[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 107 (Thursday, July 16, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S7637]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 CONDEMNING ALL FORMS OF ANTI-SEMITISM

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I am gratified that the Senate is poised 
to approve S. Con. Res. 11, which condemns all forms of anti-Semitism 
and reaffirms the support of Congress for the U.S. Special Envoy to 
monitor and combat anti-Semitism around the world.
  I cosponsored this resolution with Senator Collins to affirm my 
commitment to ending global anti-Semitism, bigotry, and hatred. In the 
21st century, there is no place for people or groups who would harm or 
deny rights to others based on their religion, race, gender, or ethnic 
identity. Yet anti-Semitism--spawned from centuries of hatred, 
persecution, and repeated attempts to destroy the Jewish people from 
their early days of slavery through the Inquisition, Holocaust, and 
beyond--still pervades many cultures and societies.
  In some places around the world, this deeply rooted hatred can 
quickly turn political rallies into hate crimes, with chants of ``death 
to Israel'' and expressions of support for suicide or terrorist attacks 
against Israeli or Jewish civilians all too frequent. These calls have 
often been followed by violence and vandalism against synagogues and 
Jewish institutions. Hate crimes send a powerful message because they 
affect more than the individual victims; they are meant to intimidate 
and instill fear in entire groups of people. Hate crimes create a sense 
of vulnerability and insecurity in others who may share characteristics 
with the victims. And this sense of fear is precisely the intent of 
those who commit such crimes.
  Even here in the United States, anti-Semitism frequently rears its 
ugly head, most recently in the horrific shooting attack at the U.S. 
Holocaust Memorial Museum.
  I am privileged to be chair of the Helsinki Commission and a member 
of the both the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate 
Judiciary Committee. In those capacities and as a Senator generally, I 
am afforded numerous opportunities to speak out against the scourge of 
anti-Semitism, racial bigotry, and ethnic hatred worldwide. Part of the 
battle is to publicize intolerant and hateful activities. This 
resolution is meant to shed light upon anti-Semitism, and I am grateful 
that so many of my colleagues have joined me in these efforts and on 
this resolution.

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