Directing the Removal of United States Armed Forces From Hostilities in the Republic of Yemen That Have Not Been Authorized By Congress--Veto

Floor Speech

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Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, on Saturday, on the final day of Passover, our Nation once again came face to face with the violent hatred of anti-Semitism--barely 6 months since the murders at the Tree of Life in Pittsburgh, and, again, gunfire in a synagogue. Again, a place of reverent worship for our Jewish brothers and sisters was thrown into deadly chaos--this time at the Chabad of Poway synagogue in California.

Three people--the synagogue's founding rabbi, an 8-year old girl, and her uncle visiting from Israel--were injured by gunfire. Lori Kaye, who attended the service with her husband and 22-year-old daughter to deliver a prayer of mourning for her own late mother, was killed when she threw herself between the rabbi and the shooter. Ms. Kaye has been described as ``the example of kindness to the fullest extent,'' and now, in the words of the rabbi who oversees Chabad of San Diego County, she has ``lost her life solely for living as a Jew.''

According to some reports, that 8-year-old girl, in her young life, has already had to flee incoming rocket attacks in Gaza and then, here in America, has seen her family home subjected to anti-Semitic graffiti, and now she has been shot--shot at her synagogue.

Here is what she said yesterday:

I never thought that was going to happen to me . . . it's a safe place; you're supposed to feel safe.

Well, in an abhorrent way, it may be fitting that our Nation will spend the week of Yom Hashoah, the Holocaust Remembrance Day observed in Israel and worldwide, keenly focused on the disturbing rise in anti- Semitism within our own borders and around the globe.

Recent attacks on Muslims in New Zealand and Christians in Sri Lanka remind us that religious hatred exists in many forms, but, of course, the Jewish people have long been subjected to a unique degree of disgusting prejudice, and it is paired too often with indifference from others.

Just in the last few days, the New York Times published a transparently anti-Semitic political cartoon in its international edition--not just online. It ran in print. The Times compounded the error by issuing an initial correction that failed to accurately apologize for the blatant anti-Semitic tropes in which the cartoon trafficked. Fortunately, the Times has since finally published what appears to be a genuine apology.

This episode, as one of the New York Times own columnists explained, ``was an astonishing act of ignorance of anti-Semitism . . . at a publication that is otherwise hyperalert to nearly every conceivable expression of prejudice.''

In other words, even important institutions that strive to meet progressive sensibilities can often be blind to anti-Jewish prejudice and attitudes in a way that would never be tolerated for a second where most other vulnerable groups are concerned.

Combined with all the troubling statistics I have discussed on the floor in the past, it could just not be clearer that rising anti- Semitism requires swift action. Here is just one example. We know that anti-Semitism often masquerades as political opposition to Israel in an attempt to appear--to appear--more legitimate. But today, as hate for the Jewish people makes headlines with alarming frequency, this charade is being seen for what it is, and the Senate recently took action to condemn it flat out. Included in the S. 1 legislation the Senate passed earlier this year was a provision to help State and local governments push back against the influence of the BDS movement and to enable communities to shut off the flow of taxpayer dollars to entities that support these anti-Israel boycotters. Unfortunately, Democratic leaders in the House have not seen fit to take up this straightforward measure. Even as they have struggled to swiftly and clearly condemn instances of anti-Semitism within their own ranks, they have also let this important provision in S. 1 languish. It is still sitting over in the House.

The infectious threat of anti-Semitism is serious. Much more must be done the world over to ensure that it finds no home in modern society.

I just want to close with the inspiring comments from the rabbi in the San Diego Chabad. He said:

In the face of senseless hate, we commit to live proudly as Jews in this glorious country. We strongly believe that love is exponentially more powerful than hate.

Nominations

Madam President, on a totally different matter, when I last spoke here on the floor, the Senate had taken an important step toward restoring the sort of comity and efficiency that once governed our consideration of uncontroversial nominations. In the face of across- the-board, systematic opposition and delaying tactics for even the most politically uncontroversial of the President's nominees, the Senate took action and brought this chapter of pure partisan calculation to an end.

Subsequently, we began doing business at a more normal, more reasonable pace. We confirmed a number of qualified public servants who still went on to receive bipartisan support for confirmation and did so in a fraction of the time it had been taking.

So today we will continue yet another slate of well-qualified candidates for service in the executive branch and on the Federal courts. We will consider three individuals to join the President's team, beginning with William Cooper of Maryland to serve as General Counsel to the Department of Energy. Then, we will consider five nominees to fill Federal district court vacancies in Texas, Alabama, Florida, Puerto Rico, and Pennsylvania.

There is still so much work to be done. Two years of unprecedented obstruction can't be reversed overnight, but we have taken some important steps in the right direction, and this week we will take several more. Remembering Richard Lugar

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