[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 18502-18507]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               CONTINUING THE FIGHT AGAINST ANTI-SEMITISM

  Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, I rise today to call attention to the 
disturbing rise in anti-Semitism that the world has witnessed during 
the last several years. I believe it is important that Senator Frist, 
Senator Santorum and others have come together to highlight the urgent 
need to take action to combat this serious problem.
  As a public official and private citizen, I have had the opportunity 
to visit the State of Israel on six separate occasions. I will never 
forget the time that I spent at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem in 1980, and on 
several other visits. Nor will the images that I saw at the Diaspora 
Museum in Tel Aviv ever leave my mind. Those experiences truly brought 
home to me the horrors of the Holocaust, and the role that anti-
Semitism played in leading to the Holocaust. I vowed that I would do 
everything in my power to prevent this from ever happening again. Quite 
frankly, as I have said before, this is something that I never thought 
I would see again in my lifetime.
  In May 2002, following a disturbing number of anti-Semitic incidents 
in Europe, I joined members of the Helsinki Commission in a hearing to 
examine the rise of anti-Semitic violence in Europe. I was shocked by 
the reports that I heard. Today, the news is equally as disturbing. 
Even during the last month, we have seen numerous acts of anti-
Semitism, which some of my colleagues will be referencing today. I will 
also name a few:
  In Paris, France, on August 14, 2004, anti-Semitic graffiti, 
including a sign saying ``death to Jews'' and a swastika, was found 
scrawled on a wall on the grounds of Notre Dame Cathedral;
  In Wellington, New Zealand, on August 6, 2004, a Jewish chapel was 
destroyed by fire and up to 90 Jewish headstones were pulled out of the 
ground and smashed at a cemetery, on the outskirts of the nation's 
capital;
  In Calgary, Canada over the night of August 22, 2004, vandals sprayed 
swastikas and anti-Semitic messages on a condominium complex a block 
from the Calgary Jewish Center;
  In the Czech Republic on August 10, 2004 more than 80 tombstones were 
overturned at a Jewish cemetery; and
  In Birmingham, United Kingdom, during the night of August 22, 2004, 
sixty Jewish gravestones were destroyed in a local cemetery. Community 
officials reported that stickers with the logo of a Neo-Nazi group were 
found on some of the stones.
  It is also important to stress that we are not exempt here in the 
United States. At the end of March, the Anti-Defamation League released 
a report on anti-Semitic incidents that took place in the United States 
in 2003. In total, ADL counted more than 1,500 acts of anti-Semitism 
here at home. According to their count, 25 of these incidents occurred 
in my own State.
  Last month, I met with a group of individuals in my home state to 
discuss concern with growing anti-Semitism. There was general consensus 
that this is, in fact, a problem in our own communities. Our 
conversation underscored the need to do all that we can to make the 
fight against anti-Semitism a priority in the United States, just as we 
redouble our efforts to encourage other countries to take action.
  We should recognize positive efforts underway to promote tolerance 
and understanding, both at home and abroad. I am encouraged by action 
that is taking place in Ohio to work toward this end. For instance, 
last year, community leaders in Cleveland came together to form an 
organization called ``Ishmael and Isaac.'' This program brings together 
members of Ohio's Jewish and Muslim communities in an effort to raise 
money for the medical needs of Israelis and Palestinians.
  Other efforts to promote diversity and anti-bias education are 
critical if we are to succeed in creating more accepting and tolerant 
environments in cities and towns across the country. For instance, the 
Anti-Defamation League's ``A World of Difference Institute'' provides 
hands-on training and education programs that are used to promote 
tolerance and counter messages of hate in schools and universities, as 
well as corporations and law enforcement agencies in 29 cities in the 
United States and 14 other countries. Such programs should continue, 
and they deserve our full support.
  We cannot be silent and stand on the sidelines as anti-Semitism 
festers at home and abroad. At sunset today, Jewish people across the 
world will begin the observance of Rosh Hashanah, marking the beginning 
of a New Year. It is my sincere hope that in this new year, the United 
States and members of the international community will make a renewed 
effort to stamp out anti-Semitism wherever it exists.
  In recent months, the United States has taken significant steps in 
the fight against anti-Semitism. In April, Secretary of State Colin 
Powell traveled to Berlin for a conference of the Organization for 
Security and Cooperation in Europe--OSCE--dedicated to the fight 
against anti-Semitism.
  At that conference, 55 participating states of the OSCE pledged to 
take action. During the conference, a strong declaration was agreed to, 
which outlines steps that will be taken to address anti-Semitism. Mr. 
President, I ask unanimous consent that this be printed in the 
Congressional Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

