[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 68 (Thursday, April 26, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2472-S2473]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             ANTI-SEMITISM IN THE UNITED STATES AND EUROPE

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise today to discuss the recent rise of 
anti-

[[Page S2473]]

Semitism and racism in our communities.
  As Members of Congress, we have an enormous responsibility to take 
strong action and stand up against intolerance before it takes root in 
the next generation. It is incumbent upon all people to ensure that 
adequate tools are in place to counter the resurgence of fear and hate-
mongering--whether directed at old targets or new--that led to the 
Holocaust and other atrocities.
  America must maintain its leadership abroad, especially when it comes 
to the issues of human rights and religious freedom--the core 
foundations upon which our Nation was built. We must uphold these 
standards here at home and defend and promote them globally.
  In my role as the representative on anti-Semitism, racism, and 
intolerance for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in 
Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, I visited Paris and Copenhagen and met 
with local leaders in the aftermath of the violent, anti-Semitic 
attacks in 2015, including the Charlie Hebdo massacre. The gruesome 
murder of Holocaust survivor Mireille Knoll in Paris on March 24 is a 
grim reminder of the urgency of our task.
  In Poland, there have been no attacks recently, but there is a 
growing climate of fear. Government officials have equivocated 
regarding Polish responsibility for the World War II massacre in 
Jedwabne and the postwar pogrom in Kielce, which occurred on our 
Independence Day--July 4, 1946. The Polish President recently signed 
into law an anti-defamation bill that makes it illegal to attribute 
responsibility for or complicity during the Holocaust to the Polish 
nation or state. This law will, in fact, restrict academic freedom, 
chill free speech, and hinder teaching about the Holocaust and the 
crimes committed in occupied Poland during World War II.

  In Hungary, Viktor Orban has stoked a campaign of hatred against 
migrants and Muslims in his bid for a third term as Prime Minister. In 
the final days of his campaign and perhaps revealing some concerns for 
his margin of victory, his party has sharpened its call for a country 
that is White and Christian, escalating its anti-Semitic and anti-Roma 
rhetoric.
  Here at home, we have witnessed extremists and neo-Nazis marching in 
the streets openly carrying painful hate symbols from the 1930s. In a 
brazen public display, neo-Nazis and White supremacist groups took to 
the streets in Charlottesville, VA, last August, inciting violence that 
cost 32-year-old counter-protester Heather Heyer her life. Just this 
past weekend, another group of neo-Nazis marched in Newnan, GA, and 
burned a large swastika afterwards. Burt Colucci, a member of the 
National Socialist Movement, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that 
there was no particular reason Newnan was chosen for the rally. He 
said:

       We pick these rallies randomly. It is always preferable 
     that it is in a white town.

  How can we address these challenges and build a more tolerant, 
peaceful, and global community?
  Earlier this year, in commemoration of International Holocaust 
Remembrance Day, the Italian Government hosted the Rome International 
Conference on the Responsibility of States, Institutions and 
Individuals in the Fight against Anti-Semitism in the OSCE Area. At 
that event that convened on the 80th anniversary of the passage of 
Italy's ``racial laws,'' which discriminated against Jews and people of 
African descent, leaders from across Europe and the United States 
recommitted to address anti-Semitism in their societies--from 
collecting and reporting hate crime data to supporting education--at a 
time when few Holocaust survivors or witnesses to the atrocities of 
World War II remain.
  The OSCE also reported on its Turning Words Into Action project, 
designed to assist governments and civil societies in bolstering 
security for Jewish communities, educate our own societies on how to 
recognize and address prejudice, and build coalitions between Jewish 
and other communities.
  Yet, at this critical juncture, we have been cutting funding and 
other resources meant to bolster America's diplomatic efforts abroad. 
It is for this reason that I fought to include $1 million to combat 
global anti-Semitism in the fiscal year 2018 Omnibus appropriations 
bill recently passed by Congress. I also wrote letters urging President 
Trump and his administration to select a new special envoy to monitor 
and combat anti-Semitism. This position has been critical in working 
with governments and organizations abroad to facilitate action against 
anti-Semitism in communities around the world.
  We must all understand that a threat against one religion, race, or 
ethnicity is a threat against all religions, races, and ethnicities. 
Hatred unleashed rarely forms its own boundaries.
  In the aftermath of World War II, a Protestant pastor famously said:

       In Germany, they came first for the Communists, and I 
     didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist; and then they 
     came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I 
     wasn't a trade unionist; and then they came for the Jews, and 
     I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew; and then they came 
     for me . . . and by that time there was no one left to speak 
     up.

  History has shown time and again that the failure of governments and 
political leaders to denounce those who advance an agenda of hate and 
bigotry brings instability and violence.
  As hate crimes continue to rise in our own Nation and as the number 
of refugees around the world fleeing political violence and persecution 
reaches record highs, we must reaffirm our sense of duty and our 
commitment to preserving freedom, equality, and fundamental human 
rights for all people.
  Addressing the anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination and 
persecution takes a concerted and sustained effort from a coalition of 
governments, faith and community leaders, and global advocates to 
denounce these atrocities and promote peace and tolerance around the 
world.
  Now more than ever, we need to join together and speak up to protect 
human rights around the globe because it is in all of our interests to 
do so. We must also use tools available to us, from hate crime laws to 
capacity-building measures for civil society and governments, such as 
those offered by the OSCE.
  I will continue to stand alongside civil society and remain an 
advocate for equality and human rights, and I urge my colleagues to do 
likewise.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Fischer). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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