[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 89 (Monday, June 15, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1423]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


              CONDEMNING SHOOTING AT U.S. HOLOCAUST MUSEUM

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                               speech of

                          HON. JERROLD NADLER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 11, 2009

  Mr. NADLER of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House 
Resolution 529 and to condemn in the strongest possible terms the 
shooting yesterday at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 
Washington.
  Mr. Speaker, a just society has no place for acts of violence, and 
such acts deserve our strong condemnation. It is a terrible tragedy any 
time innocent people are terrorized or murdered, and we must always 
speak out against such senseless conduct.
  Yet the shooting at the Holocaust Memorial Museum was uniquely 
horrific, and deserving of special repudiation, for it threatened an 
entire group of people. It was the entire Jewish community which was 
the target of the deranged shooter, Mr. James Wenneker von Brunn. This 
hateful man has long held vicious anti-Semitic and white supremacist 
views, and tragically yesterday he acted on this demented outlook.
  It is all the more disgusting that Mr. von Brunn carried out his evil 
act at the Holocaust Memorial Museum. It is there that we honor the 
millions of Jews and other victims of the Nazi Holocaust. It is there 
that we educate thousands of people each day about this genocide, with 
the goal that it never be forgotten and never happen again. Committing 
an act of anti-Semitic violence at such a hallowed place is gross 
beyond words.
  Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 529 rightfully condemns the vicious 
shooting that took place yesterday at the Holocaust Memorial Museum. It 
also urges the American people to join us in condemning this horrific 
event, offers the condolences of the House of Representatives to the 
family of Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns, and reaffirms our commitment to 
further the mission of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. I 
urge all Members to support it.
  Mr. Speaker, let me close by thanking Representative Ron Klein for 
sponsoring this resolution and repeating my emphatic denunciation of 
the horrific shooting. I also want to take this opportunity to offer 
both my personal condolences to the family of Officer Johns and my 
appreciation for his heroic actions and those of the other museum 
employees.

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