Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Act of 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his leadership on this legislation on the issue itself; Eliot Engel, of course, who has been a great friend, a part of this Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism; and you, Mr. Presiding Speaker, you are one of the cosponsors. We have 83 bipartisan cosponsors, and this is an idea whose time has come.

I especially want to thank Leader McCarthy for making sure the bill got to the floor today, for his leadership and strong support for it.

Anti-Semitism, Mr. Speaker, is exploding. Just look around in any country in the world, look at the human rights reports that are out there, and it is a problem here in the United States as well. It is exploding.

My first trip to the Soviet Union, now Russia, of course, was in 1982 on behalf of Soviet refuseniks. When I saw what that country was doing to individual Jewish men and women and families, I became committed then. I worked with Mr. Hastings on this for many, many years with the Helsinki Commission, to try to combat this ever escalating scourge of anti-Semitism. It is an age-old scourge. It is bad, and it is getting worse.

There is a persistent anti-Semitism, as I think my colleagues know, that historically has manifested itself throughout European history, from pogroms in Russia, to the Dreyfus affair, to Nazism in the 1930s, and, of course, the Holocaust right up until its modern-day iterations.

This has been joined, however, by two other streams of hate: one emanating from the world of militant Islam and one that is sometimes fomented by countries such as Iran. Strains of this new anti-Semitism can be heard in the demand of the BDS movement--boycott, divestment, sanctions--which always singles out Israel and rarely other countries like China who engage in pervasive human rights abuse.

My friend and former Soviet refusenik, Natan Sharansky, testified at two of my hearings on combating anti-Semitism. He proposed what he called a simple test to help us distinguish between legitimate criticism of Israel from anti-Semitism. Sharansky called it the ``three Ds: demonization, double standard, and delegitimization.''

First, demonization. When Israel's actions are blown all out of sensible proportions, and when comparisons are made between Israelis and the Nazis, which is absolutely sick and pathetic, this is anti- Semitism, not a legitimate criticism of Israel.

Second, double standard. When criticism of Israel is applied selectively, when Israel is singled out, libeled, and slandered by the U.N. Human Rights Council, for example, while the behavior or other egregious violators like China, Iran, Cuba, and Syria are largely ignored, that, too, is anti-Semitism.

The third ``D'' is delegitimization. In other words, Israel does not have a fundamental right to exist.

In light of this, there is an urgent need for a comprehensive U.S. Government approach.

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, there is a need for a comprehensive approach. In 2004, I offered an amendment that became law to create the Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, and also the amendment that created the Special Envoy. And I do call on President Trump to name that Special Envoy.

This elevates it to ambassador, so there will be additional gravitas so that this individual, whoever he or she may be, will have the ability to have direct access to the Secretary of State on the issue of combating anti-Semitism.

The bill also prohibits the position from being double-hatted. We know how that happens. All of a sudden, one person does all these different kinds of portfolios and becomes the master of none.

It also requires, as Eliot Engel said a moment ago, that, within 90 days of enactment of this act and thereafter, we need this name and we need this to be put forward so that we can get that person on the job and doing this great work.

Again, I look around at people who are getting ready to speak, Peter Roskam, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, 83 cosponsors, totally bipartisan, and absolutely needed.

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