       Distinguished delegates,
       Let me sum up the proceedings of this Conference in what I 
     would like to call ``Berlin Declaration''.
       Based on consultations I conclude that OSCE participating 
     States,
       Reaffirming the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, 
     which proclaims that everyone is entitled to all the rights 
     and freedoms set forth therein, without distinction of any 
     kind, such as race, religion or other status,
       Recalling that Article 18 of the Universal Declaration on 
     Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on 
     Civil and Political Rights state that everyone has the right 
     to freedom of thought, conscience and religion,
       Recalling also the decisions of the OSCE Ministerial 
     Councils at Porto and Maastricht, as well as previous 
     decisions and documents, and committing ourselves to 
     intensify efforts to combat anti-Semitism in all its 
     manifestations and to promote and strengthen tolerance and 
     non-discrimination,
       Recognizing that anti-Semitism, following its most 
     devastating manifestation during the Holocaust, has assumed 
     new forms and expressions, which, along with other forms of 
     intolerance, pose a threat to democracy, the values of 
     civilization and, therefore, to overall security in the OSCE 
     region and beyond,
       Concerned in particular that this hostility toward Jews--as 
     individuals or collectively--on racial, social, and/or 
     religious grounds, has manifested itself in verbal and 
     physical attacks and in the desecration of synagogues and 
     cemeteries,
       1. Condemn without reserve all manifestations of anti-
     Semitism, and all other acts of intolerance, incitement, 
     harassment or violence against persons or communities based 
     on ethnic origin or religious belief, wherever they occur;
       2. Also condemn all attacks motivated by anti-Semitism or 
     by any other forms of religious or racial hatred or 
     intolerance, including attacks against synagogues and other 
     religious places, sites and shrines;
       3. Declare unambiguously that international developments or 
     political issues, including those in Israel or elsewhere in 
     the Middle East, never justify anti-Semitism;
       In addition, I note that the Maastricht Ministerial Council 
     in its Decision on Tolerance and Non-Discrimination, tasked 
     the Permanent Council ``to further discuss ways and means of 
     increasing the efforts of the OSCE and the participating 
     States for the promotion of tolerance and non-discrimination 
     in all fields.''In light of this Ministerial Decision, I 
     welcome the April 22 Permanent Council Decision on Combating 
     Anti-Semitism and, in accordance with that Decision, 
     incorporate it into this Declaration.
       1. The OSCE participating States commit to:
       Strive to ensure that their legal systems foster a safe 
     environment free from anti-Semitic harassment, violence or 
     discrimination in all fields of life;
       Promote, a appropriate, educational programmers for 
     combating anti-Semitism;
       Promote remembrance of and, as appropriate, education about 
     the tragedy of the Holocaust, and the importance of respect 
     for all ethnic and religious groups;
       Combat hate crimes, which can be fuelled by racist, 
     xenophobic and anti-Semitic Propaganda in the media and on 
     the Internet;

[[Page 18503]]

       Encourage and support international organization and NGO 
     efforts in thee areas;
       Collect and maintain reliable information and statistics 
     about anti-Semitic crimes, and other hate crimes, committed 
     within their territory, report such information periodically 
     to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and human 
     Rights (ODIHR), and make this information available to the 
     public;
       Endeavour to provide the ODIHR with the appropriate 
     resources to accomplish the tasks agreed upon in the 
     Maastricht Ministerial Decision on Tolerance and Non-
     Discrimination;
       Work with the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly to determine 
     appropriate ways to review periodically the problem of anti-
     Semitism;
       Encourage development of informal exchanges among experts 
     in appropriate fora on best practices and experiences in law 
     enforcement and education;
       2. To task the ODIHR to:
       Follow closely, in full co-operation with other OSCE 
     institutions as well as the United Nations Committee on the 
     Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UNCERD), the European 
     Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), the 
     European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) 
     and other relevant international institutions and NGOs, anti-
     Semitic incidents in the OSCE area making use of all reliable 
     information available;
       Report its findings to the Permanent Council and to the 
     Human Dimension Implementation Meeting and make these 
     findings public. These reports should also be taken into 
     account in deciding on priorities for the work of the OSCE in 
     the area of intolerance; and
       Systematically collect and disseminate information 
     throughout the OSCE area on best practices for preventing and 
     responding to anti-Semitism and, if requested, offer advice 
     to participating Stats in their efforts to fight anti-
     Semitism;
       This decision will be forwarded to he Ministerial Council 
     for endorsement at its Twelfth Meeting.

  Mr. VOINOVICH. As this document makes clear, the OSCE, through its 
Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights--ODIHR, will for the 
first time monitor and report on acts of anti-Semitism. Moreover, the 
OSCE will keep track of positive steps countries are taking to address 
the problem. This will be high on the agenda at the OSCE Ministerial 
this December, and, next spring, Spain will host a meeting to follow-up 
on the specific recommendations made at the Berlin Conference, and to 
exercise oversight of the progress ODIHR is making in complying with 
the Berlin Declaration.
  I have encouraged Secretary Powell to ensure that the United States 
not only supports these efforts, but that we do all that we can to make 
certain that the OSCE has the resources necessary to effectively do the 
job that it has been called upon to do to monitor anti-Semitism. I have 
been assured by our Ambassador to the OSCE, Stephan Minikes, that the 
United States will in fact do all that it can to support the work of 
the OSCE in this regard. Ambassador Minikes has also assured me that 
the OSCE, with the help of the United States and other member 
countries, has the funding it needs to begin this crucial work. It is 
not enough to pass Declarations and to have tables. What we need to do 
is give the organization that is supposed to get the job done, the 
money and the resources.
  While I had hoped to attend the Berlin Conference on anti-Semitism at 
the invitation of Secretary Powell, I was unable to be at this historic 
gathering due to pressing business here in the Senate. However, while 
the conference was underway, an article that I co-authored with a 
leading member in the fight against anti-Semitism in the German 
Bundestag, Professor Gert Weisskirchen, ran in the Washington Post.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that this article, entitled 
``Halting the New Hatred,'' be printed in the Congressional Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

               [From the Washington Post, Apr. 28, 2004]

