[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 81 (Wednesday, May 14, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H2027-H2031]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CALLING ON ELECTED OFFICIALS AND CIVIL SOCIETY LEADERS TO COUNTER
ANTISEMITISM AND EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ON THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE JEWISH
AMERICAN COMMUNITY
Mr. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to
the resolution (H. Res. 352) calling on elected officials and civil
society leaders to counter antisemitism and educate the public on the
contributions of the Jewish American community.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 352
Whereas ``Jewish American Heritage Month'' has its origins
in 1980, when Congress enacted a Joint Resolution entitled
``joint resolution to authorize and request the President to
issue a proclamation designating April 21 through April 28,
1980, as `Jewish Heritage Week' '', approved April 24, 1980
(Public Law 96-237; 94 Stat. 338);
Whereas, on April 24, 1980, President Carter issued the
proclamation for ``Jewish Heritage Week'', and in that
proclamation, President Carter spoke about the bountiful
contributions made by the Jewish people to the culture and
history of the United States;
[[Page H2028]]
Whereas Congress has played a central role in recognizing
``Jewish American Heritage Month'' since the House of
Representatives and Senate passed resolutions in 2005 and
2006, respectively, urging the President to proclaim the
national observation of a month recognizing the Jewish-
American community;
Whereas, since 2006, Presidents Bush, Obama, Trump, and
Biden have all issued proclamations for ``Jewish American
Heritage Month'', which celebrates Jewish Americans and
encourages all people of the United States to learn more
about Jewish heritage and the contributions of Jewish people
throughout the history of the United States;
Whereas, since Hamas' deadly attack on Israel on October 7,
2023, antisemitism in the United States has reached record
highs with incidents targeting Jews and those who are
perceived as Jewish;
Whereas, according to the American Jewish Committee, 77
percent of American Jews say they feel less safe as a Jewish
person in the United States because of the October 7, 2023,
Hamas terrorist attacks;
Whereas, according to the American Jewish Committee, almost
70 percent of Jewish adults report experiencing antisemitism
online, including on social media;
Whereas, according to Hillel International, 83 percent of
Jewish college students have experienced or witnessed some
form of antisemitism since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks
on Israel;
Whereas one of the most effective ways to combat
antisemitism and hate is through education and awareness of
the contributions Jewish Americans have made to the United
States through the arts, entertainment, science and
technology, military, government, business, culinary
traditions, and other fields;
Whereas there are many Jewish American inventors that have
impacted the everyday lives of Americans for the better;
Whereas Irving Naxon invented and patented the slow cooker,
taking inspiration from Jewish cooking traditions in Europe;
Whereas Sylvan Goldman invented the shopping cart;
Whereas Evelyn Berezin invented the first true word-
processing computer and automated airline reservation system;
Whereas Ralph Baer invented the ``Brown Box'', a prototype
for the first multiplayer, multiprogram video game system;
Whereas Ruth Handler founded the toy company Mattel and
invented the Barbie doll;
Whereas Emile Berliner invented the gramophone record and
the microphone that became part of the first Bell telephone;
Whereas Edwin Land invented the Polaroid instant camera;
Whereas Hedy Lamarr invented the concept of ``frequency
hopping'' which made possible a wide range of wireless
communications technologies, including Wi-Fi, GPS, and
Bluetooth; and
Whereas, to counter the rise of antisemitism, it is
critical to increase awareness of Jewish-American
contributions to the success of America: Now, therefore, be
it:
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) calls on elected officials, faith leaders, and civil
society leaders to condemn and counter all acts of
antisemitism;
(2) calls on the executive branch and State and local
leaders to educate the public on the contributions of the
Jewish-American community and uplift Jewish stories and
voices; and
(3) takes all possible steps to ensure the safety,
security, and dignity of American Jews in all aspects of
their lives, including the workplace, college and university
campuses, synagogues, and at home.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Kansas (Mr. Schmidt) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Raskin) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kansas.
General Leave
Mr. SCHMIDT. 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 material on H. Res. 352.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Kansas?
There was no objection.
Mr. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, this month, we celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month.
First proclaimed by President George W. Bush and by each President
since, this month recognizes the contributions of the Jewish community
to our country. We celebrate this month amidst a persistent increase in
anti-Semitism in our country.
Since the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas on Israel, incidents of
anti-Semitic attacks and harassment have skyrocketed. The American
Jewish Committee found that 77 percent of American Jews say they feel
less safe in the United States since the October 7 attacks. Hillel
International found that 83 percent of Jewish college students have
experienced or witnessed some form of anti-Semitism since the October 7
attacks.
