[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 3, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S3191]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Anti-Semitism

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on anti-Semitism, the attack in Colorado, 
the shooting in Washington, and the arson in Pennsylvania have one 
thing in common: The assailants have cited anti-Israel sentiment as 
justification for their violence. They have, in other words, used the 
actions of the Israeli Government they don't like to justify violence 
against Jewish Americans here at home. This is unfortunately a growing 
trend since October 7.
  As the highest ranking Jewish elected official in American history, I 
have watched with growing alarm as a poisonous ideology--ancient in its 
roots but modern in its mutations--has spread across our country. We 
are witnessing in real time the resurgence of collective blame against 
the Jewish people. If we do not confront it clearly, unequivocally, and 
together, we risk opening the door to even darker days.
  I have said that it is legitimate and not anti-Semitic to peacefully 
protest and criticize the actions of any government, including the 
Israeli Government, but there is a profound and dangerous difference 
between criticizing a government and condemning an entire people. The 
idea that Jews everywhere bear responsibility for the policies of the 
Israeli Government is not only false, it plays on one of the oldest 
forms of anti-Semitism out there: blaming the Jews collectively for the 
world's problems.
  Whether it is blaming the Jews for the death of Christ, blaming Jews 
for bringing in immigrants as part of the conspiracy theory of great 
replacement, or blaming the Jews for actions of the Israeli Government 
that one may not like, it is all the same: a pretext for hate.
  I have long warned that if we aren't careful, what starts as 
legitimate critiques against the Israeli Government can easily slip 
into something far more sinister. If disagreements are allowed to morph 
into intolerance, if intolerance is permitted to spread and linger, if 
bigoted voices are allowed to take over legitimate debates, history 
shows that the threat of violence is never too far away. I fear history 
is beginning to whisper its warnings once again.
  Our Nation has been strongest when it has stood against bigotry in 
all forms. Let us summon that strength again. The way forward is very 
clear: All Americans of good will must stand together to condemn anti-
Semitism and all forms of intolerance, no matter where it rears its 
ugly head. Let us remember what America is all about and who we are.