Unequivocally Condemning the Recent Rise in Antisemitic Violence and Harassment Targeting Jewish Americans, and Standing in Solidarity with Those Affected By Antisemitism

Floor Speech

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Ms. ROSEN. Madam President, I rise today as cochair of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Anti-Semitism, which just relaunched this week with over half the Senate as Members. I am speaking out because Jewish-Americans and Jews across the globe are in danger.

They are in danger because we are experiencing a worldwide surge in anti-Semitic hate crimes and violence. In communities across America, Jews have been threatened, they have been verbally accosted, and brutally assaulted.

Anti-Semitism has long been the canary in the coal mine of hatred. History teaches us that when anti-Semitism takes hold, democracy itself is imperiled. This issue has reared its ugly head in recent years, particularly in the past month.

According to the ADL, anti-Semitic incidents in May were double what they were during the same period last year. Over the past few weeks, we have seen horrendous attacks on Jewish communities. In New York, fireworks were hurled at a crowd of Jewish-Americans. In Los Angeles, Jewish diners were attacked.

One response I saw to a recent desecration of a synagogue in Arizona has stuck with me. The response said ``the amount of Jewish hate isn't shocking. The silence is.''

Those who committed these egregious acts wanted to send a message. They wanted to say that Jews have no place here. And it is critical that we send a clear and forceful message back. We must ensure that our elected leaders, Democrats and Republicans, are resolute in affirming that there is zero tolerance for anti-Semitism.

We must honor the words of George Washington, who wrote to the Jewish community of Rhode Island in 1790, that America ``gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance,'' which is why I urge the Senate to immediately take up my bipartisan resolution condemning the recent anti-Semitic incidents, unconditionally and unequivocally.

I am calling on leaders to take specific steps--specific steps--to address and prevent them, including having the President nominate and the Senate confirm a qualified Ambassador to monitor and combat anti- Semitism, fully implementing my bipartisan Never Again Education Act to advance Holocaust education, having agencies improve their collection of anti-Semitic hate crime data, and sufficiently funding the Nonprofit Security Grant program to protect houses of worship and community centers from violence.

I want to thank Senator Lankford and his staff for their work in helping to pass this resolution, which currently has 74 cosponsors.

Madam President, as if in legislative session, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration and the Senate now proceed to S. Res. 252.

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Ms. ROSEN. I know of no further debate on the measure.

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