Calling on Elected Officials and Civil Society Leaders to Counter Antisemitism and Educate the Public on the Contributions of the Jewish American Community
Floor Speech
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Mr. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 352) calling on elected officials and civil society leaders to counter antisemitism and educate the public on the contributions of the Jewish American community.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows: H. Res. 352
Whereas ``Jewish American Heritage Month'' has its origins in 1980, when Congress enacted a Joint Resolution entitled ``joint resolution to authorize and request the President to issue a proclamation designating April 21 through April 28, 1980, as `Jewish Heritage Week' '', approved April 24, 1980 (Public Law 96-237; 94 Stat. 338);
Whereas, on April 24, 1980, President Carter issued the proclamation for ``Jewish Heritage Week'', and in that proclamation, President Carter spoke about the bountiful contributions made by the Jewish people to the culture and history of the United States;
Whereas Congress has played a central role in recognizing ``Jewish American Heritage Month'' since the House of Representatives and Senate passed resolutions in 2005 and 2006, respectively, urging the President to proclaim the national observation of a month recognizing the Jewish- American community;
Whereas, since 2006, Presidents Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden have all issued proclamations for ``Jewish American Heritage Month'', which celebrates Jewish Americans and encourages all people of the United States to learn more about Jewish heritage and the contributions of Jewish people throughout the history of the United States;
Whereas, since Hamas' deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, antisemitism in the United States has reached record highs with incidents targeting Jews and those who are perceived as Jewish;
Whereas, according to the American Jewish Committee, 77 percent of American Jews say they feel less safe as a Jewish person in the United States because of the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks;
Whereas, according to the American Jewish Committee, almost 70 percent of Jewish adults report experiencing antisemitism online, including on social media;
Whereas, according to Hillel International, 83 percent of Jewish college students have experienced or witnessed some form of antisemitism since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel;
Whereas one of the most effective ways to combat antisemitism and hate is through education and awareness of the contributions Jewish Americans have made to the United States through the arts, entertainment, science and technology, military, government, business, culinary traditions, and other fields;
Whereas there are many Jewish American inventors that have impacted the everyday lives of Americans for the better;
Whereas Irving Naxon invented and patented the slow cooker, taking inspiration from Jewish cooking traditions in Europe;
Whereas Sylvan Goldman invented the shopping cart;
Whereas Evelyn Berezin invented the first true word- processing computer and automated airline reservation system;
Whereas Ralph Baer invented the ``Brown Box'', a prototype for the first multiplayer, multiprogram video game system;
Whereas Ruth Handler founded the toy company Mattel and invented the Barbie doll;
Whereas Emile Berliner invented the gramophone record and the microphone that became part of the first Bell telephone;
Whereas Edwin Land invented the Polaroid instant camera;
Whereas Hedy Lamarr invented the concept of ``frequency hopping'' which made possible a wide range of wireless communications technologies, including Wi-Fi, GPS, and Bluetooth; and
Whereas, to counter the rise of antisemitism, it is critical to increase awareness of Jewish-American contributions to the success of America: Now, therefore, be it:
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) calls on elected officials, faith leaders, and civil society leaders to condemn and counter all acts of antisemitism;
(2) calls on the executive branch and State and local leaders to educate the public on the contributions of the Jewish-American community and uplift Jewish stories and voices; and
(3) takes all possible steps to ensure the safety, security, and dignity of American Jews in all aspects of their lives, including the workplace, college and university campuses, synagogues, and at home.
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Mr. SCHMIDT. Res. 352.
Mr. Speaker, this month, we celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month. First proclaimed by President George W. Bush and by each President since, this month recognizes the contributions of the Jewish community to our country. We celebrate this month amidst a persistent increase in anti-Semitism in our country.
Since the October 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas on Israel, incidents of anti-Semitic attacks and harassment have skyrocketed. The American Jewish Committee found that 77 percent of American Jews say they feel less safe in the United States since the October 7 attacks. Hillel International found that 83 percent of Jewish college students have experienced or witnessed some form of anti-Semitism since the October 7 attacks.
In April, Harvard released a report examining anti-Semitism on its campus with stark findings. One Israeli student said: ``My friend has been told that others would not attend social gatherings if I was present, as they couldn't risk the social consequences of being seen with an Israeli.''
Another student said: ``I am tired of fighting. It is the same group of students whose sole objective seems to be to harass and intimidate Jewish students. Despite reaching out to every office, everyone says it is not their problem.''
Mr. Speaker, this is unacceptable. It is all of our problem, and it cannot continue. This House, elected officials at the State and local levels, faith leaders, community leaders, and university administrators all have an obligation to confront anti-Semitism.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, we have another colleague on our side who now seeks recognition. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Fine).
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Mr. SCHMIDT. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank all of our colleagues who have engaged in this discussion today on both sides of the aisle for their remarks. This is an issue that, although we go off on particulars from time to time where we strongly disagree, at its core, it is an issue where all of us agree as Americans, regardless of our philosophy, regardless of our faith, and regardless of our geography, that there is no space for anti-Semitism in American public life. I come from the State of Kansas. It was one of our favorite sons, Dwight Eisenhower, who was the Supreme Allied Commander at the end of the Second World War who entered the camps, saw the horrors, and ordered that videographers record what was seen so that people would believe because Ike was sure that it was so far beyond the pale and experience of most people what had occurred in the camps and to the Jewish people and others during the war at the hands of the Nazi regime that, without seeing, they would not believe.
I can actually still find those films on some of the streaming services. I commend them to those who have an interest in seeing that moment in history and perhaps feeling just a little piece of what those who saw it in person understood.
Mr. Speaker, I think it is true--I know it was a few years ago--that there are still fewer Jewish people alive today than there were at the start of the Holocaust, that the roughly 6 million who were killed, it has taken all this time to sort of get back numerically to that starting line.
This is not just another issue. Nobody has done it here today, but when we hear people out and about who will compare our current politics to the Nazis or to Hitler, I hope we all will remind them that it is not the same. There are moments to have vigorous debates, but it is not the same. Perhaps when those terms are used, it cheapens a bit of the experience that some of our fellow Americans lived through.
Mr. Speaker, I thank everybody for joining together on this. I encourage all of our colleagues on both sides to support this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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