[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 167 (Thursday, November 21, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1745-E1747]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             GIVING THANKS FOR AMERICA'S ``FIRST FREEDOM''

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 21, 2013

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I submit for the Record remarks I delivered 
yesterday at America's Table Thanksgiving Luncheon hosted by the 
American Jewish Committee:

       I would like to begin by thanking AJC for the invitation to 
     join you at the annual ``America's Table Thanksgiving 
     Luncheon'' the theme of which is religious freedom.
       In 1620 a hearty band of Pilgrims set sail for the New 
     World in the face of tremendous peril and uncertainty such 
     that they might be able to live, act and worship according to 
     the dictates of their conscience.
       The traditional first Thanksgiving feast celebrated at 
     Plymouth was a time for the Pilgrims who had survived the 
     journey by sea and the harsh winter that followed to give 
     thanks for the bountiful harvest and recognize the hand of 
     Divine Providence that had guided them to this point.
       I read with great interest recently that this year, for the 
     first time since 1888, Thanksgiving and the first full day of 
     Hanukkah fall on the same day.
       There are of course deep thematic commonalities between the 
     two holidays--both grounded in triumph over religious 
     oppression.
       But even as we celebrate the American experience in this 
     regard, I am reminded anew that religious freedom remains an 
     elusive hope for too many. As I reflect on the privilege of 
     living in America I am cognizant of the responsibility that 
     comes with that to help those around the world who are 
     oppressed or persecuted.
       Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, ``In the end, we will 
     remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our 
     friends.'' Dr. King's statement is so poignant. In times of 
     trouble, the silence of an enemy is expected, but the silence 
     of a friend is devastating.
       I am concerned that this nation, which has always been a 
     friend to the oppressed, the marginalized and the forgotten 
     is at risk of sidelining this ``first freedom'' and failing 
     to speak out when it comes under attack.
       Arguably religious freedom has never been more under 
     assault than it is today.
       Looking to the Middle East there is often societal and 
     communal violence and repression against religious 
     communities which specifically targets religious minorities. 
     Too often the governments of these lands foster an atmosphere 
     of intolerance or in some cases such as Iran, outright 
     criminality as it relates to different faith traditions like 
     the Baha'is. Tragically, since 1979, the Iranian government 
     has killed more than 200 Baha'i leaders and dismissed over 
     10,000 from government and university jobs.
       The dangerous realities facing religious minorities have 
     been exasperated by the so-called Arab Spring--a Spring which 
     has devolved into Winter for many of the most vulnerable in 
     these societies.
       In February I travelled to the Middle East--specifically to 
     Lebanon and Egypt. One of the main purposes of the trip was 
     to spend time with the Syrian Christian community--a 
     community with ancient roots dating back to the 1st century. 
     I wanted to hear firsthand from Syrian Christians about their 
     concerns and to put this issue in the larger context of an 
     imperiled Christian community in the broader Middle East, 
     specifically in Egypt and Iraq.
       In my meetings with Coptic Christians and other minorities 
     in Egypt they spoke of being increasingly marginalized with 
     the ascendancy of the Muslim Brotherhood. While Morsi has 
     since been removed from power, the situation in Egypt today 
     remains fluid. However, this much is clear: Attacks against 
     Coptic Christians have escalated and they are feeling 
     threatened in the land they have inhabited for centuries.
       The issues I've just outlined must be viewed not simply as 
     today's news but rather through the lens of history. A phrase 
     not often heard outside the majority Muslim world is ``First 
     the Saturday people, then the Sunday people.'' The ``Saturday 
     people'' are, of course, the Jewish people.
       Except for Israel, their once vibrant communities in 
     countries throughout the region are now decimated. In 1948 
     the Jewish population of Iraq was roughly 150,000; today no 
     more than 4 remain . . . some reports indicate there may 
     actually be just one Jewish person left in Iraq. In Egypt, 
     the Jewish population was once as many as 80,000; now roughly 
     20 remain.

[[Page E1746]]

