Anti-Semitism

Floor Speech

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Mr. REID. Mr. President, last week there were celebrations all around the world celebrating the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.

Here in our Nation's capital, we celebrated the day that Europe was officially liberated. Just outside of the Capitol, dozens of World War II aircraft flew up and down the Mall honoring and celebrating the end of the war that engulfed Europe--over the Lincoln Memorial, the National World War II Memorial, the Washington Monument, over the Capitol, and points in between.

I grew up in a little town and I was a little boy, but I can still remember the war ending. I don't really remember what I remember, but I knew it was something that was important to everybody there. It was a big deal in Searchlight, as it was everyplace in America. The war was at an end. Americans were thankful that the war was over. They were thankful that their fathers, sons, brothers, and--yes, Mr. President--World War II daughters were able to come home. They had fought valiantly on battlefields across the world, and they would be coming home--as I mentioned, the women, the WAVES, the WACs, and SPARS--all these women, thousands and thousands who participated in the war, for that manner.

Across America we were all happy that freedom and democracy had prevailed over a regime that was fueled by hatred.

I heard on the radio this morning a brief account of Winston Churchill. That was many years ago, 70 years ago today giving a speech. He had only been Prime Minister 3 days, and he gave one of his most famous speeches, about all he had to offer. They were engulfed in this war. They were doing it alone. It was a stunning speech that history will always remember. But after that war was over, we were happy. England was happy. Freedom and democracy had prevailed over a regime that was fueled by hatred.

As I got older and could understand a little more, I first became really focused on World War II. I am sorry to say I did not do it until I was in college, but I remember it as if it were 5 minutes ago, looking at those pictures in the book ``The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich'' by William Shirer. Those pictures I will never ever forget. I can see them now in my mind's eye. In that book, there were pictures of the liberation of the concentration camps.

I learned how the world learned of the enormity of the Holocaust, the genocide of 6 million Jews. The world saw the incredible extent to which the Nazis had taken their hatred of the Jews. It is hard to comprehend, but nothing--nothing--could adequately describe how horrible the situation was. Sadly, though, as I look around the world today, there are still glimpses of that same hate that we as a human race had hoped to extinguish those seven decades ago.

It is not always on the front pages of the press or on the television sets, but it is still there. Hate wears many masks: violence, intimidation, segregation, vile rhetoric, and, of course, disenfranchisement. Anti-Semitism is that and more. Though it assumes different identities, in the end, it is still hate. It pains me to say there seems to be a resurgence of anti-Semitism across the world. I look at Israel and I see the vicious attacks carried out against innocent Jews there: the slaughter of Jewish worshipers in a Jerusalem synagogue last November; Hamas's campaign of terror, indiscriminately targeting innocent Israelis with their thousands and thousands of rockets.

I look at Europe and see the heinous acts being perpetuated there against Jews. For example, in the Netherlands, the home of a prominent rabbi was attacked twice in one week. In Paris, hundreds and hundreds of protesters attacked synagogues, smashed the windows of Jewish shops and cafes, and set several afire. In France, there was also an attack on a Jewish grocery store following the Charlie Hebdo shootings. Anti-Semitic slogans, such as ``Gas the Jews'' have been shouted at several demonstrations throughout Germany. Jewish museums throughout Norway were forced to close because of fear of attacks.

I look at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva and am sickened by its long history of bias against Israel and the people of Israel. Then I see what is happening on some college campuses here in the United States, and I am shocked by the vitriol being directed at Jews and supporters of Israel.

Last Sunday, the New York Times reported that in the midst of campus debates about boycotts of Israel, Jewish students felt increasingly intimidated. At several colleges, swastikas have been painted on the doors of Jewish fraternities and in some instances on the doors of Jews who were in their rooms. Some Jewish students feel the need to hide their heritage and support for Israel given the intense backlash. That is sad.

The former president of the University of California system, Mark Yudof, recently was quoted as saying:

Jewish students and their parents are intensely apprehensive and insecure about this movement. I hear it all the time: Where can I send my kids that will be safe for them as Jews?

That is just stunning. Bigotry and hatred have no place in the world today, especially not in a country that has long prided itself on being a beacon of freedom and acceptance. Instead, it is incumbent upon all Americans to not only stand up to anti-Semitism wherever we see it but also to stand in solidarity with the Jewish people.

Three things: Let's stand against anti-Semitism; let's stand with Israel and the Jews throughout the world; and, third, let's stand against hate.

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