Kristallnacht 77th Anniversary

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. Speaker, Monday, November 9, marks the 77th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the event that would foreshadow the crimes against humanity that the Nazis would commit against 6 million Jews and other religious and ethnic minorities.

Inspired by incitement from the Nazi Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, regime members, and party loyalists issued orders to local officials to target and attack the Jewish community. Often disguised in plain clothes to perpetuate the false narrative that these were spontaneous attacks and the expression of the public sentiment toward the Jews, the pogroms of Kristallnacht had an immediate and chilling impact.

Mr. Speaker, mobs roamed the streets freely attacking Jews in their houses, destroying their businesses, and forcing them to perform public acts of humiliation. Nearly 300 synagogues were destroyed while Jewish artifacts and archives were confiscated.

Approximately 7,500 Jewish-owned businesses and shops were vandalized and looted; and to add to the disgrace and punishment of having their livelihoods taken from them and destroyed, the Jews were blamed for the events of Kristallnacht, and they were fined for damages--the then equivalent of $400 million. Over 30,000 Jews were arrested and then transferred to some of the Nazi's most gruesome and notorious concentration camp sites during the events of Kristallnacht.

Nearly 100 Jews were killed on the night of November 9, 1938, and into the morning the next day.

Yet, Mr. Speaker, this was only the beginning. Facing little public backlash, the Nazi regime took the events of Kristallnacht as a signal of support for their cruel treatment of the Jewish community and quickly imposed restrictions against the Jews that would lead up to the Holocaust.

Mr. Speaker, Kristallnacht is a solemn reminder of what can happen when people allow anti-Semitism, incitement, and hatred to carry on unabated. Kristallnacht was the manifestation of fear and scapegoating and was not only allowed to take place, but was the direct result of a people's indifference to the hatred of a religious minority. And indifference is, indeed, all that is needed for evil to take root, for evil to expand.

That is precisely why we must commemorate these tragic events that mar our collective past and that mark one of humanity's darkest periods, and why we must rededicate ourselves to the vow of: ``Never again.''

This is particularly important in today's environment, as Israel finds itself plagued by a new round of terror and violence that has been spurred upon by incitement and anti-Israel indoctrination from the Palestinian authority and its so-called leaders.

In the past month and a half, there have been nearly 60 random knife attacks against Israeli citizens, five shootings, and six car rammings. Yet, where is the condemnation from the international community? Instead of speaking out against these attacks, the United Nations Human Rights Council invited Abu Mazen, and he used his platforms to spew out his harmful and inciting rhetoric. Responsible nations must condemn, not ignore, Abu Mazen's words and his actions.

Last month, Secretary Kerry said that leaders need to lead; and, this week, this body stood up and said enough is enough.

The House passed a resolution I offered, alongside my south Florida colleague, Congressman Ted Deutch, that condemned the anti-Israel and anti-Semitic attacks from within the Palestinian authority.

The House also passed a resolution that encouraged our government to do more in the fight against anti-Semitism and to work more closely with the governments of Europe to step up their efforts to battle the alarming rise of anti-Semitism across the continent.

And we need to do more at home, especially on our college campuses. Too often, Mr. Speaker, anti-Semitism is being disguised as an anti-Israel political attack, manifested primarily through the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, the BDS movement.

We have a moral obligation to stand up against these acts.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source