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Floor Speech
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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on anti-Semitism, the attack in Colorado, the shooting in Washington, and the arson in Pennsylvania have one thing in common: The assailants have cited anti-Israel sentiment as justification for their violence. They have, in other words, used the actions of the Israeli Government they don't like to justify violence against Jewish Americans here at home. This is unfortunately a growing trend since October 7.
As the highest ranking Jewish elected official in American history, I have watched with growing alarm as a poisonous ideology--ancient in its roots but modern in its mutations--has spread across our country. We are witnessing in real time the resurgence of collective blame against the Jewish people. If we do not confront it clearly, unequivocally, and together, we risk opening the door to even darker days.
I have said that it is legitimate and not anti-Semitic to peacefully protest and criticize the actions of any government, including the Israeli Government, but there is a profound and dangerous difference between criticizing a government and condemning an entire people. The idea that Jews everywhere bear responsibility for the policies of the Israeli Government is not only false, it plays on one of the oldest forms of anti-Semitism out there: blaming the Jews collectively for the world's problems.
Whether it is blaming the Jews for the death of Christ, blaming Jews for bringing in immigrants as part of the conspiracy theory of great replacement, or blaming the Jews for actions of the Israeli Government that one may not like, it is all the same: a pretext for hate.
I have long warned that if we aren't careful, what starts as legitimate critiques against the Israeli Government can easily slip into something far more sinister. If disagreements are allowed to morph into intolerance, if intolerance is permitted to spread and linger, if bigoted voices are allowed to take over legitimate debates, history shows that the threat of violence is never too far away. I fear history is beginning to whisper its warnings once again.
Our Nation has been strongest when it has stood against bigotry in all forms. Let us summon that strength again. The way forward is very clear: All Americans of good will must stand together to condemn anti- Semitism and all forms of intolerance, no matter where it rears its ugly head. Let us remember what America is all about and who we are.
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