[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 187 (Tuesday, December 17, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H7237-H7238]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




GRAVE CONCERNS ABOUT THE RISING TREND OF ANTI-SEMITISM AROUND THE WORLD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
North Carolina (Ms. Manning) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. MANNING. Madam Speaker, today, I rise with grave concerns about 
the disturbing rise of anti-Semitism, both here at home and around the 
world.
  Since Hamas' brutal attack on our democratic ally, Israel, on October 
7, 2023, the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, anti-Semitism 
has soared to dangerous new heights.
  We have witnessed it online, in our schools, at hospitals, at 
professional associations, at art exhibits, and in communities across 
the country where Jewish individuals and institutions have been 
targeted with hate and violence.
  This recent surge, while shocking, should not blind us to the fact 
that anti-Semitic sentiments have been festering and intensifying for 
years. We have seen this hatred manifest in alarming ways from the neo-
Nazi chants on the streets of Charlottesville to the horrific attack at 
the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, where 11 American Jews were 
murdered during Shabbat services.
  Just this morning, a synagogue in Minneapolis was defaced with 
swastikas. These incidents are a stark reminder that the Jewish 
community is facing a relentless wave of anti-Semitic vitriol. We know 
anti-Semitism is not new. It is an ancient, shape-shifting conspiracy 
theory that has endured throughout history, adapting and taking on new 
forms across the centuries and blaming the Jews for whatever ills a 
society experiences.
  It is a deep-seated prejudice that has caused unimaginable suffering, 
whether during the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the expulsion of 
Jews from England and France, or the violent pogroms in Russia, which 
brought my family here.
  Of course, there is the Holocaust, a tragic and incomprehensible 
period in which 6 million Jews, including over 1 million children, were 
systematically murdered.
  Despite the unspeakable horrors committed during the Holocaust, this 
hatred has not disappeared. It has adapted, it has spread, and it 
continues to poison societies to this very day.
  History has shown us a painful truth. When we allow anti-Semitism and 
Jew hatred to spread unchecked, it becomes a profound threat, not only 
to the Jewish community, but to the very foundations of democracy 
itself.
  Anti-Semitism is a poison that corrodes societies from within. It is 
not merely a threat to the Jewish people; it is a threat to all 
minority groups, to the vulnerable, to the values of tolerance, 
equality, and justice that underpin our democratic institutions.
  However, unlike in the past when governments themselves promoted, 
sponsored, and weaponized anti-Semitism to fuel discrimination and 
violence against the Jews, that is not the case today. Today, our 
government is engaged in the fight against anti-Semitism.
  Indeed, in the United States, we understand that we have the power, 
the responsibility, and the moral obligation to take a stand against 
anti-Semitism.
  That is why in response to this rising tide of hatred, I have 
introduced the Countering Antisemitism Act, the most comprehensive 
anti-Semitism legislation in the history of our country.
  This bipartisan, bicameral legislation with more than 60 cosponsors 
would codify portions of President Biden's national strategy to counter 
anti-Semitism. It would establish the first-ever national coordinator 
to counter anti-Semitism. It would also require law enforcement to 
ensure robust threat assessment reporting, enhance education about the 
history of anti-Semitism, and appoint a senior official within the 
Department of Education to counter anti-Semitism on college campuses 
and in K-12 schools.
  Come January, we will have a new administration and a new Congress, 
yet this issue is not going away. That is why I am calling on my 
colleagues to join me in taking a firm stand against rising anti-
Semitism. Each of us in this body has a responsibility to ensure that 
the horrors of the past are never repeated.
  This Congress must send a powerful message that there is no room in 
this

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country for anti-Semitism or any kind of hatred. I ask my colleagues to 
continue this work after my time in Congress comes to an end.
  While we may never eradicate anti-Semitism, we must make it clear 
that anti-Semitism and all forms of discrimination are unacceptable and 
can never be normalized in this great country, the United States of 
America.

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