Anti-Semitism

Floor Speech

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Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. I thank the gentlewoman from New York, particularly for her leadership in stepping up and bringing to the floor of the United States House of Representatives the incredibly important topic of anti-Semitism, not just nationally but globally, because much of the conflict that exists worldwide today, unfortunately, stems from poisonous anti-Semitism.

The gentlewoman from New York represents the district that my parents grew up in and neighborhoods and communities with a proud Jewish immigrant tradition. And she also represents the Asian American community that has come and joined that crowd and vibrant ethnic community of immigrants who have contributed so much to the United States' rich tapestry of diversity. And it is diversity that we celebrate. But, unfortunately, it is not a difference that everyone celebrates, as we have seen with the precipitous and poisonous rise in anti-Semitism.

So from the bottom of my heart, as a Jew, and as the representative of a significant Jewish population, myself, thank you so much for your leadership and bringing this important issue to the floor of the House of Representatives, because it is only through shining a light on anti-Semitism that we are going to be able to help educate people and fight back.

And I rise today, Mr. Speaker, to condemn the alarming increase of anti-Semitism that we have witnessed over the last few weeks. The Anti-Defamation League released a terrifying report just last month about anti-Semitism growing throughout the world.

Tragically, my own constituents have personally experienced terrifying and heinous crimes against them just this past week. On Monday morning, congregants and neighbors were horrified to find that swastikas had been spray painted on the walls of Torah V'Emunah synagogue in Miami-Dade County. In Miami Beach over the weekend, a Jewish couple found their car had been egged and the words ``Hamas'' and ``Jew'' had been smeared on their cars.

These deplorable acts are atrocious and despicable. For all of us who care about the rights of minority populations in this country, who celebrate the rich diversity that makes up our great Nation, we cannot and we must not be silent.

It is amazing to many of us that these actions are occurring in 2014, not in 1930s Nazi Germany. But, unfortunately, we are also witnessing what Anti-Defamation League director and holocaust survivor Abe Foxman recently called the worst anti-Semitism since World War II.

As the gentlewoman from New York detailed, in France, in an episode that is chillingly reminiscent of Kristallnacht, we witnessed angry rioters throw firebombs at synagogues and ransack and destroy Jewish-owned businesses. In Belgium, a cafe actually publicly displayed a sign saying dogs were allowed in the cafe, but Jews were not.

Thankfully, we have seen the leaders of European countries, including Germany, France, and Italy, condemn this kind of behavior. There are countless voices across Europe speaking up in the face of this barbarism.

But this anti-Semitism is real. This hatred is real, and the violence is real.

Many not close to this issue may ask why. To us, it is very clear. This recent surge of anti-Semitism is born out of knee-jerk vitriolic reaction to the conflict raging in Israel and Gaza. But this conflation of anti-Semitism with the recent actions of Israel in defense of her people is completely misplaced. Israel's actions are a direct response against rocket attacks from a terrorist organization whose stated mission is Israel's destruction and that thrives on a continuing narrative of anti-Semitism and hatred.

Unfortunately, we only see a few lone voices around the world protesting against a Hamas government that knowingly and willingly puts its citizens, its children, in harm's way, placing them in jeopardy and sacrificing their lives to engender sympathy for their evil cause.

We hear little from much of the world against a terrorist organization that chose to invest in rockets and building tunnels for plotting murderous attacks against innocent civilians instead of investing in homes and schools and hospitals for its citizens.

Instead of condemning these cowardly practices by Hamas, we have, however, seen people rage equally against Israel, Israelis, and Jews anywhere. The words and phrases that these protesters are using cannot be spoken on this House floor. They have been dug up from the worst episodes of human history.

That is why I am proud to stand with my colleagues tonight, to stand with President Obama and Secretary Kerry, and send a clear message that these actions will not be tolerated. We must stand by the commitments we made as a community and as a world to never again stand silent in the face of this kind of horror, this kind of bigotry, this kind of injustice.

We will not stand idly by as vitriolic speech turns into violence against innocent people. Never again.

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