Expressing the Sense of the House Regarding Safety and Security of European Jewish Communities

Floor Speech

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Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Royce for his leadership on this very important human rights issue, as he has done so ably and effectively on all of these issues, particularly his leadership on Iran; and that, of course, would be echoed with Eliot Engel's excellent work there as well. This is a group of leaders that have made a huge difference. So thank you, Chairman Royce, for that.

H. Res. 354, Mr. Speaker, prescribes specific, effective actions that government should take in response to the deadly threats to the Jewish communities in Europe. As we all know, the number of violent anti-Semitic attacks have increased from 100 to 400 percent in some European countries since 2013 alone. Murders in Paris and Copenhagen and elsewhere remind us that there are those who are motivated by anti-Semitic hate and have the will and the means to kill.

I would just note parenthetically that my work in combating anti-Semitism began back in 1981, in my first term, from this very podium, speaking out in favor of Jewish refuseniks. I joined Mark Levin and the NCSJ 1 year later in 1982 on a trip to the Soviet Union where we met with men and women who were targeted by the KGB and the Soviet evil empire simply because they were Jewish. Sadly, anti-Semitism has not abated, and in recent years, it has actually worsened.

This resolution calls for the United States Government to work with our European allies on specific actions that are essential to keep European Jewish communities safe and secure. It is based on consultations with the leading experts who are working directly with these communities. The resolution focuses on the formal partnerships between European law enforcement agencies and Jewish community security groups.

Here in the United States, Mr. Speaker, the collaboration between the Department of Homeland Security and Security Community Network--an initiative of the Jewish Federation of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations--has been essential to protecting Jewish communities here.

The formal partnerships between the Community Security Trust in the United Kingdom and the Jewish Community Security Service in France and their respective governments are also excellent models that need to be emulated.

The resolution emphasizes the importance of consistent, two-way communication and information sharing between law enforcement agencies and Jewish community groups. It encourages the development of a pan-European information sharing, communication, and alerting system, and envisions governments, intergovernmental agencies, and Jewish communities working together on it. Such a system should function day-round and year-round and include training for personnel who are implementing it.

The resolution also calls for European governments to support assessments in several key areas and accordingly adjust their actions and strategies. Details matter. The assessments should gather and analyze data on crimes committed, response from law enforcement, types of attacks or incidents that are most prevalent, and the types of targets that are most at risk.

It is essential to understand how law enforcement agencies usually receive reports of anti-Semitic crimes and what initial actions they take when a report is filed.

I remember years ago, when I offered a resolution at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, we heard that it was just hooliganism and other kinds of acts done by young people when you spray-paint a swastika on a tombstone in a Jewish cemetery, when you deface a synagogue, and you attack a man simply because he is wearing a yarmulke. Clearly, these are acts of anti-Semitic hate; yet, they were being dismissed as something that was other.

Assessments are also needed on Jewish community security groups, particularly of their capabilities, resources, relationships with local law enforcement agencies, preparedness, including emergency response plans, and the extent to which their decisionmaking is based on the best available information, analysis, and practices.

The resolution calls for governments to use these assessments to help these community groups develop common baseline safety standards. These standards should include, as I said before, training, controlling access to physical facilities, physical security measures, including cameras, and crisis communications. Emergency exercises and simulations, mapping access to facilities, and sharing information with law enforcement agencies should also be part of the standards.

These assessments, Mr. Speaker, will help achieve the resolution's call for law enforcement personnel to be well trained to monitor, prevent, and respond to anti-Semitic violence and to partner with Jewish communities. For all of these assessments, governments should draw information from sources that include Jewish groups, law enforcement agencies, independent human rights NGOs, research initiatives, and other civil society groups and leaders.

H. Res. 354 calls for safety awareness and suspicious activity reporting campaigns, like ``If you see something, say something'' here in the United States. Other aspects of the resolution include appropriately integrating initiatives to counter violent extremism and those to combat anti-Semitism and the urgency of implementing the declarations, decisions, and other commitments of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that focus on anti-Semitism.