       Consider this observation by author and adjunct fellow at 
     the Center for Religious Freedom, Lela Gilbert, who recently 
     wrote in the Huffington Post: ``Between 1948 and 1970, 
     between 80,000 and 100,000 Jews were expelled from Egypt--
     their properties and funds confiscated, their passports 
     seized and destroyed. They left, stateless, with little more 
     than the shirts on their backs to show for centuries of 
     Egyptian citizenship. . . .''
       One of my last meetings in Egypt last February was with 86-
     year-old Carmen Weinstein, the president of the Jewish 
     Community of Cairo (JCC). She was born and raised in Egypt 
     and had lived her entire life there. She led a small 
     community of mostly elderly Jewish women in Cairo, who with 
     their sister community in Alexandria, represent Egypt's 
     remaining Jews.
       There are 12 synagogues left in Cairo. Some, along with a 
     landmark synagogue in Alexandria, have been refurbished by 
     the government of Egypt and/or U.S. Agency for International 
     Development (USAID) and have received protection as cultural 
     and religious landmarks--many have not.
       Further, the 900 year old Bassatine Jewish Cemetery is half 
     overrun with squatters and sewage. Ms. Weinstein sought to 
     preserve these historic landmarks as well as the patrimony 
     records of the Egyptian Jewish community.
       I am aware of the good work of AJC in establishing a fund 
     for the maintenance and preservation of Jewish cultural, 
     religious and historical landmarks, including cemeteries, in 
     Egypt.
       Not long after my return to the U.S., Ms. Weinstein passed 
     away and is now buried in the very cemetery she sought to 
     protect. Meanwhile, with the fall of Hosni Mubarak, Coptic 
     Christians, numbering roughly 8-10 million, are leaving in 
     droves in the face of increased repression, persecution and 
     violence.
       Similarly, Iraq's Christian population has fallen from as 
     many as 1.4 million in 2003 to roughly 500,000 today. There 
     are roughly 60 Christian churches in the entire country, down 
     from more than 300 as recently as 2003.
       Of course other, much smaller but no less vulnerable, 
     religious minorities have also suffered greatly in Iraq.
       Over the span of a few decades, the Middle East, with the 
     exception of Israel, has virtually been emptied of its Jewish 
     community. In my conversations with Syrian Christian 
     refugees, Lebanese Christians and Coptic Christians in Egypt, 
     a resounding theme emerged: a similar fate may await the 
     ``Sunday People.''
       While it remains to be seen whether the historic exodus of 
     Christians from the region will prove to be as dramatic as 
     what has already happened to the Jewish community, it is 
     without question devastating, as it threatens to erase 
     Christianity, and in fact Judaism in many respects, from its 
     very roots.
       Consider Iraq. With the exception of Israel, the Bible 
     contains more references to the cities, regions and nations 
     of ancient Iraq than any other country. The patriarch Abraham 
     came from a city in Iraq called Ur. Isaac's bride, Rebekah, 
     came from northwest Iraq.
       Jacob spent 20 years in Iraq, and his sons (the 12 tribes 
     of Israel) were born in northwest Iraq. A remarkable 
     spiritual revival as told in the book of Jonah occurred in 
     Nineveh. The events of the book of Esther took place in Iraq 
     as did the account of Daniel in the Lion's Den. Furthermore, 
     many of Iraq's Christians still speak Aramaic the language of 
     Jesus.
       In Egypt, some 2,000 years ago, Mary, Joseph and Jesus 
     sought refuge in this land from the murderous aims of King 
     Herod. Egypt's Coptic community traces its origins to the 
     apostle Mark. If the Middle East is effectively emptied of 
     the Christian faith, this will have grave geopolitical 
     implications.
       But rather than being met with urgency, vision or 
     creativity, our government's response has been anemic and at 
     times outright baffling especially to the communities most 
     impacted by the changing Middle East landscape.
       In conversation after conversation Coptic Christians, 
     reformers, secularist, women and others have told me that the 
     U.S. was perceived as the largest supporter of the Muslim 
     Brotherhood-led government. Further, there was a widely held 
     perception that the U.S. was either disengaged or simply 
     uninterested in advocating for religious freedom and other 
     basic human rights.
       While the situation is grim in the Middle East--it is 
     hardly an anomaly. People of faith are under assault 
     elsewhere in the world.
       The Chinese government maintains a brutal system of labor 
     camps. Common criminals languish behind bars with people of 
     faith and Nobel laureates who dare to question the regime's 
     authority. A February 2013 Christianity Today piece reported 
     that ``China's Christians felt a noticeable rise in 
     persecution in 2012 as the Communist government began the 
     first of a three-phase plan to eradicate unregistered house 
     churches, a new report says.'' Currently every one of the 
     approximately 25 underground bishops of the Catholic Church 
     is either in jail, under house arrest, under strict 
     surveillance, or in hiding.
       The government is an equal opportunity persecutor of people 
     of faith. Over the last two years, over 100 peace-loving 
     Tibetans have set themselves aflame in desperation at the 
     abuses suffered by their people.
       The government of Vietnam continues to suppress political 
     dissent and severely limit freedom of expression, 
     association, and public assembly.
       In Pakistan, Ahmadi Muslims are prohibited from voting and 
     their graves are desecrated.
       In Europe, Anti-Semitism is on the ascent.
       A November 8 New York Times article reported, ``Fear of 
     rising anti-Semitism in Europe has prompted nearly a third of 
     European Jews to consider emigration because they do not feel 
     safe in their home country, according to a detailed survey of 
     Jewish perceptions released Friday by a European Union agency 
     that monitors discrimination and other violations of basic 
     rights.'' The survey referenced was released on the 75th 