In April, Harvard released a report examining anti-Semitism on its
campus with stark findings. One Israeli student said: ``My friend has
been told that others would not attend social gatherings if I was
present, as they couldn't risk the social consequences of being seen
with an Israeli.''
Another student said: ``I am tired of fighting. It is the same group
of students whose sole objective seems to be to harass and intimidate
Jewish students. Despite reaching out to every office, everyone says it
is not their problem.''
Mr. Speaker, this is unacceptable. It is all of our problem, and it
cannot continue. This House, elected officials at the State and local
levels, faith leaders, community leaders, and university administrators
all have an obligation to confront anti-Semitism.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz).
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from
Maryland for yielding and for his stalwart and unyielding support for
the Jewish community, for his leadership as a member of the Jewish
community, and for his decades of work to support Jewish community
values.
I rise in strong support of my resolution, H. Res. 352, to recognize
Jewish American Heritage Month and highlight the enduring contributions
of Jewish Americans to our country.
I proudly sponsored this bill when I was a freshman Member of
Congress, and it was the first piece of legislation that I passed as a
freshman 20 years ago. I thank my co-leads, Representative Troy Carter,
Congresswoman Miller-Meeks, and Congressman Fitzpatrick, for joining me
in co-leading this resolution. It is a resolution that highlights the
enduring contributions of Jewish Americans to our country.
Every May, we come together to celebrate Jewish American Heritage
Month, also known as JAHM, and the generations of Jewish Americans who
are integral parts of the rich mosaic of people and the heritages that
make up these great United States.
While we joyfully celebrate this month, it is the second JAHM that we
commemorate under the shadow of Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel. This
was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.
Since that fateful day, the United States has witnessed a historic
rise in anti-Semitism, which was already explosive prior to October 7,
with an absolute explosion of online hate.
In 2024, the ADL tracked 9,354 anti-Semitic incidents across America.
That marked a 344 percent increase over the past 5 years, and it was
the highest number on record since these instances of hate were first
tracked in 1979.
It is so disheartening that every year a new record is set of anti-
Jewish incidents, but it also demonstrates that we have a lot of work
to do together.
According to the American Jewish Committee, in 2024, one-third of
American Jews had been the personal target of anti-Semitism over the
past year, and sadly, one-third of Jewish college students felt
uncomfortable or unsafe on campus due to their Jewish identity.
While we must take steps to protect Jewish students on college
campuses, we cannot allow anti-Semitism to be used as a vehicle to take
away the rights of others. Make no mistake, anti-Semitism is a canary
in the coal mine. Attacks on Jewish students in any school setting are
unacceptable, and there should be serious consequences.
By investing in policies that protect Jewish students, like fully
funding the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights to fund
investigations and hold colleges and universities--and, quite frankly,
schools across the country and secondary schools--tolerating anti-
Semitism accountable, we can support all students' ability to live and
study in places that value and respect their heritage.
While there is no simple solution to end this extremist hate, we all
can take steps to end this violence.
[[Page H2029]]
In the Biden administration's national strategy to counter anti-
Semitism, the U.S.' first-ever blueprint, it called on all aspects of
society to commemorate JAHM and use it as a tool to fight hate. That is
because we need Jews and non-Jews alike to learn about all the
remarkable Jewish Americans who served in government or the military,
or who won Nobel prizes, for example, and how Jewish Americans lead
universities and make lifesaving medical discoveries that we all count
on today.
However, the significant contributions Jewish Americans have made and
continue to make toward America's success are not widely known, so
today's resolution highlights Jewish American inventors who created
services and products that all Americans rely on each and every day.
For instance, Mr. Speaker, Irving Naxon invented the slow cooker. He
took inspiration from Jewish cooking traditions in Europe to allow
Jewish communities to have fresh and hot meals on Shabbat.
Sylvan Goldman invented the shopping cart, transforming the ease with
which people are able to shop for their families.
When Hedy Lamarr, the famous and accomplished actress, was not acting
in films, she invented the concept of frequency hopping, which opened
the door to a wide range of wireless communications technologies,
including WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth.
There are a whole lot of gamers who would love that Ralph Baer
invented the Brown Box, a prototype for the first multiplayer,
multiprogram video game system.
These are just a few of the innovative contributions that American
Jews brought to all of our lives. As Jews, we have a longstanding
commitment to tikkun olam, a commitment to repair the world. We take
great pride regarding the impact we have made on so many generations of
Americans.
