May 7, 2002

To: Officers, Rabbis, Key Contacts
From: Richard B. Stone, Chairman
Betty Ehrenberg, Director, International and Communal Affairs
Re: House and Senate Initiatives on Anti-Semitism in Europe
Support H.Res. 393 and S.Res. 248

Immediate Action Necessary
As you know, a resolution is circulating in the House, introduced by Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-NY), calling attention to the increase of anti-Semitism sweeping Europe. A Senate resolution was introduced by Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR), Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY), and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) which calls upon the governments of Europe to:

• Acknowledge publicly and without reservation the anti-Semitic character of the attacks as violations of human rights; and to utilize the full power of law enforcement tools to investigate the crimes and punish the perpetrators;
   

• Decry the rationalizing of anti-Jewish attitudes in violent attacks against Jews as merely a result of justified popular frustration with the conflict in the Middle East; and 
   

• Take measures to protect and ensure the security of Jewish citizens and their institutions, many of whom suffered so grievously in Europe in the past century.

The resolution also expresses the sense of the Senate that:
1. Both Congress and the Administration must raise this issue in its bilateral contacts;

2. The State Department's Annual Country Reports on Human Rights should thoroughly document this phenomenon, not just in Europe, but world-wide; and

3. The Commission on International Religious Freedom should continue to document and report on this phenomenon in Europe and world-wide.

Representative Joseph Crowley (D-NY) and Senator Jon Corzine (D-NJ) have introduced identical resolutions in the House and Senate (H.Res. 393 and S.Res. 248 respectively), which declare "It is the sense of the House of Representatives/Senate that

• The governments of Europe should take all necessary steps to protect the safety and well-being of their respective Jewish communities;
   

• The governments of Europe should make a concerted effort to cultivate an atmosphere of cooperation and reconciliation among the Jewish and non-Jewish residents of Europe."

URGENT ACTION NECESSARY

• Urge your Senators to sign on to the very important Smith/Schumer/Clinton/Hatch resolution. Senate staff can contact Rob Epplin in Senator Smith's office at (202) 224-8323 or Andrew Shapiro in Senator Clinton's office at (202) 224-4451 or Carl Meacham in Senator Schumer's office at (202) 224-6542 to make sure they are included in this initiative.
   

• Urge your Representatives to add their names to the list of co-sponsors of the Crowley resolution by contacting Tony Silberfeld in Rep. Crowley's office at (202) 225-3965. Thank those who have already signed on to it (listed below). Below is a statement by Senator Jon S. Corzine (D-NJ) made on the Senate floor regarding the issue of anti-Semitism in Europe that emphasizes important points you can make in your communications to your legislators.

Statement by Senator Jon S. Corzine
Anti-Semitism in Europe

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce a resolution calling upon the governments of Europe to take all necessary steps to protect the safety and well being of the European Jewish Community and to make an effort to foster cooperation and reconciliation between Jewish and non-Jewish residents.

Mr. President, the recent success in the first round of the French Presidential election of Jean-Marie Le Pen - a candidate who once dismissed the horrific atrocities committed against the Jews and others by the Nazis as "a detail in history" - stands as the latest and perhaps the most troubling sign of a growing tide of anti-Semitism in France. As the second-highest vote getter in France's multi-candidate presidential election, Le Pen will face Jacques Chirac in the upcoming runoff. The election of Le Pen has sent shockwaves throughout the Jewish community, which has watched as a nascent but virulent strain of anti-Semitism has gained momentum in France, a country with nearly 600,000 Jews.

But, Mr. President, France is not the only country that has experienced a surge in anti-Semitism in the last few months. There has been a horrifying increase in the number of anti-Semitic acts throughout Europe, with major incidents in Belgium, Switzerland, and Germany, as well as France. Synagogues in Brussels and Marseille have been burned. Jews have been physically assaulted in Berlin and in Bondy, an eastern suburb of Paris. Community Centers, school buses, and Jewish sites have been vandalized throughout the region. And the Jewish community has faced a persistent barrage of anti-Semitic propaganda and libel. 

Mr. President, this is not a trifling matter. In France alone, police estimate that there are 10 to 12 anti-Semitic incidents each day. Germany, which has made historic strides since the Second World War to reduce anti-Semitism, has experienced a troubling surge in hate crimes against the Jewish Community. Anti-Semites in Germany, for example, have spray-painting swastikas on a monument memorializing Jews murdered during the Holocaust, and have attacked Jewish youths returning home from a Passover Seder. The unrelenting wave of anti-Semitic activities has terrorized the European Jewish community and dredged up memories of Europe's anti-Semitic past.

Mr. President, the international community must not allow this situation to intensify before significant action is taken. It was only a short time ago that the bigotry of a few evil people snowballed into an international phenomenon of tragic proportions. There are disturbing similarities between the recent proliferation of anti-Semitism and the increase in anti-Semitism in interwar Europe. The Holocaust also began with small, seemingly isolated events, but developed into a methodical campaign to exterminate an entire people. It is imperative that something be done immediately to quell the pernicious tide of anti-Semitism throughout the continent. 

Mr. President, anti-Semitism is an abomination against civilized society and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. The international community must not stand idly by as this problem worsens. Europe has a fundamental responsibility to encourage toleration and understanding between all of its citizens, Jew and non-Jew alike. 

I strongly urge my colleagues to support this resolution as an important message to Europe's Jews that we stand with them and to Europe's leaders that more needs to be done to guarantee peaceful coexistence for all of its citizens. I hope it can be adopted without delay. 

H.RES. 393
COSPONSORS (34), ALPHABETICAL:
 

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Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America
Institute for Public Affairs

Prof. Richard Stone, Chairman
Nathan Diament, Director
Betty Ehrenberg, Director, International Affairs & Communal Relations

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