Regarding H. Res. 707

Floor Speech

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise as a cosponsor in support of H. Res. 707, a resolution condemning all forms of anti-Semitism. I also rise to spotlight the troubling and rising tide of hate crimes against Jews that has recently begun sweeping the globe. There have been violent attacks against Jews in the Middle East, death threats in Latin America, synagogues fire-bombed in Europe and the desecration of the property of Jews in North Africa.

World leaders have spoken out against these acts of violence and condemned those responsible. The resolution I helped to introduce expresses that same sentiment by unequivocally condemning all forms of anti-Semitism and urging the secretary of state to maintain as a foreign policy priority of the United States the fight against anti-Semitism in all of its forms.

The resolution also recognizes that condemnation alone will do little without the added threat of strong and effective laws to back it up. The resolution urges governments around the world to ensure that adequate laws are in place to monitor and punish those responsible for anti-Semitic violence and hate crimes.

Today I stand with my colleagues on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in solidarity with all those around the world who will not permit these hate crimes to pass without comment and who believe that acts of religiously and ethnically motivated violence against one of us is an act perpetrated against all of us.

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