As we celebrate the 20th year of Jewish American Heritage Month, we
have made progress toward the goals of JAHM to educate Americans by
celebrating Jewish contributions, which promotes understanding and
reduces bigotry.
Mr. Speaker, I thank everyone on both sides of the aisle for helping
shine a light on this important moment in time, and I urge my
colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this resolution.
Mr. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers on our side, so
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I thank the gentlewoman for her eloquence and lucidity in those
remarks and for sponsoring this legislation.
I speak very strongly in favor of Ms. Wasserman Schultz's resolution,
which recognizes Jewish American Heritage Month and the important
contributions that Jewish Americans have made to our country, and I
thank her for her continuing leadership within Congress and also within
the American Jewish community.
The resolution calls on elected officials, faith leaders, and civil
society leaders to condemn and counter all acts of anti-Semitism.
I also want to salute Mr. Schmidt, the distinguished Member from
Kansas, for his powerful endorsement of this idea.
The resolution also goes on to urge the House to take ``all possible
steps to ensure the safety, security, and dignity of American Jews in
all aspects of their lives.'' We are called upon to condemn anti-
Semitism and to ensure the safety of the Jewish community, along with
everyone else. The appeal is appropriate and timely.
We have to do everything in our power to counter the poison of anti-
Semitism, racism, and other forms of bigotry, which are really the
gateway to destruction of liberal democracy in our country.
That obligation means fighting anti-Semitism, even when, perhaps
especially when, it is expressed and endorsed by officials of the
United States Government.
Last week, President Trump finally withdrew the nomination of Ed
Martin to serve as the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. Mr.
Martin's confirmation in the Senate faced many insuperable obstacles.
It was doomed.
First of all, he had no prosecutorial experience and no
administrative experience running a prosecutor's office.
Secondly, he had shown an extraordinary devotion to the extremists
who participated in the violent insurrection against the Capitol and
against Congress on January 6, 2021. He represented many of them as a
defense lawyer, but he championed the cause of a great number more in
not just legal but in political and civil contexts.
He also failed to disclose that he had appeared more than 150 times
on Russian state propaganda networks, like Russia Today and Sputnik,
when he was nominated to be the U.S. attorney for the District of
Columbia. These are networks that were forced to register as foreign
agents of Vladimir Putin's government.
The truth is that his nomination was doomed, regardless. I would say
that all of these disqualifications by themselves pale in comparison to
Mr. Martin's long and troubling relationship with a Hitler-loving neo-
Nazi named Timothy Hale-Cusanelli, who was sentenced to 4 years in
prison for breaching the Capitol during the January 6 attack.
Hale-Cusanelli is an outspoken anti-Semite who proudly wears a Hitler
mustache, advocates killing the disabled at birth, and told coworkers
that Hitler should have finished the job. At his sentencing, a Trump-
appointed Federal judge warned him that his actions and statements make
everyone, including Jewish people, less safe in our country.
How did Ed Martin, President Trump's pick for one of the most
important jobs in the American criminal justice system, react to all
the extraordinary statements and the lawless actions of Mr. Hale-
Cusanelli? He invited him to go on his podcast multiple times to spout
his fascist propaganda. He presented him with an award before a big
audience. He praised him as an extraordinary man and an extraordinary
leader.
By attending President Trump's inauguration with his good friend, he
continued to promote him in establishment political circles, and he
headlined a fundraiser together with Mr. Hale-Cusanelli in Florida last
year.
By pretending not to know that he was a vicious anti-Semite, even
after he clearly had evidence that he was, Mr. Martin continued to
legitimize and validate the views of this man.
Mr. Martin's weak protests that he didn't know anything about what
his views really were were debunked not only by National Public Radio
but by the record of Martin's involvement with other extremists.
For example, Mr. Martin has also praised Jack Posobiec, an anti-
Semitic conspiracy theorist with links to the Proud Boys, the Oath
Keepers, and several other white nationalist organizations.
Mr. Martin frequently praises Mr. Posobiec online and calls his anti-
Semitic insights valuable and incredible. Mr. Martin's own views are
saturated with deranged analogies that dilute the meaning of Nazism and
Fascism.
In one episode about the 2024 election, he compared President Joe
Biden to Adolf Hitler, which either means that Biden committed genocide
or that Hitler was just a regular old politician. In another episode
about the election, he repeated the defamatory lie that Jewish people
who vote for Democrats are somehow less Jewish than those who vote for
Donald Trump.
