[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5157]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             ANTI-SEMITISM: A GROWING THREAT TO ALL FAITHS

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 12, 2013

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I recently chaired a hearing on 
anti-Semitism where we heard from representatives from Americans and 
Europeans about the evil of anti-Semitism can be more successfully 
addressed.
   At a Congressional hearing I chaired in 2002, Dr. Shimon Samuels of 
the Wiesenthal Center in Paris testified and said, ``The Holocaust for 
30 years after the war acted as a protective Teflon against blatant 
anti-Semitic expression (especially in Europe). That Teflon has eroded, 
and what was considered distasteful and politically incorrect is 
becoming simply an opinion. But,'' he warned ominously, ``cocktail 
chatter at fine English dinners can end as Molotov cocktails against 
synagogues.''
   In response to what appeared to be a sudden, frightening spike in 
anti-Semitism in several countries, including here in the United 
States, we first proposed the idea for a conference on combating anti-
Semitism under the auspices of the organization for Security and 
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
   Convinced we had an escalating crisis on our hands, we teamed with 
several OSCE partners to push for action and reform. Many of the people 
and NGOs present in this room played leading roles.
   Those efforts directly led to important OSCE conferences on 
combating anti-Semitism in Vienna, Berlin, Cordoba, and Bucharest. In 
each of those, participating states have made solemn, tangible 
commitments to put our words into action. In some countries, progress 
has indeed been made, yet the scope and outcome of anti-Semitic acts 
have not abated in others, and in some nations it has actually gotten 
worse.
   That is why we are here today, to review, re-commit, and re-energize 
efforts to vanquish the highly disturbing resurgence of anti-Semitism 
everywhere, including in Europe.
   Unparalleled since the dark ages of the Second World War, Jewish 
communities on a global scale are facing verbal harassment, and 
sometimes violent attacks against synagogues, Jewish cultural sites, 
cemeteries and individuals. It is an ugly reality that won't go away by 
ignoring or wishing it away. It must be defeated.
   Thus, we gather to enlighten, motivate, and share ideas on how not 
just to mitigate this centuries-old obsession, but to crush this 
pernicious form of hate.
   From our first panel of witnesses we heard how anti-Semitism 
directly threatens not only Jews but also Christians and Muslims, and 
democracy and civil society. When we fight anti-Semitism it is not only 
a matter of justice for Jewish fellow-citizens, but also of standing up 
for Christianity, and for Islam, and for the possibility of decent 
living itself. We all have a direct stake in the fight against anti-
Semitism.
   This is tragically clear in the Middle-Eastern countries where the 
government propagates anti-Semitism as an official or quasi-official 
ideology. These governments incite anti-Semitic hatred of Israel in 
order to distract the people from their own tyrannical rule, from their 
own abuse of human rights, denial of democracy, economic corruption. 
Sadly, it works. We see this in governments as varied as those of Iran 
and Egypt, Pakistan and Syria and Saudi Arabia, and the list doesn't 
end there.
   Tens of millions of people who live in these countries are in this 
sense suffering from anti-Semitism. Few of them are Jewish--most are 
Muslim, millions are Christian. It's true that, to some degree or 
other, many of the people in these countries have bought into the evil 
of anti-Semitism, but many have not.
   From our second panel, we heard reports from a number of European 
Jewish leaders who will be able to tell us about anti-Semitism in their 
countries, how the governments are responding, and whether these 
responses are effective. Sadly, in much of Europe, the harassment of 
Jews, including verbal and physical violence, continues to increase, 
and a recent Anti-Defamation League study shows that anti-Semitic 
attitudes are widespread in Europe and getting worse in many countries.
   One thing the witnesses will address is whether elected officials 
are fulfilling their responsibility to speak out publicly against any 
expressions of anti-Semitic hate. When national leaders fail to 
denounce anti-Semitic violence and slurs, the void is not only 
demoralizing to the victims but silence actually enables the 
wrongdoing. Silence by elected officials in particular conveys 
approval--or at least acquiescence--and can contribute to a climate of 
fear and a sense of vulnerability.
   In this respect, I want to recognize the leadership Hungarian Prime 
Minister Viktor Orban has shown in the fight against anti-Semitism. 
Prime Minister Orban has taken his government into the vanguard of 
those fighting anti-Semitism in Europe. He has declared a `zero 
tolerance policy' against anti-Semitism and seen that anti-Semitic 
incidents are promptly followed by high-level official condemnations, 
sometimes by him, sometimes by other officials. There is still far too 
much anti-Semitism in Hungary, and it is cultivated by the viciously 
racist Jobbik political party. But I am glad that the Hungarian 
government has responded vigorously, protecting its Jewish citizens by 
strengthening legislation and law enforcement, education and Holocaust 
remembrance.
   Another point we considered is whether the countries are collecting 
reliable hate crime information. We can't fight anti-Semitic crimes 
effectively unless we have reliable information on them. The most 
recent figures from the U.S., for example, which are collected by the 
FBI, showed that Jews, less than 2% of the U.S. population, are the 
victims of 63% of religiously-targeted hate crimes.
   An additional concern is the importance of Holocaust education. If 
we are to protect our children from the dark evil of anti-Semitism, we 
must reeducate ourselves and systematically educate our children. While 
that starts in our homes, the classroom must be the incubator of 
tolerance. It seems to me that only the most hardened racist can remain 
unmoved by Holocaust education and remembrance. Only the most crass, 
evil, and prejudiced among us can study the horrors of the Holocaust 
and not cry out: Never again!
   Yet another concern is the rise of a ``new'' anti-Semitism, which 
tries to pass itself off as legitimate criticism of Israel, but which 
demonizes, delegitimizes, and applies double standards against Israel--
former Soviet ``refusenik'' Natan Sharansky's ``3 Ds.'' In any case, 
this form of anti-Semitism appears to be spreading among European 
social-democratic and leftist parties, as well as among Muslim 
immigrants from the Middle East, and I'd like to hear your views about 
the most effective ways to expose it for what it is.
   We need to work together with you to light a fire under our 
government, under European governments, and intergovernmental 
organizations like the Organization for Security and Cooperation in 
Europe (OSCE).
   I am preparing to re-introduce the Combating Anti-Semitism Act; 
another possible initiative is for a day on which heads of state or 
government can each visit a major synagogue in their national capitals 
and make a statement on threat that anti-Semitism poses to all of us.

                          ____________________