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September 27, 2004
Orthodox Union Welcomes Senate Passage of
Resolution on Anti-Semitism
“The Orthodox Union applauds the leadership of
the United States Senate for passing S.Con.Res.110 in support of
the work of the OSCE in confronting and combating the evil of
anti-Semitism,” declared Betty Ehrenberg, Director of
International and Communal Affairs of the Institute for Public
Affairs of Orthodox Union. “This is an important step in the
continued fight against this alarming scourge that has been on the
rise for the past several years”, she added.
“The accomplishments of the Helsinki
Commission, members of Congress, and the OSCE in having fifty-five
member states take action against anti-Semitism are no less than
extraordinary.”
S.Con.Res.110, a resolution expressing support for the ongoing
work of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to
combat anti-Semitism and racism, was introduced by United States
Helsinki Commission Co-Chairman Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell
(R-CO) and was co-sponsored by ranking Commission member Sen.
Chris Dodd (D-CT), Commissioner Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), and
Senators Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY),
Russ Feingold (D-WI), and Gordon Smith (R-OR).
Ms. Ehrenberg, who served as a Public Member in the U.S.
delegation to the OSCE to the Conference on Anti-Semitism in
Berlin last April, testified at the Helsinki Commission hearing in
June that examined how governments have responded to anti-Semitism
in the OSCE region. “It is crucial that the fight against
anti-Semitism be supported by the full force of U.S. elected
leaders and government officials, setting an example for other
world leaders,” she said.
The Senate resolution urges “officials and elected leaders of all
OSCE participating states, including all OSCE Mediterranean
Partner for Cooperation Countries, to ‘unequivocally’ condemn acts
of anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia, and discrimination wherever
and whenever they occur”. It also calls for the Bulgarian
Chairman-in-Office Solomon Passy and the incoming Slovenian
Chairman-in-Office to consider appointing an individual to the
post of “personal envoy” - a high profile position in the OSCE
which would help ensure sustained focus on fulfilling OSCE
commitments on the tracking and reporting of anti-Semitic crimes.
“The public reporting of these statistics will
make it possible to monitor more closely acts of anti-Semitism as
they occur around the world and to take measures to counteract
them,” Ms. Ehrenberg said.
“The OU welcomes the passage of S.Con.Res.110 and looks forward to
the passage of similar legislation in the House very soon,” she
declared.
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