{time} 1500
How did President Trump treat this disturbed individual after his
nomination just collapsed across the hallway in the U.S. Senate in the
face of this mountain of evidence of his extremism? It was not by
cutting him loose, as he should have, but by appointing him to serve in
a senior role in the Department of Justice that does not require
confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
President Trump named him to be the U.S. pardon attorney, and he
named him to be director of a task force on the weaponization of
government. This was a perfect assignment, perhaps, for a man who
writes vituperative threat letters to Democrats when he hears them say
things that he doesn't like.
Mr. Speaker, it makes me wonder why President Trump would put up with
this and would insist upon placing him in a position of such critical
importance in the Department of Justice. President Trump saw very fine
people
[[Page H2030]]
on both sides of the anti-Semitic riot that took place in
Charlottesville. We know that he had Nicholas Fuentes to his house,
another neo-Nazi Holocaust revisionist.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that this is a matter of fundamental
importance, that both Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate
demand that Ed Martin not have a role in the U.S. Government, given his
close association with all of these extremists and his very damning
statements in the past, not to mention the fact that he had more than
150 appearances on Russian propaganda state networks.
We should be rejecting anti-Semitism wherever it appears: on the
left, on the right, or in the center. It doesn't matter what you call
yourself. If you align with hatred against any group, you are a danger
to American constitutional democracy, and we should not allow it to
gain a foothold in the Government of the United States of America.
Mr. Speaker, let us adhere to the spirit of President George
Washington, who said in his famous letter in 1790 to the Hebrew
Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island, that ``the Government of the
United States . . . gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no
assistance.''
If these words are to mean something in our day in the 21st century,
we must insist that men like Ed Martin and his anti-Semitic associates
and friends have no place representing the people of the United States
in our government.
We must pay more than lipservice to the idea of fighting anti-
Semitism. We must fight anti-Semitism when we see it in the Government
of the United States itself and even amongst our friends.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. Let's
put the words and the spirit of this resolution into practice.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, we have another colleague on our side who
now seeks recognition. I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Fine).
Mr. FINE. Mr. Speaker, I was not intending to speak. I had the
privilege of just standing in the Speaker's rostrum a few minutes ago
and witnessing this debate on an issue that has been important to me
ever since I got into public service. I think it is no small
coincidence as I was able to wear my kippah up there. I am not sure
whether that has happened before as a debate like this happened.
I thank Representative Wasserman Schultz for bringing this forward
and saying that we should stand together on anti-Semitism.
Mr. Speaker, I recognize that I am new, but a resolution like this
that says that people should care about these issues is not the time
for people to go and make partisan potshots about anti-Semitism. It is
not productive. It is divisive. It is not helpful, particularly in a
world where folks on our side could go through a long list and a litany
of problems on the other side of the aisle, including the people who
actually serve in this room.
This is a problem that, while I appreciate that Democrats want to
work on and while I appreciate that my colleagues on the other side of
the aisle want to help on it, I can say from personal experience that
the folks who are on my side, from President Trump on down, are
committed.
Mr. Speaker, are there bad people? Something I often say in Florida--
as my colleagues work with me, they will find this--anti-Semitism
doesn't have a monopoly on either party. Both have it. My side does,
too. Yet, where we fight together to take it on and not take shots, we
actually begin to solve the problem.
Commentary like that about President Trump is just not helpful
because I can say that I have seen it in my State where we don't have
many of the problems that we find in other parts of the country because
we have tackled these issues, largely in a bipartisan way, including
with people who serve here in Congress on the Democratic side.
Mr. Speaker, I say, moving forward, while I am grateful for the
desire and the belief to tackle anti-Semitism, there is a time and a
place for those kinds of arguments. This was not one.
I thank my colleagues for the resolution and letting us focus on the
importance of celebrating achievements that I was not aware of. I will
now share with my family where the slow cooker came from. I didn't
know. It makes sense given the kind of food that we eat at home.
Yet, I ask us as we tackle this issue to be focused on solving the
problem and not making it worse by trying to come up with things that
will divide us all.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I have not had the good fortune to meet our new
colleague from Florida, and I will be sure to come over to introduce
myself right after. I am glad the gentleman is in support of the
resolution.
The very first sentence of it says: ``The House of Representatives
calls on elected officials,'' which presumably includes us, ``faith
leaders, and civil society leaders to condemn and counter all acts of
anti-Semitism.''
