[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 172 (Wednesday, November 20, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H6133-H6135]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CONDEMNING THE GLOBAL RISE OF ANTISEMITISM AND CALLING UPON COUNTRIES
AND INTERNATIONAL BODIES TO COUNTER ANTISEMITISM
Mr. MOYLAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the
resolution (H. Res. 1449) condemning the global rise of antisemitism
and calling upon countries and international bodies to counter
antisemitism.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 1449
Whereas antisemitism is a threat to the fundamental
freedoms, rights, security, and diversity of all citizens,
societies, and countries;
Whereas there has been an increase of antisemitic rhetoric
and acts in many countries around the world;
Whereas, in the months since the October 7, 2023, Hamas
terrorist attack against Israel, Jewish communities around
the world have experienced a significant increase in
antisemitic threats;
Whereas, in the Berlin Declaration of April 29, 2004,
participating states of the Organization for Security and co-
operation in Europe condemned antisemitism and committed to
take specific actions to combat it;
Whereas, in 2016, the 31 member states of the International
Holocaust Remembrance Alliance adopted a legally nonbinding
``working definition'' of antisemitism, an important
internationally recognized tool to increase understanding of
antisemitism;
Whereas, on May 25, 2023, the White House issued the United
States National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, making
clear that the fight against antisemitism is a national,
bipartisan priority that must be successfully conducted
through a whole-of-government-and-society approach;
Whereas, on July 17, 2024, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the
United States and partners unveiled the Global Guidelines for
Countering Antisemitism;
Whereas the Global Guidelines constitute a multilateral
framework encompassing 12 areas of public policy, including:
Jewish community protection, the need for leaders to speak
out against antisemitism, uniform collection of data about
antisemitism, and education of the Holocaust and Jewish
heritage;
Whereas the Global Guidelines include policies to monitor
and combat antisemitism that can be implemented and adapted
to a wide variety of national, regional, and cultural
contexts; and
Whereas more than 40 states and international bodies have
endorsed the Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) condemns the rise of antisemitism in countries around
the world;
(2) welcomes the Global Guidelines for Countering
Antisemitism unveiled by the United States and partners in
Buenos Aires, Argentina, on July 17, 2024;
(3) calls upon states and international bodies to take
action to counter antisemitism, including by endorsing and
embracing the Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism;
and
(4) encourages greater action and international cooperation
to counter antisemitism.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Guam (Mr. Moylan) and the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Manning)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Guam.
General Leave
Mr. MOYLAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous materials on this measure.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Guam?
There was no objection.
Mr. MOYLAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, 2 weeks ago, coordinated mobs roamed the streets of
Amsterdam, attacking Israelis in town for a soccer match, in a
chilling, premeditated assault. Dozens of people were injured, and
scores were running and hiding in fear.
The anti-Semitic, anti-Israel attack is the latest terrifying
development in a global spike in anti-Semitic, anti-Israel vitriol
since October 7. We have seen it here in the United States on our
college campuses, at local synagogues, and even a few miles from us in
the Nation's Capital, where a kosher restaurant had its windows smashed
earlier this month.
The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights documented a 400
percent increase in anti-Semitic activity since Hamas' October 7, 2023,
assault on
[[Page H6134]]
Israel. The European Union also found that 96 percent of Jews
encountered anti-Semitism in their daily lives.
Countering anti-Semitism needs to be a top priority at home and
abroad. We need to be honest with ourselves and recognize that it is
happening and that our solutions so far have been insufficient to stop
this rising tide of hate.
We need to work with our partners to respond quickly and effectively
to protect Jewish people in our countries and communities from
violence. This is why we are considering Representative Manning and
Representative Smith's bipartisan resolution condemning the global rise
of anti-Semitism and calling upon countries to counter anti-Semitism.
For decades, when we talked about the Holocaust, the world said:
``Never again.''
The events of last week in Amsterdam and around the globe in the last
year prove that we have failed Jews around the world. We failed to
recognize the potency of this hate, and we have failed to keep them
safe.
This resolution is our demonstration of our intent to remedy this
problem and to live up to our promise.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to continue to support H. Res.
1449, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. MANNING. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to rise in strong support of H.
Res. 1449, a bipartisan House resolution I introduced with my dear
friend, Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey, supporting global
efforts to counter anti-Semitism.
It has been an honor to serve alongside Representative Smith as a co-
chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism.
I thank House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman McCaul and Ranking
Member Greg Meeks for their leadership and support in advancing this
important measure through committee and to the House floor.
Mr. Speaker, we know that anti-Semitism is on the rise around the
world. We know what a threat this is not just to the Jewish community
but also to democracies around the world and to the very fabric of our
own societies.
Today, not even 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, anti-
Semitism has grown, taken on new forms, and spread to more parts of the
world. As we have seen since the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7,
2023, the single deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, anti-
Semitism around the world has skyrocketed.