                         Halting the New Hatred

       Two years ago members of Congress and the German Bundestag 
     launched a joint project that will come to fruition this week 
     in Berlin. More than 500 representatives from the 55-nation 
     Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) 
     are meeting to formulate an action plan to tackle the growing 
     problem of anti-Semitism.
       Today anti-Semitism is no longer directed solely against 
     Jews an individuals. ``Israel, in effect, is emerging as the 
     collective Jew among nations,'' writes Mortimer B. Zuckerman 
     in U.S. News & World report. The old conspiracy theories, 
     prejudices and ``world domination'' fantasies are emerging in 
     new guises and are exploiting the conflict between Israelis 
     and Palestinians.
       While the ``old'' anti-Semitism sought to stigmatize Jews 
     as individual threats to local coexistence, the ``new'' anti-
     Semitism seeks to stigmatize Israel as a collective threat to 
     global coexistence. At the core of the new anti-Semitism is 
     the ``Auschwitz Lie''--that the Holocaust was invented as an 
     excuse for Jews to converge on Palestine in order to oppress 
     Arabs and conquer the world.
       In both its old and new forms, anti-Semitism is merely an 
     attempt to divert attention from the perpetrators' motives 
     for committing acts of violence and injustice. In fighting 
     anti-Semitism we must turn our attention toward strengthening 
     peace and justice. The real battle against anti-Semitism lies 
     ahead of us, and it will affect the foundations of our 
     democracies.
       Globalization is bringing ideas, cultures and lifestyles 
     into contact--and sometimes conflict--with one another in new 
     and unusual ways. Our task is to determine how our political 
     systems can shape the outcome in a positive way. Will we be 
     tolerant enough to create space for differences, and allow 
     them to develop and flourish? Globalization means that we all 
     have a shared fate.
       Anti-Semitism is a problem for every OSCE state, because it 
     seeks to break down the pillars of our societies: rule of 
     law, equality, decency, tolerance and faith. Its violence is 
     felt by all, regardless of faith. Its most diabolical 
     offspring is terrorism, a force that in its embrace of death 
     tears down everything in its path. Its aim is to destroy all 
     that is humane.
       In Berlin we will build on last year's groundbreaking OSCE 
     conference in Vienna, where governments expressed their 
     willingness to take action. In Berlin we must concentrate on 
     specific steps to which governments and societies commit 
     themselves: collecting and analyzing data on hate crimes, 
     training police and educating children for tolerance, and 
     measuring the effectiveness of these steps. Rather than 
     asking if we can afford to take such steps, we should ask 
     whether we can afford not to when the costs of inaction are 
     so great.
       We are not fighting anti-Semitism solely in order to 
     protect Jewish people, although the safety of any one group 
     is intrinsic to the safety of all. We are waging this battle 
     because we want to ensure that we do not again sink into 
     barbarity--and we will win this struggle. Democracy is 
     stronger than hate.

  Mr. VOINOVICH. As we wrote then:

       We are not fighting anti-Semitism solely in order to 
     protect Jewish people, although the safety of any one group 
     is intrinsic to the safety of all. We are waging this battle 
     because we want to ensure that we do not again sink into 
     barbarity--and we will win this struggle. Democracy is 
     stronger than hate.

  Today, I continue to repeat this message. We cannot become complacent 
in the fight against anti-Semitism. There is too much at stake.
  I remain in close contact with the State Department to encourage our 
highest-ranking diplomats to make the fight against anti-Semitism a top 
priority in our bilateral relationships and interaction with 
international organizations such as the OSCE, the European Union and 
the United Nations.
  At the end of last month, Under Secretary of State for Political 
Affairs Marc Grossman sent me a letter, in which he outlined some of 
the positive steps that our Government is taking to combat anti-
Semitism. This includes our work with the OSCE, as well as efforts 
taken by United States Ambassadors and other officials in countries 
throughout the world. This is a priority, now, for our Ambassadors all 
over the world. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of 
this letter be printed in the Congressional Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                          Under Secretary of State


                                        for Political Affairs,

                                      Washington, August 24, 2004.
     Hon. George V. Voinovich,
     U.S. Senate.
       Dear Senator Voinovich: This is to follow up our 
     conversation concerning the Department's efforts to combat 
     anti-Semitism.
       This Administration recognizes that anti-Semitism is a 
     serious human rights problem and is strongly committed to 
     fighting it. We are taking the following steps to combat 
     anti-Semitism and related violence, using the range of tools 
     at our disposal to advance human rights standards and norms.
       Reporting: Two annual reports (the ``International 
     Religious Freedom Report'' and the ``Country Reports on Human 
     Rights Practices'') describe in detail both the trend of

[[Page 18504]]