If a discussion of anti-Semitism and the contributions of Jewish
Americans is not an appropriate time to talk about anti-Semitism in the
government, I wonder what is.
I would be very happy to pursue with my new colleague the subject of
Ed Martin. I don't know exactly where he stands on Ed Martin, whether
he opposed the President's withdrawal of his nomination after it came
out about his close association with a neo-Nazi.
The story behind it, if the gentleman is really interested in it, is
National Public Radio confronted him with all the evidence of Hale-
Cusanelli's Nazi statements, including: ``Hitler should have finished
the job.''
Hale-Cusanelli was also associated with statements like he was right
about disabled people and when babies are born disabled, they should be
put to death immediately, and so on.
They presented him with a complete litany of it, and Ed Martin's
response to it was that National Public Radio is a propaganda network
paid for by the government, and he had nothing of substance to say
about his good friend's, this ``extraordinary leader,'' anti-Semitic
remarks.
It seems that for some people, there is never an opportunity to
actually repudiate and denounce anti-Semitism when it actually appears.
When it came out that he did know about it, they were forced to
withdraw the nomination.
Mr. Speaker, imagine everyone's surprise when Donald Trump decided to
then make him the United States pardon attorney overseeing a large
office of people considering pardon applications from across the
country.
Is that someone that I think can be trusted to deal fairly in terms
of minority groups, such as Jewish Americans, African Americans, and
Hispanic Americans? I don't think so.
I am sorry the gentleman doesn't think it is appropriate to talk
about anti-Semitism when we see it. We just have an honest difference
of opinion about that, but if the gentleman is interested in pursuing
it some other time, I would love to discuss it with him.
I think my colleague will come to find that we use the floor of the
House of Representatives to talk about a lot of things going on. My
Republican colleague might be able to stick narrowly to one particular
topic. Good for him if that is what he would like to do, but we like to
talk about all of our legislation in context here.
This is a matter that is actually called for directly in the very
first sentence of the resolution that we are all about to approve.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the distinguished
Representative from Florida, for being such a great leader in opposing
not just anti-Semitism but all forms of racism, bigotry, and anti-
Semitism. One could say it was the original form of racism. It goes
back millennia, and it mutates and appears in different guises and
different forms and at different periods in history.
Mr. Speaker, anti-Semitism and racism are the gateway to destruction
of liberal democracy, so we need to recognize the extraordinary
accomplishments of Jewish Americans, along with
[[Page H2031]]
the extraordinary accomplishments of members of other groups, and to
fight and resist bigotry of all forms, as George Washington talked
about.
Mr. Speaker, let us continue to fight for an America that is going to
be open to the contributions of everybody, and I appreciate Ms.
Wasserman Schultz' ability to bring before us again the Jewish American
Heritage Month resolution. I am delighted to support it, and I urge all
Members of the body to vote for it.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank all of our colleagues who have engaged in this
discussion today on both sides of the aisle for their remarks. This is
an issue that, although we go off on particulars from time to time
where we strongly disagree, at its core, it is an issue where all of us
agree as Americans, regardless of our philosophy, regardless of our
faith, and regardless of our geography, that there is no space for
anti-Semitism in American public life. I come from the State of Kansas.
It was one of our favorite sons, Dwight Eisenhower, who was the Supreme
Allied Commander at the end of the Second World War who entered the
camps, saw the horrors, and ordered that videographers record what was
seen so that people would believe because Ike was sure that it was so
far beyond the pale and experience of most people what had occurred in
the camps and to the Jewish people and others during the war at the
hands of the Nazi regime that, without seeing, they would not believe.
I can actually still find those films on some of the streaming
services. I commend them to those who have an interest in seeing that
moment in history and perhaps feeling just a little piece of what those
who saw it in person understood.
Mr. Speaker, I think it is true--I know it was a few years ago--that
there are still fewer Jewish people alive today than there were at the
start of the Holocaust, that the roughly 6 million who were killed, it
has taken all this time to sort of get back numerically to that
starting line.
This is not just another issue. Nobody has done it here today, but
when we hear people out and about who will compare our current politics
to the Nazis or to Hitler, I hope we all will remind them that it is
not the same. There are moments to have vigorous debates, but it is not
the same. Perhaps when those terms are used, it cheapens a bit of the
experience that some of our fellow Americans lived through.
Mr. Speaker, I thank everybody for joining together on this. I
encourage all of our colleagues on both sides to support this
resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. McGuire). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Schmidt) that the House
suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 352.
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. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. 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.
____________________