[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 73 (Wednesday, May 13, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2816-S2817]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             ANTI-SEMITISM

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, last week there were celebrations all around 
the world celebrating the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.
  Here in our Nation's capital, we celebrated the day that Europe was 
officially liberated. Just outside of the Capitol, dozens of World War 
II aircraft flew up and down the Mall honoring and celebrating the end 
of the war that engulfed Europe--over the Lincoln Memorial, the 
National World War II Memorial, the Washington Monument, over the 
Capitol, and points in between.
  I grew up in a little town and I was a little boy, but I can still 
remember the war ending. I don't really remember what I remember, but I 
knew it was something that was important to everybody there. It was a 
big deal in Searchlight, as it was everyplace in America. The war was 
at an end. Americans were thankful that the war was over. They were 
thankful that their fathers, sons, brothers, and--yes, Mr. President--
World War II daughters were able to come home. They had fought 
valiantly on battlefields across the world, and they would be coming 
home--as I mentioned, the women, the WAVES, the WACs, and SPARS--all 
these women, thousands and thousands who participated in the war, for 
that manner.
  Across America we were all happy that freedom and democracy had 
prevailed over a regime that was fueled by hatred.
  I heard on the radio this morning a brief account of Winston 
Churchill. That was many years ago, 70 years ago today giving a speech. 
He had only been Prime Minister 3 days, and he gave one of his most 
famous speeches, about all he had to offer. They were engulfed in this 
war. They were doing it alone. It was a stunning speech that history 
will always remember. But after that war was over, we were happy. 
England was happy. Freedom and democracy had prevailed over a regime 
that was fueled by hatred.
  As I got older and could understand a little more, I first became 
really focused on World War II. I am sorry to say I did not do it until 
I was in college, but I remember it as if it were 5 minutes ago, 
looking at those pictures in the book ``The Rise and Fall of the Third 
Reich'' by William Shirer. Those pictures I will never ever forget. I 
can see them now in my mind's eye. In that book, there were pictures of 
the liberation of the concentration camps.
  I learned how the world learned of the enormity of the Holocaust, the 
genocide of 6 million Jews. The world saw the incredible extent to 
which the Nazis had taken their hatred of the Jews. It is hard to 
comprehend, but nothing--nothing--could adequately describe how 
horrible the situation was. Sadly, though, as I look around the world 
today, there are still glimpses of that same hate that we as a human 
race had hoped to extinguish those seven decades ago.
  It is not always on the front pages of the press or on the television 
sets, but it is still there. Hate wears many masks: violence, 
intimidation, segregation, vile rhetoric, and, of course, 
disenfranchisement. Anti-Semitism is that and more. Though it assumes 
different identities, in the end, it is still hate. It pains me to say 
there seems to be a resurgence of anti-Semitism across the world. I 
look at Israel and I see the vicious attacks carried out against 
innocent Jews there: the slaughter of Jewish worshipers in a Jerusalem 
synagogue last November; Hamas's campaign of terror, indiscriminately 
targeting innocent Israelis with their thousands and thousands of 
rockets.
  I look at Europe and see the heinous acts being perpetuated there 
against Jews. For example, in the Netherlands, the home of a prominent 
rabbi was attacked twice in one week. In Paris,

[[Page S2817]]

hundreds and hundreds of protesters attacked synagogues, smashed the 
windows of Jewish shops and cafes, and set several afire. In France, 
there was also an attack on a Jewish grocery store following the 
Charlie Hebdo shootings. Anti-Semitic slogans, such as ``Gas the Jews'' 
have been shouted at several demonstrations throughout Germany. Jewish 
museums throughout Norway were forced to close because of fear of 
attacks.
  I look at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva and am 
sickened by its long history of bias against Israel and the people of 
Israel. Then I see what is happening on some college campuses here in 
the United States, and I am shocked by the vitriol being directed at 
Jews and supporters of Israel.
  Last Sunday, the New York Times reported that in the midst of campus 
debates about boycotts of Israel, Jewish students felt increasingly 
intimidated. At several colleges, swastikas have been painted on the 
doors of Jewish fraternities and in some instances on the doors of Jews 
who were in their rooms. Some Jewish students feel the need to hide 
their heritage and support for Israel given the intense backlash. That 
is sad.
  The former president of the University of California system, Mark 
Yudof, recently was quoted as saying:

       Jewish students and their parents are intensely 
     apprehensive and insecure about this movement. I hear it all 
     the time: Where can I send my kids that will be safe for them 
     as Jews?

  That is just stunning. Bigotry and hatred have no place in the world 
today, especially not in a country that has long prided itself on being 
a beacon of freedom and acceptance. Instead, it is incumbent upon all 
Americans to not only stand up to anti-Semitism wherever we see it but 
also to stand in solidarity with the Jewish people.
  Three things: Let's stand against anti-Semitism; let's stand with 
Israel and the Jews throughout the world; and, third, let's stand 
against hate.

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