[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 99 (Wednesday, June 12, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4031-S4032]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Anti-Semitism

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I come to the floor this morning sick to 
my stomach and profoundly disturbed

[[Page S4032]]

by pictures that were shared with me this morning of yet another anti-
Semitic act in New York.
  A few hours ago, the director of the Brooklyn Museum and several 
members of the board of directors had their homes vandalized with 
revolting anti-Semitic images, with images of fake blood, symbolism 
used by Hamas. I have a picture of some of the vandalism right here 
outside the home of one of the directors.
  This is not New York. This is not America. And we must confront this 
bigotry and vicious intolerance with courage, with perseverance.
  Every single American needs to see this. This is the home of a woman 
on the board of directors. It has her name. It says ``Brooklyn 
Museum,'' and then it says ``White Supremacist Zionist.'' And her home 
is smeared with blood.
  Every single American needs to see these pictures. This is the face 
of hatred--Jewish Americans made to feel unsafe in their own home just 
because they are Jewish.
  This is not even close to free speech. It is intimidation. It is 
scapegoating. It is dehumanization--invasive attacks loaded with the 
threat of looming violence. It is vile. It is nasty. It is un-American.
  And, sadly, this kind of evil is something every Jew on Earth can 
recognize in an instant. Images like this remind us of evils our 
families endured for generations, evils that paved the way for 
unimaginable violence.
  I cannot believe we are seeing this here in America, here in New 
York. Targeting someone for simply being Jewish, smearing their front 
door with fake blood, and calling them White supremacist is beyond the 
pale. Vandalism like this is a crime and should be prosecuted to the 
full extent of the law.
  And it sickens me that, of all the targets these anti-Semites could 
have chosen, it was the leadership of the Brooklyn Museum. The Brooklyn 
Museum is deeply concerned with issues of social justice--I would say, 
more than most museums. Its doors are always open to all.
  I have visited the Brooklyn Museum many times with my children and my 
grandchildren. I have spoken at their great ``First Saturday'' events. 
I have even voted there.
  The best antidote for the poison of ignorance is, of course, 
knowledge, and that is precisely what we find in our museums--
knowledge.
  These images break my heart. They fill me with both deep grief and 
profound anger. I condemn the actions of those who smeared these 
hateful images of the leadership of the Brooklyn Museum. The 
perpetrators must be held accountable for this hateful vandalism. These 
hateful actions--make no mistake about it--do nothing, nothing at all, 
to advance the cause these individuals profess to care about.
  Again, this is not New York. This is not America. And we must 
confront this intolerance and bigotry with courage, with perseverance, 
and with common cause with all those who wish to promote tolerance and 
acceptance here in America.
  I yield the floor.

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