     anti-Semitism throughout the world as well as the specific 
     anti-Semitism incidents that have occurred during the 
     reporting period. The Department formally reports on anti-
     Semitism every six months. These reports are posted on 
     embassy websites for public dissemination. In our 
     instructions for the 2004 Country Report, we have made 
     explicit the guidelines for reporting acts of violence 
     against Jewish people and Jewish community institutions. 
     Embassies have supplied detailed information on the level of 
     anti-Semitism in their host country.
       Demarches and Interventions: Our embassies abroad regularly 
     press host countries on combating anti-Semitism, particularly 
     in Europe where anti-Semitism has increased significantly 
     during the past few years. Our ambassadors are very involved 
     in this effort. We also maintain close contact with the local 
     Jewish communities.
       OSCE: The Department took the lead in convincing the OSCE 
     to sponsor two conferences on combating anti-Semitism (in 
     Vienna in June 2003, in Berlin in April 2004). Secretary 
     Powell participated in the Berlin Conference. As a result of 
     those conferences, the OSCE is implementing a process to 
     monitor and report in a consistent manner on anti-Semitism 
     incidents within the OSCE region.
       These conferences were the first multilateral gatherings 
     devoted solely to this subject and also the first to deal 
     with anti-Semitism as a human rights issue. They have 
     substantially increased awareness of this serious problem and 
     the need to take strong steps to deal with it.
       The United States also supports a third anti-Semitism 
     meeting, scheduled for 2005 in Spain, to assess 
     implementation by member states of the OSCE commitments.
       Public Diplomacy: Department officers regularly address 
     this issue in speeches to foreign audiences, the American 
     public and in testimony before the Congress (see enclosure). 
     The issue of anti-Semitism was a core component of testimony 
     before the Congress on several occasions in recent months.
       Holocaust Task Force: In 2003-2004, the United States 
     chaired the Task Force for International Cooperation on 
     Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research. This group now 
     comprises 18 countries that promote understanding of the 
     Holocaust as a means to prevent a recurrence of the hatred 
     that resulted in that tragic event.
       Speaking Out: Our Chiefs of Mission in Europe and Eurasia 
     are under specific instructions to be both vigilant and vocal 
     in denouncing anti-Semitism, and they do so.
       Multilateral Efforts: The United States has been successful 
     in including anti-Semitism language in several resolutions of 
     the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR). We 
     will continue to press for inclusion of such language at the 
     UNCHR and elsewhere.
       I hope this overview of Department of State efforts to 
     combat anti-Semitism is helpful to you. Please do not 
     hesitate to contact me if I can be of further assistance. We 
     want to work closely with you to end anti-Semitism.
           Sincerely,
     Marc Grossman.
                                  ____


          The Department of State and Combating Anti-Semitism

       The Department of State has been deeply involved in 
     combating anti-Semitism. Policy level officials most 
     frequently involved in our efforts to stem the tide of anti-
     Semitism include the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, Under 
     Secretary for Political Affairs, the Assistant Secretary for 
     European and Eurasian Affairs, the Assistant Secretary for 
     Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, the Special Envoy for 
     Holocaust Issues and the Ambassador-at Large for 
     International Religious Freedom.
       These officials regularly testify before the Congress and 
     make public speeches calling attention to anti-Semitism and 
     the need to combat it.
       The Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues heads up the staff 
     level work on this issue and coordinates closely with U.S. 
     NGOs. He works particularly closely with the U.S. Ambassador 
     to the OSCE who has represented the United States in the 
     preparations for the separate OSCE conferences on anti-
     Semitism in Vienna in June 2003 and in Berlin in April 2004.
       The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor produces 
     two annual reports (International Religious Freedom, Country 
     Report on Human Rights Practices), both of which include 
     extensive coverage of anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic 
     incidents.
       Our ambassadors abroad and their staffs engage with host 
     countries on this issue. Ambassadors have mentioned their 
     concern about anti-Semitism in the host country during their 
     initial meetings with the Prime Minister. Our ambassadors 
     speak out forcefully and meet with visiting representatives 
     of American Jewish organizations to review anti-Semitism 
     trends.
       Senior-level Department officials and officers travel from 
     Washington to our posts in Europe and Eurasia. They meet with 
     representatives of Jewish communities to discuss their 
     concerns first-hand and to demonstrate Washington's strong 
     interest.
       The Vienna and Berlin OSCE conferences were largely the 
     result of efforts by the United States to have the OSCE focus 
     on anti-Semitism. Secretary Powell addressed the Berlin 
     conference.
       The conferences and a decision by the December 2003 
     Ministerial Council led to the establishment of an OSCE 
     program to monitor and report on anti-Semitic developments in 
     the OSCE region. The Conferences also sensitized all of the 
     participants to the reality of the increased level of anti-
     Semitism in Europe in recent years and also generated 
     considerable publicity on the issue.
       The Department of State also works assiduously to include 
     this issue in resolutions of the United Nations and its 
     subsidiary bodies. In 2003, the U.S. delegation succeeded in 
     getting language on anti-Semitism into the UN Commission on 
     Human Rights resolution on the Elimination of All Forms of 
     Religious Intolerance. In 2004, the Department of State again 
     succeeded in getting mention of the issue in the resolution 
     on the Elimination of All Forms of Religious Intolerance and 
     also in the resolution on The Incompatibility between 
     Democracy and Racism.

  Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, the United States Government should be 
commended for the good work that is being done to raise awareness 
regarding growing anti-Semitism, both at home and abroad. However, our 
work is not done.
  Earlier this year, I introduced Senate Bill 2292, the Global Anti-
Semitism Review Act of 2004. This legislation requires the State 
Department to enhance its reporting on anti-Semitism worldwide. It 
requires the State Department to submit to Congress a report on anti-
Semitism this November. This report must include detailed information 
for each country, including, first, a description of physical violence 
against or harassment of Jewish people or community institutions, such 
as schools, synagogues, or cemeteries, that occurred in that country, 
and, second, the response of the government of that country to such 
attacks;
  What are they doing about that?
  Third, actions by the government of that country to enact and enforce 
laws relating to the protection of the right to religious freedom with 
respect to Jewish people; and finally, the efforts by that government 
to promote anti-bias and tolerance education.
  Following the report this November, my legislation requires enhanced 
reporting on anti-Semitism in two existing annual reports: the 
International Religious Freedom Report and the Human Rights Report.
  The Senate passed this critical legislation with strong, bipartisan 
support on May 7, 2004. Twenty-four of my colleagues joined me as co-
sponsors. This underscores the high priority that the United States 
Senate has given to the fight against anti-Semitism.
  It is my sincere hope that the House of Representatives will soon 
pass this legislation, so that we can see the President sign the Global 
Anti-Semitism Review Act into law this year. We must do all that we can 
to move toward the goal of zero-tolerance of anti-Semitism in the world 
today. The United States must be the leader.
  I want my colleagues to know that I made a vow back in 1982 that if 
the ugly head of anti-Semitism rose, I would do everything in my power 
to make sure that we cut it off.
  I want my colleagues to know this is a passion with me, and I hope it 
becomes a passion with them. It is important to the world, and it is 
important to the United States of America.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.
  Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, let me start by thanking my colleague 
from Ohio for his passion and for his commitment on this issue. As you 
know, my colleague from Ohio is very tenacious when he digs into 
something. It is easy in many ways, perhaps, for me to speak about 
anti-Semitism. I am of the Jewish faith. It is a very personal issue 
for me, but if we just talk about it, it is not enough.
  I have been through Yad Vashem, which is the museum on the Holocaust 
in Israel. And there is part of Yad Vashem that is dedicated to the 
righteous gentiles, those not of the Jewish faith who showed great 
courage and at times risked their lives and were outspoken in 
opposition to the Holocaust and helped the Jewish people and other 
victims of the Holocaust.
  I have a deep and profound respect for my colleague from Ohio for all 
that

[[Page 18505]]

he has done. That passion is real. It is reflected in all he does, and 
it is greatly appreciated by all of us concerned about this issue.
  Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, over 200 year ago, it was written:

       The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is 
     eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is 
     at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of 
     his guilt.

  Mr. Jefferson came up with the short version: Eternal vigilance is 
the price of liberty.
  The message is clear and it is urgent. We need to be constantly on 
the look out for hatred of any kind. And like the spouting of a 
dangerous weed, we need to deal with it when it is small and before it 
grows.
  That is why a number of us have taken the floor to call attention to 
a disturbing rise in incidents of anti-Semitism. This is not a fringe 
expression of free speech. It is the leading edge of danger that has 
appeared all too often in the last 2,000 years of human history.
  One of the ironies of this subject lies in the word ``anti-Semitic.'' 
In common usage it means prejudice or bigotry against Jews. But when 
you look up the root word ``Semite,'' you see it refers to members of 
the Jewish and Arab peoples. Strictly speaking to be ``anti-Semitic'' 
could mean expressing hatred of Arabs.
  That illustrates an important point. A statement of hatred against 
any group of people should be abhorred by freedom loving people from 
every group. Because hatred has a way of spreading and hurting people 
all around its intended target.
  As Dr. King wrote in his famous letter from the Birmingham jail, 
``Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.''
  Six million Jews were killed in Europe during the Holocaust. We vowed 
we would never let it happen again.
  But the new millennium has brought to Europe a wave of anti-Semitism 
unlike anything we have seen since the 1930s.
  In France, which is home to Europe's largest Jewish community--with 
about 600,000--there have been and continue to be more anti-Semitic 
attacks than elsewhere in Europe. Just last month the Jewish cemetery 
in Lyon was spray-painted with swastikas, and other anti-Semitic 
symbols. In Paris this spring, a 12-year-old girl coming out of a 
Jewish school was attacked by two men who carved a swastika into her 
face.
  Excuses abound for the rise in European anti-Semitism: The changing 
demography of Europe, as more Muslim immigrants arrive; anger about the 
renewed Intifada between Israel and the Palestinians; anti-Americanism 
or anti-globalism manifest as anti-Semitic behavior; and a resurgence 
of Neo-Nazis and skinhead movements.
  At the end of the day, though, there is simply no excuse. Anti-
Semitism takes many forms: defaming of Jewish cemeteries; arson of 
synagogues and Jewish schools; Holocaust denial or inadequate Holocaust 
education; biased media coverage; and graffiti that says 
``Sharon=Hitler.'' This comparison is not only grossly unfair to the 
Israeli Prime Minister, but more ominously minimizes what Hitler did 
and stood for. Ominously in this country, we have seen bumper stickers 
making similar comparisons with our President.
  The winning entry in the British Political Cartoon Society's 2003 
competition was a picture of Ariel Sharon eating the head of a 
Palestinian baby with a burning city in the background. ``What's 
wrong,'' reads the caption, ``you've never seen a politician kissing a 
baby?''
  This is not humor, this is hate.
  Some will say, ``Surely a person can criticize the policies of the 
Israeli government without being an anti-Semite?'' And the answer is of 
course, yes.
  But when criticism of Israel is so prevalent and one-sided, when 
fully one-third of votes at the U.N. General Assembly criticize Israel 
and Israel only, when a European public opinion poll finds Israel to be 
considered the top threat to world peace--ahead of North Korea or Iran, 
when a U.N. conference in South Africa on racism devolves into a 
diatribe against Israel--and only Israel, when even non-violent 
responses by the government of Israel to defend its citizens against 
terrorism are disparaged, then you have a problem.
  Natan Sharansky--a great man for his advocacy for the Soviet Jews and 
today an Israeli government official--has talked about three ways to 
determine whether criticism of Israel rises to the level of anti-
Semitism. He talks about three Ds: Demonization, double standards, and 
delegitimization:
  Demonization--when Israeli actions are blown so far out of proportion 
that the account paints Israel as the embodiment of all evil;
  Double Standards--when Israel is criticized soundly for things any 
other government would be viewed as justified in doing, like protecting 
its citizens from terrorism;
  Deligitimization--a denial of Israel's right to exist or the right of 
the Jewish people to aspire to live securely in a homeland.
  When European criticism of Israel is so one-sided and so filled with 
exaggeration, it reflects a broader bias. And while this kind of 
criticism of Israel may not always equal anti-Semitism, it certainly 
creates an atmosphere that tolerates and breeds anti-Semitism.
  In recent years, Europe has seen a marked increase in anti-Semitism, 
but Europe is not alone. Anti-Semitism abounds in the Middle East. It 
abounds in the Nadrasas, the schools, that teach hate. We have our own 
problems here in the United States, particularly on our college 
campuses. And one of the deadliest acts of terror in South America 
remains the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish Community Center in 
Argentina--a crime for which not one perpetrator has yet been brought 
to justice.
  The good news is that things in Europe have improved in the last 
year, and the key to that improvement is leadership.
  The Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe has held 
important conferences on anti-Semitism. My colleague from Ohio has 
talked about that, introducing into the Record some of the evidence of 
the works which have drawn attention to anti-Semitism and those that 
have led to the identification of anti-Semitism as a specific human 
rights issue as well as a commitment to track anti-Semitic incidents in 
order to build a better understanding of the problem.
  French President Jacques Chirac, to his credit, has said when a Jew 
is attacked in France, it is an attack on the whole of France. He is 
right, not just because it is so morally repugnant to target any one 
group for this kind of violence and hate but because Jews are the 
canary in the coal mine. Remember, Hitler was not satisfied to simply 
wipe out the Jews; he set his sights on the disabled, gypsies, Blacks, 
and others.
  Let me reflect about the situation in the United States, particularly 
on our college campuses. College is supposed to be a place where young 
people are exposed to diverse experiences and other peoples. 
Tragically, anti-Semitism in America has found a home on college 
campuses. There, anti-Semitism at times is fashionable and politically 
correct. We can forget about diversity of opinion when it comes to 
Israel.
  On our campuses, anti-Semitism looks like virulently anti-Israel 
professors of Middle Eastern studies; harassment of Jewish students; 
pro-Palestinian rallies have crossed the line into anti-Semitism, with 
slogans like ``Hitler did not finish the job;'' fliers around campuses 
depicting Palestinian children slaughtered according to Jewish rites 
under American license; vandalism of Hillel buildings at Rutgers in 
September of this year, at UC Berkeley in the winter of 2002, at the 
University of Colorado in March of 2002 and again in September of that 
year.
  The poster behind me is of a photograph taken at Cornell University: 
Weapons of mass destruction. Leader is a war criminal. U.N. resolution 
occupies foreign countries, with a notation ``bomb Israel.''
  It crosses the line. This is not about free speech. This is about 
hate. This is not something we should see on college