To accomplish these goals, the resolution calls for European governments to ensure that they appoint or designate senior officials with the necessary authority and resources to combat anti-Semitism and collaborate with governmental and intergovernmental agencies, law enforcement, and Jewish community groups.

Finally, the resolution reaffirms support for the mandate of the United States Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism as part of the broader policy of fostering international religious freedom and urges the Secretary of State to continue robust U.S. reporting on anti-Semitism by the Department of State and the Special Envoy to Combat and Monitor Anti-Semitism.

I would note parenthetically that I authored the amendment to the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act of 2004, introduced and sponsored by Senator Voinovich. My amendment created the Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism within the State Department. That has proven to be a key tool in this fight.

Mr. Speaker, the resolution has the support of leading organizations, and it has 89 cosponsors, including all eight of the co-chairs of the Bipartisan Taskforce for Combating Anti-Semitism.

I would like to acknowledge, Mr. Speaker, John Farmer, Jr., and Paul Goldenberg for their tireless efforts and dedication and leadership in fighting anti-Semitism and terrorism over the years.

John is a former attorney general of New Jersey and is now on the steering committee of the Institute for Emergency Preparedness and Homeland Security and is the codirector of the Faith-Based Communities Security Program at Rutgers University.

Paul is the executive director of the Secure Community Network and a senior adviser to the Institute and the program. Several major Jewish communities in Europe have relied on their counsel, and both have spent time on the ground within these communities.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge and single out for very, very special thanks and recognition Rabbi Andy Baker, personal representative of the OSCE chair in the Office on Combating Anti-Semitism and director of the International Jewish Affairs for the American Jewish Committee. He has been critical--critical--to American leadership in Europe and in the United States in the fight against anti-Semitism.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds.

I just want to thank my dear colleague, Mr. Cohen, and the other members of the taskforce.

This is truly a bipartisan resolution. We all contributed to it. We all care deeply about it. I want him and my other colleagues to know how deeply I respect their efforts, which have been Herculean, to try to end this cruelty that is on the rise in Europe, in the United States, and in other parts. We know in the Middle East it is perhaps as bad as it has ever been; and the diaspora that makes its way into Europe is carrying that hatred with them--not all of them, of course, but a sizable number--presenting more and more challenges.

This is truly a bipartisan effort, and I want to thank Mr. Cohen for his comments.

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Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Again, I want to thank Mr. Engel for his leadership and his kind words. Again, this is truly a collaborative effort, and I want to thank him for it.

Mr. Speaker, at a congressional hearing I chaired in 2002--and I chaired about 18 such hearings on combating anti-Semitism--Dr. Shimon Samuels of the Wiesenthal Center said: ``The Holocaust for 30 years after the war acted as a protective Teflon against blatant anti-Semitic expression, especially in Europe. That Teflon has eroded, and what was considered distasteful and politically incorrect is becoming simply an opinion.'' He warned ominously, saying, ``cocktail chatter at fine English dinners can end as Molotov cocktails against synagogues.''

Mr. Speaker, Abraham Lincoln once said that ``to sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.'' Silence is not an option. And, I would equally say, nor is inaction.

If our fight is to succeed, we need government officials at all levels to not just denounce but to act without hesitation or delay whenever and wherever anti-Semitic acts occur. There are no exceptions. The purveyors of hate never take a holiday or grow weary, nor should we.

H. Res. 354 is a best practices resolution designed to seriously inspire and challenge the governments of Europe, especially law enforcement and their homeland security agencies, to partner with their respective Jewish communities to mitigate and hopefully end and eradicate anti-Semitism in all of its ugly manifestations.

United States law enforcement, Department of Homeland Security, the Justice Department, the FBI, as well as State Homeland Security agencies, including in my own State of New Jersey, have been robust and aggressive in combating anti-Semitism here. We need to replicate this and encourage others to follow our lead and that of the UK, and I do hope we will do that.

This resolution is broadly bipartisan. I want to thank Nathaniel Hurd, on our staff, for his tremendous work on this resolution, working with all of his respective staffers and Members, of course, to bring this about. And I want to thank the leadership for bringing it to the floor this evening.

I urge a ``yea'' vote.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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