     anniversary of Kristallnacht violence against Jews in Nazi 
     Germany.
       In a piece which ran in the Miami Herald last fall, AJC's 
     Miami director poignantly wrote, ``World War II and the 
     destruction of European Jewry taught us that anti-Semitism 
     not only kills Jews, but also poisons and ultimately destroys 
     the society that harbors it. People of good will said, `Never 
     again,' instituted courses on the Holocaust, and countered 
     the image of the defenseless Jew by supporting the sovereign 
     and democratic state of Israel. Yet today, seven decades 
     after the Nazi death camps became operational, that lesson 
     seems to be already forgotten in much of Europe, where small 
     and defenseless Jewish communities face a renewed surge of 
     anti-Semitism. This Jew-hatred expresses itself in 
     xenophobic politics; physical attacks and intimidation; 
     and interference with basic elements of Jewish religious 
     practice.''
       This is troubling on a host of levels. For as history has 
     shown us, if the Jews of a country were free to practice 
     their faith, one could be reasonably confident that tolerance 
     and freedom were possible for others.
       The Jewish people have characteristically been the canaries 
     in the coal mine--litmus indicators of the state of freedom 
     for all.
       In light of these realities, it is clear that religious 
     freedom is under assault globally. Last September the Pew 
     Research Center released a startling study which found that 
     ``three-quarters of the world's approximately 7 billion 
     people live in countries with high government restrictions on 
     religion or high social hostilities involving religion, up 
     from 70% a year earlier.''
       It is clear that the United States must do more to speak 
     for those whose voices have been silenced. Frankly, the Obama 
     administration in country after country has consistently 
     sidelined human rights and religious freedom.
       In China we were told early on by Secretary of State, 
     Hillary Clinton that human rights issues in China ``can't 
     interfere with the global economic crisis, the global climate 
     change crisis, and the security crisis.''
       In Sudan the administration actively working to undermine 
     congressional attempts to isolate indicted war criminal and 
     architect of genocide, Omar Bashir. Meanwhile, this Spring, 
     the administration rewarded a notorious Sudanese government 
     official, accused of torturing enemies and seeking to block 
     U.N. peacekeepers in Darfur, with an invitation to Washington 
     for high-level meetings.
       In Vietnam, the Obama administration, like the 
     administration before it, has ignored bipartisan 
     Congressional calls to place the government on the State 
     Department's list of the most egregious religious freedom 
     violators, despite crackdowns on people of faith, preferring 
     instead a policy defined simply by trade.
       In fact the administration has failed to designate any 
     countries of particular concern, as it is required to do by 
     law, since 2011.
       The list goes on.
       Turning back again to the Middle East: I have authored 
     bipartisan legislation with Congresswoman Anna Eshoo which 
     would create a special envoy position at the State Department 
     charged with advocating for religious minorities in the 
     Middle East and South Central Asia--specifically focusing on 
     many of the countries I've mentioned here today.
       The legislation overwhelmingly passed the House earlier 
     this Fall and is languishing in the Senate in part due to 
     State Department opposition to virtually identical 
     legislation last year.
       I am under no illusions that a special envoy holds the key 
     to the survival or even thriving of these ancient faith 
     communities. But to do nothing is not an option. And that 
     seems to be precisely what this administration aims to do.
       Not only has it stood in the way of the envoy legislation, 
     key positions within the foreign policy apparatus charged 
     with prioritizing these issues have suffered extended 
     vacancies and individual political prisoner cases are rarely 
     raised in public thereby sending a clear message to tyrants 
     and oppressors the world over that there is little price to 
     pay for violating the first freedom.
       While I will continue to press for swift Senate action on 
     the special envoy legislation, I leave you with a charge.
       I am increasingly convinced that the discussion (or lack 
     thereof) among government leaders and opinion makers on this 
     issue of religious persecution, is simply a downstream 
     manifestation of what is happening in the broader culture, 
     and specifically in the faith community domestically.
       When people of faith in this country are concerned about 
     and advocate for people of faith who are besieged around the 
     world, the government tends to act.

[[Page E1747]]

       Consider the shining example of Cold War advocacy by the 
     American Jewish community which championed the plight of 
     Soviet Jewry with remarkable effect.
       Could such passion be galvanized once again?
       I'll close with the inspiring words of one of America's 
     greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln.
       Speaking to a nation torn apart by bloody civil war, he 
     still saw the importance of giving thanks, and in 1863 set 
     apart the last Thursday of November for such a celebration 
     declaring:
       ``We are prone to forget the Source from which [the 
     blessings of fruitful years and healthful skies] come. . . . 
     No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked 
     out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the 
     Most High God. . . .''
       While each of us may hail from varied backgrounds and 
     beliefs, we know as Americans that religious freedom is our 
     birthright--a gracious gift of the Most High God not to be 
     denied by any man or government.
       As we gather today and later next week with family and 
     friends let us pause for a moment and give thanks for our 
     first freedom while not forgetting those for whom this 
     gracious gift is denied.

                          ____________________