[[Page 18506]]

campuses, but we do, far too often. That is unfortunate. That is wrong.
  A professor at UC Berkeley presented the following course description 
for a poetry class:

       The brutal Israeli military occupation of Palestine 
     [ongoing] since 1948, has systematically displaced, killed, 
     and maimed millions of Palestinian people. And yet from under 
     the brutal weight of occupation, Palestinians have produced 
     their own culture and poetry of resistance . . . This class 
     takes as a starting point the right of Palestinians to fight 
     for their own self-determination.

  That is for a poetry class. And the posting ends with the suggestion, 
``Conservative thinkers are encouraged to seek other sections.''
  In 2001 to 2002, anti-Semitic incidents at college campuses increased 
to a worrisome 24 percent, according to the Stephen Roth Institute at 
Tel Aviv University.
  I read an account of a Berkeley student, Micki Weinberg, who was 
walking to campus September 12, 2001, the day after the horrific 
attacks on our Nation. At the entrance to the campus there were huge 
sheets of blank paper spread out at an impromptu memorial for students, 
faculty, and others to write thoughts. He saw a message written in big 
letters. Micki Weinberg set out to add his own thoughts, until he saw 
one message written in big letters: ``It's the Jews, stupid.''
  In closing, I return to the idea that hatred against Jewish people is 
everyone's concern. I was in Israel a couple weeks ago. The vision that 
this President has and so many have had is Israel living side by side 
with a Palestinian state, people free to live their lives and raise 
their families and grow up with the sense of safety and security. That 
is what it is about. Safety and security is a prelude to peace and 
people living together, but the level of hatred, which in the end is a 
denial of the existence of Israel, simply goes too far. That level of 
hatred is spread throughout Europe. It has spread to college campuses. 
It is wrong.
  The Reverend Martin Niemoller was a Lutheran pastor living in Germany 
in the 1930s. His words should be taken to heart by all:

       First they came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up, 
     because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, 
     and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came 
     for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up, because I was a 
     Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was 
     no one left to speak up for me.

