[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 99 (Tuesday, June 10, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H2575-H2576]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             ANTI-SEMITISM

  (Ms. Hoyle of Oregon was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Ms. HOYLE of OREGON. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to speak about issues 
of great importance and concern to me and my constituents that are of 
utmost importance not just for national security but for the soul of 
our country.

[[Page H2576]]

  Anti-Semitism is taking an unpredictable variety of forms and has 
deepened anxieties among many American Jews, and it has contributed to 
a sense that simply existing in public as a Jewish person is 
increasingly dangerous.
  The number of anti-Semitic episodes in the United States in 2023, in 
the wake of the Hamas attack on Israel, was the highest ever recorded 
in a 1-year period, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
  Dangerous words turn into dangerous actions, and Jewish communities 
simply do not feel safe or supported.
  Two things can be true at the same time. The suffering in Gaza is 
absolutely horrific. The stories of the children in Gaza are the 
stories I grew up hearing because this is the history of my family, 
which is why I cannot be silent in the face of children and families 
being starved.
  My family fled to this country in what here is known as the Potato 
Famine, but in Ireland is known as ``An Gorta Mor,'' which is ``The 
Great Hunger.'' There was plenty of food. It was a policy choice to 
starve the Irish.
  This is what is happening in Gaza. Keeping food and medicine from 
women and children and elders is just wrong. Not for nothing, nobody 
starts a revolution on a full stomach.
  Tens of thousands of civilians, mothers, children, and grandparents, 
have been killed or displaced. Entire neighborhoods have been reduced 
to rubble. Hospitals, schools, and places of worship lie in ruin.
  The American people are watching in horror.
  Let me be absolutely clear. Hamas' brutal October 7 attack was an 
atrocity. I condemn it fully and unequivocally. No cause justifies the 
murder of innocent people or the taking of hostages.
  Israel has the right to defend itself, but what we are seeing now is 
not defense. It is devastation. Tens of thousands of Palestinians are 
dead, the majority of which are women and children.
  This is not security. It is not peace. It is collective punishment, 
and it violates international law.

  At the same time, I will say just as clearly, there is no place for 
anti-Semitism anywhere, ever, not in our communities, not in our 
political discourse, not in our movement for peace. We can and must 
condemn the horrors of war without feeding hatred. We can mourn 
Palestinian lives without denying the trauma of the Jewish people. 
Holding the Jewish community responsible for the actions of the Israeli 
government is anti-Semitic.
  However, it is not anti-Semitic to speak out against what is 
happening in Gaza, and the U.S. is complicit in keeping food, water, 
and medicine from a starving and traumatized people.
  The United States has a moral obligation to stand up for human 
rights, for international law, and for peace. That means we must press 
for an immediate and lasting ceasefire. We must demand the release of 
all hostages.
  This isn't about choosing sides. It is about choosing a future where 
Israelis and Palestinians can live in safety, dignity, and peace.
  I have heard from thousands of my constituents: Jewish, Muslim, 
Christian, and secular, who are begging for us to lead with compassion 
and courage. This is a moral crossroads for our Nation, and history 
will remember whether we met the moment or shrank from it.
  Mr. Speaker, let's work to end this war, bring the hostages home, end 
Hamas' reign of terror, and build a future where no parent, Israeli or 
Palestinian, has to bury a child because we failed to act.

                          ____________________