That explosion of anti-Semitism started on October 8, long before the
IDF went into Gaza. In fact, it started while Hamas terrorists were
still in Israel, attacking innocent civilians.
We saw shocking anti-Semitism rear its ugly head in Amsterdam earlier
this month, where a violent mob planned a coordinated attack on Jews
who attended a soccer match with an Israeli soccer team. It is deeply
chilling that this attack happened around the 86th anniversary of
Kristallnacht, and as the specter of violence against Jews in Europe
rises again. It is equally chilling that the perpetrators of that
violence live streamed their atrocities.
Here in the United States, FBI data shows that anti-Jewish hate
crimes increased in 2023 by nearly 63 percent from 2022, totaling the
highest number recorded in almost three decades. We are talking about
violence, destruction, and the murder of Jews in this country simply
because they are Jews.
Jewish Americans make up only 2 percent of the U.S. population, yet
anti-Semitic hate crimes account for more than 15 percent of all hate
crimes reported by the FBI and two-thirds of all religious-based hate
crimes.
Even though we face a significant global challenge, we must not
despair. We must take action. We must continue to make progress in the
fight against anti-Semitism through resolutions like this one.
In 2004, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the
OSCE, acknowledged that anti-Semitism assumed new forms and posed a new
threat to security and stability in the region.
In 2016, the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance built
international consensus around a valuable working definition of anti-
Semitism.
In recent years, many countries around the world have appointed
special envoys or coordinators or advanced national strategies to deal
with the rise of hate against Jews.
In 2021, Congress passed--and President Trump signed into law--
bipartisan, bicameral legislation to elevate the position of U.S.
Special Envoy to the rank of ambassador.
In 2023, the Biden administration issued the first-ever ``U.S.
National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism.'' This July, in Buenos
Aires, Argentina, Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt unveiled the Global
Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism, a new landmark international
framework for acting against anti-Semitism, which countries around the
world can sign on to and embrace.
{time} 1345
I commend my good friend, Ambassador Lipstadt, and her team at the
State Department for their excellent work on these guidelines. We now
have a multilateral international framework that can provide guidance
to other governments and to our own embassies about our shared
obligation and responsibility to counter anti-Semitism.
This includes clearly and unequivocally condemning anti-Semitism,
providing physical protection and security for Jewish communities,
enforcing hate crimes laws, and educating future generations about the
Holocaust and the long history of conspiracy theories and hate
targeting Jews.
I am pleased that more than 40 countries and international bodies
have already endorsed these guidelines, and we are working hard to make
sure that more countries in different regions join them in the coming
months.
H. Res. 1449 condemns the rise of anti-Semitism in many countries
around the world, expresses our support for the global guidelines and
other international efforts to counter anti-Semitism, and it calls on
more countries around the world to endorse and embrace these
guidelines.
I thank our colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their support.
What we are doing today is just the start, but we must do more. I
deeply appreciate the leadership on both sides of the aisle and the
commitment to this issue.
Before coming to Congress, I was fortunate to be involved in efforts
to protect Jewish communities around the world for decades. Working
together to make real progress in this fight, and on an issue where we
can find agreement, has been a real highlight in my career and my time
in Congress.
Mr. Speaker, anti-Semitism is wrong. It is dangerous. It deserves to
be condemned, countered, and eradicated by all governments around the
world. That is the purpose of our bipartisan resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting this
bipartisan measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MOYLAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Smith), the chair of the Subcommittee on Global Health,
Global Human Rights and International Organizations.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank Michael McCaul, our
chairman, for very quickly bringing this important resolution to the
floor along with the great support of Gregory Meeks, the ranking
member.
I especially thank Kathy Manning for authoring this extraordinarily
timely resolution condemning the despicable rise of anti-Semitism
around the world and calling on our international organizations and
countries to embrace the global guidelines for countering anti-
Semitism.
Kathy has done a wonderful job. It has been a privilege to serve with
her as co-chair of the House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-
Semitism. This resolution says it all. I thank her for doing it and
doing it so well.
I want to make a few points. One, the spiritual cancer of anti-
Semitism is metastasizing, not only in our country, but in many
countries as well, at a rate that is both shocking and sickening. The
evidence of it is everywhere, including in our college campuses and
university campuses--and just not Harvard and NYU. In my own State at
Rutgers University, I was there when people were camping out, and I was
accosted verbally by some people. The hatred was just pouring out of
their lips and their eyes. The hatred for Jews is unconscionable.
[[Page H6135]]
Of course, one of the most recent horrors, as was pointed out, was
the Amsterdam pogrom earlier this month, the horrific mob assault on
Israeli soccer fans.
It was repulsive on at least two levels. First, the brutal evil of
the attackers themselves, but also the so-called respectable opinion-
makers who just said: Oh, they shifted the blame. This is all about
anti-immigrant sentiment or prejudice and even Israel.