  We have seen genocide in Europe. We have seen it in Rwanda. We are 
seeing it today in Sudan. We need to speak up against hatred wherever 
it rears its head because it literally threatens everyone. The question 
is, How do we get the hate genie back in the bottle? The genie is out. 
There is too much hatred. We see it all around us. We see it certainly 
in what we are seeing today with anti-Semitism. We are seeing it on the 
American political scene. We have to get the genie of hate back in the 
bottle. We can do it by educating. We can do it by strengthening our 
families. We can do it by strengthening our faith, by doing what we are 
doing today, speaking out on the floor in the hallowed Halls of this 
great institution and telling the people of this country and telling 
the people of this world that anti-Semitism is wrong, that we must do 
all in our power to speak out and make sure it stops. And when it does, 
the world will be a safer and better place.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.
  Mr. SMITH. Mr. President, I am pleased to be in the Senate today with 
my colleague, Norm Coleman. Norm is one of my esteemed new colleagues 
and can speak with considerable insight on the issue of anti-Semitism, 
as he hails from the Jewish faith and genealogy. I honor him for being 
down here speaking about an issue that has been a cancer in the human 
soul for a long time, and that is anti-Semitism.
  I learned at my mother's knee to fight against bigotry and 
discrimination. I am not Jewish. I was born into the Mormon faith to 
Mormon parents who in our history knew something of persecution. In 
fact, many of my Jewish families are surprised to learn that 
extermination orders have actually been ordered before, even before the 
pogroms that have beset the tribes of Judah. They were once issued by a 
Governor of Missouri on the Mormon pioneers, and they set about 
exterminating them and drove them literally from what was then the 
United States.
  So as a young boy, I had an interest in history. I would watch 
newsreels of what had recently happened in Germany to the Jewish 
people. I had a particular sensitivity to that and, again, learned from 
my mother to befriend the children of Israel.
  But what besets the human heart in the form of anti-Semitism is 
ancient in its origin, even prophesied in Jewish history and Scripture. 
This morning, as I contemplated Rosh Hashanah, which is the new year, 
the beginning of the world in the Jewish calendar, I turn to a verse of 
Scripture that I remember reading many times throughout my life, and 
that is in the 49th chapter of Genesis where the prophet Jacob is 
giving blessings to his twelve sons. We know the names of Abraham, 
Isaac, and Jacob, and Jacob had four wives. His first wife was Leah, 
and Leah bore him a number of sons, but one of them was named Judah. 
The blessing that Jacob gave to Judah is very instructive. He says:

       Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand 
     shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children 
     shall bow down before thee.
       Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art 
     gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old 
     lion; who shall rouse him up?
       The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver 
     from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall 
     the gathering of the people be.

  If you can break down that language, you will understand that Judah 
was a leader among the sons of Jacob, and in this patriarchal blessing 
he was given a leadership role, and he was to be, and his descendants, 
something of a thorn in the neck of his enemies.
  The Torah is full of promises, predictions, prophecies of the 
Diaspora, of the affliction of the Tribe of Judah. Indeed, there are 
places in the Torah where it says that all nations will be turned 
against Israel. The question for us, as human beings and as Americans, 
is, do we turn against Israel?
  I have regarded it as one of the important cornerstones of American 
foreign policy, that since the Holocaust in the Second World War, the 
American Nation has stood by the Tribe of Judah in the form of the 
State of Israel, defended its right to exist, and been an ally to it in 
its darkest days.
  The feelings of anti-Semitism in this world, they ebb and they flow. 
But I would suggest to you, and all listening, Mr. President, that 
anti-Semitism is something of a barometer of the human heart. And when 
we have those feelings, we are on the wrong side. We need not have 
those feelings. We must not have those feelings because if too many 
Americans do, the American Nation will join other nations who turn on 
the State of Israel and the Tribe of Judah.
  So, for me, I guess you can discern from my remarks this is a 
principle of faith, it is a belief that I hold deeply, that part of my 
public service has, as a cornerstone, friendship to the Jewish people. 
So as I contemplate what is happening in the world today, as nations 
turn against Israel again, I am determined to push back. And I am 
determined to speak out against vicious lies that have been told for 
centuries against the Jewish people. I would like to share a few of 
them with you.
  I touched briefly upon the depravity of the Second World War, that 
resulted in the misery and death of 6 million Jews. Yet that spirit 
that led to such a policy exists in some places even still. 
Unfortunately, it exists in many of the lands of the Middle East.
  Let me give you a few examples.
  In November and December of 2002, Egypt aired on state television a 
series based on the forged and notorious anti-Semitic tract, the so-
called ``Protocols of the Elders of Zion.'' The ``Protocols of the 
Elders of Zion'' is a fraudulent document that reported the alleged 
proceedings of a 19th century conference of Jews during which they 
discussed plans to overthrow Christianity and control the world. It has 
been proven a fraud time and again. Yet some governments of civilized 
nations continue to propagate this heinous lie.

[[Page 18507]]

  The Saudi Government daily newspaper Al-Riyadh, in a March 2002 
article titled ``The Jewish Holiday of Purim,'' charged that Jews used 
the blood of non-Jewish youngsters in preparing their pastries for the 
Purim holiday.
  To be precise, the columnist writes:

       Before I go into the details, I would like to clarify that 
     the Jews' spilling human blood to prepare pastry for their 
     holidays is a well-established fact, historically and 
     legally, all throughout history. This was one of the main 
     reasons for the persecution and exile that were their lot in 
     Europe and Asia at various times.

