past. But let me be clear--these events are not so 
distant and are not in the past. In fact, they are in our present.
  Just recently, Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hatefully and 
outrageously declared the Holocaust a ``myth'' and Israel a ``fake 
regime'' which ``cannot continue to live.''
  And just two months ago, an anti-Semitic gang that calls themselves 
``the Barbarians'' tortured 23-year-old Ilan Halimi, a young Jewish 
man, for three weeks before leaving him for dead near a train station 
in Paris.
  It is these events that make us aware of the destructive messages of 
hate and violence that arise from Holocaust denial. It is these events 
that show us the importance of Holocaust education, abroad and in our 
own Nation.
  For although some States now require the Holocaust to be taught in 
public schools, this legislation goes further and makes grants 
available to organizations that teach students, teachers, and 
communities the dangers of hate and the importance of tolerance in our 
society. This legislation would give educators the appropriate 
resources and training to teach accurate historical information about 
the Holocaust and convey the lessons that the Holocaust provides for 
all people.
  We must recognize that by remembering the millions who were murdered 
in the Holocaust, we create a sense of responsibility to stop genocide 
wherever it takes place. But we must also remember that hate crimes and 
genocide could, and are still, happening today.
  We are reminded, through the deplorable comments made by Iranian 
President Ahmadinejad against Israel and through the murder of young 
Ilan Halimi in France that anti-Semitism still exists even 65 years 
after the Holocaust. The awful acts of murder and rape in Darfur are a 
horrific example of genocide in the 21st century.
  And those who believe that anti-Semitism is an attack that need not 
be answered by those who are not Jewish do not recognize the 
consequences of history. In fact, an attack against anyone simply 
because of race or religion is ultimately the beginning of the 
unraveling of civilization. It is in our common interest to raise our 
voices against anti-Semitism and against all hatred and discrimination.
  We must fight the chorus of anti-Semitism and fight the fear and the 
hate. As a Nation proud of our diverse heritage, we must, each of us, 
take a stand. With our words, but most importantly with our actions, we 
will turn the tide against this new wave of anti-Semitism. And funding 
accurate educational programs on the Holocaust is a step toward winning 
this battle.
  In the words of Samantha Power, a renowned expert on genocide, ``the 
sharpest challenge to the world of bystanders is posed by those who 
have refused to remain silent in the age of genocide.''
  So today, the United States of America stands with Israel and all 
followers of the Jewish faith in commemorating Yom Hashoah, and 
condemning all anti-Semitism and hatred. And I am proud to join in the 
stand against anti-Semitism here and around the world.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
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