[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 172 (Thursday, October 19, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S5113]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    SENATE RESOLUTION 418--CONDEMNING HAMAS AND ANTISEMITIC STUDENT 
          ACTIVITIES ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES IN THE UNITED STATES

  Mr. HAWLEY (for himself, Mr. Scott of Florida, Mrs. Blackburn, and 
Mr. Budd) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 418

       Whereas, on October 7, 2023, the terrorist organization 
     Hamas invaded Israel, massacred at least 1,400 Israeli 
     civilians, wounded more than 3,700 civilians, and took 
     unarmed civilians as hostages;
       Whereas at least 30 United States citizens have been 
     killed, and at least 13 United States citizens are still 
     missing;
       Whereas Hamas has perpetrated barbaric atrocities, 
     including the targeted killing, rape, and mutilation of 
     civilian men, women, and children, including infants;
       Whereas, in the wake of such horrific attacks, students at 
     universities in the United States have praised and justified 
     the actions of Hamas, expressed solidarity with the 
     terrorists, and vocally supported the atrocities of Hamas, 
     including the murder of children;
       Whereas students at Harvard University wrote that they 
     ``hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all 
     unfolding violence'';
       Whereas the President of the Student Bar Association of New 
     York University School of Law wrote ``to express, first and 
     foremost, my unwavering and absolute solidarity with 
     Palestinians in their resistance against oppression toward 
     liberation and self-determination. Israel bears full 
     responsibility for this tremendous loss of life'';
       Whereas students at the Ohio State University praised ``our 
     heroic resistance in Gaza who have shown the world yet again 
     that the spirit of the Palestinian people cannot and will not 
     be trampled, and that our resistance to Zionism and Western 
     imperialism remains strong'';
       Whereas the University of North Carolina chapter of 
     Students for Justice in Palestine claimed ``it is our moral 
     obligation to be in solidarity with the dispossessed, no 
     matter the pathway to liberation they choose to take. This 
     includes violence'';
       Whereas the New York University chapter of Students for 
     Justice in Palestine rejected ``peaceful discourse'' and 
     instead claimed ``there is no peace in a colonized people 
     living under occupation, subjugation, and apartheid'';
       Whereas the University of Virginia chapter of Students for 
     Justice in Palestine declared that the mass murder of 
     civilians was ``an unprecedented feat for the 21st century'' 
     and ``a step towards a free Palestine'';
       Whereas Columbia University was forced to close its campus 
     to the public after an Israeli student was violently 
     assaulted;
       Whereas students across the country have organized protests 
     and vigils in solidarity with Hamas, praising the actions of 
     the terrorist organization and chanting antisemitic slogans; 
     and
       Whereas the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation 
     has warned of increased threats in the United States by 
     actors inspired by Hamas: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) fully and completely condemns the outrageous terrorist 
     attacks by Hamas on the people of Israel, which resulted in 
     the mass murder of civilians, including babies;
       (2) denounces the rhetoric of anti-Israel, pro-Hamas 
     student groups as antisemitic, repugnant, and morally 
     contemptible for sympathizing with genocidal violence against 
     the State of Israel and risking the physical safety of Jewish 
     Americans in the United States;
       (3) acknowledges that Israel has the right to exist and 
     defend itself;
       (4) emphasizes that Jewish Americans have the right to 
     safety and security in the United States; and
       (5) encourages the United States Government to fully and 
     completely support Israel and its right to exist and defend 
     itself.

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