Natan Sharansky is one of the greatest human rights individuals who
has ever lived. I had him testify at two hearings. I tried to visit him
and actually was in Perm Camp 35 in the 1980s where the Soviet Union
had housed him. Frank Wolf and I went there.
When he got out, he came and testified, and he said: You know, if you
don't chronicle the hatred--and that is included in these global
guidelines--you can't combat it. It must be defined very clearly,
especially by law enforcement, so it is not just brushed off as
hooliganism or other kinds of things. You need to define it, and to do
so with specificity.
He also talked about the three Ds that we are seeing manifesting vis-
a-vis Israel every day of the week, and that is demonization, double
standard, delegitimization, those three Ds. He talked about that and
said that is a cover for anti-Semitism. Disagree with Knesset all you
want or with Netanyahu, but once you lower yourselves into those--we
see it at the U.N. every day.
I chaired four hearings this Congress alone, more than three dozen
over the years, combating anti-Semitism about how the U.N. is rife--
including the U.N. Human Rights Council--with anti-Semitism. It is just
unbelievable how bad it is.
UNRWA is filled, overflowing with Hamas sympathizers and Hamas
activists who teach children each day of the week to hate Jews and to
kill. Just read the Hamas charter. It says: If you see a Jew behind a
rock, kill him or her. That is what is being funded by the U.S.
Government and funded--not right this minute--but it has been funded in
the recent past. We should never do it again.
Let me also say that the guidelines--and I encourage every Member to
read them--are very simple. They parallel the OSCE Conference that was
held in 2002 and then the Berlin Conference in 2004. The idea of the
conference came out of a hearing I chaired in 2002. I recommended it,
and the OSCE took it up. The Bush administration took it up, and that
conference had the Berlin Declaration in 2004. Rabbi Baker from the AJC
did a masterful job--and a few others, but especially him--in
wordsmithing a tremendous action plan. Of course, these global
guidelines certainly parallel that--and as mentioned, certainly
Ambassador Lipstadt.
Just for the record, I authored that legislation. We got it passed
here in a bipartisan way, and it took months, years for the U.S. Senate
to take it up. They finally did and the Ambassador at Large of the
Special Envoy, Ambassador Lipstadt, is doing a magnificent job.
Silence is not an option. We know it. In the fight against anti-
Semitism we need government at all levels to denounce, chronicle, and
prosecute where these thoughts matriculate into evil deeds.
We know that if you just stand by idly, you are enabling. You need to
call it out. This is a very fine resolution, and I thank Ms. Manning
for authoring it. It calls out this anti-Semitism and says stop it.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Ms. MANNING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume
for the purposes of closing.
Mr. Speaker, once again, I thank my dear friend and colleague,
Representative Chris Smith, for not just his work, but his passion on
this critically important issue and his work for many, many years to
combat anti-Semitism. I greatly value our friendship.
Mr. Speaker, throughout history, the persecution, expulsion, torture,
and murder of Jews has not just destroyed Jews and their vibrant
communities, it has brought decay and destruction to the countries that
have committed those atrocities.
Sadly, we are seeing that happen today, even as we see Jews being
blamed for their own destruction by their evil perpetrators. We must
learn from history.
Mr. Speaker, this resolution condemns the frightening rise of anti-
Semitism we are seeing today across the world in civilized communities.
This resolution calls on countries around the globe to take specific
actions to combat anti-Semitism by endorsing and embracing the landmark
Global Guidelines for Countering Anti-Semitism.
Throughout history, as Jews were persecuted and tormented and
expelled and murdered, those acts were perpetrated, fermented, and
allowed by governments. Today, we have a different scenario because
here in the United States, our government is standing firm against
anti-Semitism and joining in the fight to combat anti-Semitism.
With these guidelines, we ask countries around the globe, we ask
their governments, to join us in combating this horrific rise of anti-
Semitism.
Once again, I thank my Republican cosponsor, Chris Smith, for his
leadership and for his bipartisan cooperation. I thank all of the
leadership and my colleagues on the Foreign Affairs Committee, as well
as the leadership in Congress for bringing this resolution so swiftly
to the House floor for a vote.
Now, more than ever, the United States and countries around the world
must stand strong and must stand together in the fight against anti-
Semitism and all forms of hatred. I urge my colleagues to stand up and
stand with me in supporting H. Res. 1449.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. MOYLAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues, Ms. Manning and Mr. Smith, for
this important, timely, and bipartisan resolution. It is critically
important that we speak with one voice in countering anti-Semitism.
We have been fighting against this hatred for centuries. We can only
make progress if we work together.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 1449, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Guam (Mr. Moylan) that the House suspend the rules and
agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1449.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Ms. MANNING. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
____________________