  That is a hideous lie. Yet it is reported in a newspaper in Saudi 
Arabia.
  Also reported in this same paper, Al-Riyadh, a Saudi Crown Prince 
remarked to a gathering of leading government officials and academics 
in Jeddah that ``Zionists'' and ``followers of Satan'' are to blame for 
recent terrorist attacks in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in particular, 
a May 1 terrorist attack on foreign oil workers in the city of Yanbu 
that killed 6 people and injured 25.
  This was done by al-Qaida, not the Jews. Yet a Crown Prince of Saudi 
Arabia felt to blame it on the Jews. Specifically, the Crown Prince 
said: ``Zionism is behind everything.''
  Another issue, a journal titled ``The Muslim Soldier,'' which is 
published by the Religious Affairs Department of the Saudi Armed 
Forces, recently contained an article claiming:

       The majority of revolutions, coups d'etat, and wars which 
     have occurred in the world, those that are occurring, and 
     those that will occur, are almost entirely the handiwork of 
     the Jews. They turned to [these methods] in order to 
     implement the injunctions of the fabricated Torah, the 
     Talmud, and the ``Protocols [of the Elders of Zion],'' all of 
     which command the destruction of all non-Jews in order to 
     achieve their goal--namely, world domination.

  Again, these are disgusting lies that are propagated supposedly by 
Syria's people.
  The author of an article in an Egyptian Government daily titled ``The 
Lie About the Burning of the Jews'' defended his piece on Egyptian 
television by saying:

       This article was scientific research, which relied on many 
     European and American sources concerning this lie, one of the 
     lies upon which the State of Israel was established--the lie 
     about the burning of the Jews in the Nazis' ovens.

  I have been to those ovens. I have been to Auschwitz. I have seen the 
pictures. I have seen the ashes. Any representation like that must be 
refuted in places like this.
  And in Syria, according to the State Department's 2003 International 
Religious Freedom Report, the:

       Government primarily cites tense relations with Israel as 
     the reason for barring Jews from government employment and 
     for exempting them from military service obligations.

  Despite the fact that state-sponsored anti-Semitism is more prevalent 
in the Arab world, it unfortunately exists in other countries as well. 
In certain states of India, schools are required to use textbooks that 
condone Nazism, including detailing its achievements and omitting any 
reference to Nazi extermination policies or concentration camps.
  In Belarus, anti-Semitic literature is sold in government buildings 
and in stores directly connected with the Belarusian Orthodox Church.
  The fact that this kind of hatred exists in the hearts of some people 
is something that we unfortunately are unable to control. But what we 
can do, what we must do, is express our distaste and indeed our 
revulsion that governments around the world feel it is appropriate to 
promote such hatred.
  At the G-8 summit in Sea Island, Georgia, this June, President Bush 
reached out to our allies to establish a Partnership with the Broader 
Middle East and North Africa in an effort to advance freedom, 
democracy, and prosperity in the region. I support the President's 
approach for peace in the Middle East, and I believe it will only occur 
if the countries at stake are working together.
  So I ask, if governments are actively supporting anti-Semitism and 
even, at times, the destruction of the Jewish state, how will they be 
able to convince their populations that peaceful coexistence with 
Israel is an appropriate course of action? How will they expect their 
children to live in harmony with their Jewish peers? How will they ever 
reconcile their malevolent views of the Jewish people?
  State-sponsored anti-Semitism around the world is a sinister fact 
with potentially devastating consequences. We must work tirelessly to 
highlight its insidious nature at every opportunity. And there are many 
friends in the Jewish community who ought to be thanked for their 
efforts to try to stem the tide of anti-Semitism: Specifically, Jess 
Hordes and Abe Foxman at the Anti-Defamation League for their work on 
this vital front as well as many of my colleagues here who stand in the 
Senate to bring attention to this issue.
  Anti-Semitism cannot take root unless it starts in our hearts 
individually. If it starts in our hearts individually, it goes to our 
homes, our neighborhoods, our schools, and then it hits into our 
governments. That America never be one of those governments turned 
against Israel is my hope and my prayer.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. BUNNING. Mr. President, as the Senate prepares to adjourn for the 
Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, I would like to address a recent rise 
in anti-Semitic events abroad.
  In the 50 years since the atrocities committed against the Jewish 
people in Europe during World War II, we have seen other occasional 
incidents of anti-Semitism. While anti-Israelism and anti-Semitism are 
regrettably still commonplace in the Middle East, recent events in 
France and Indonesia have shown us these feelings of intolerance are on 
the rise internationally.
  Israel has a unique position in the modern world. Its cities and 
landmarks are sacred to Christian, Jewish, and Muslims cultures. And 
today, as throughout much of recorded history, it is a land struggling 
to find peace. Yet despite the conflicts of history and culture, Israel 
has had the courage to stand strong with the United States of America 
as an ally in the war on terror and a pillar of strength in an unstable 
region.
  Anti-Semitism, racism, and bigotry all serve to undermine the efforts 
of peace loving people throughout the world. These misguided prejudices 
are chains that hold us back from compromise and harmony. The people of 
America, Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia should not accept 
the anti-Semitism that has become all too prevalent in the world. As we 
work toward peace it is important that people from all nations approach 
international relations with an open mind.
  I am pleased that my colleagues in the Senate have brought attention 
to the growing problem of anti-Semitism in the world today. As several 
of our colleagues celebrate the Jewish New Year this coming week, let 
us all take the time to think about ways we can promote understanding 
and acceptance.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The minority leader.

                          ____________________