2015 -- S 0279

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2015

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

STRONGLY CONDEMNING ANTI-SEMITIC ACTS

     

     Introduced By: Senators Goldin, Miller, and Raptakis

     Date Introduced: February 11, 2015

     Referred To: Senate Special Legislation and Veterans Affairs

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     WHEREAS, Anti-Semitic acts committed and recorded in 2014 around the world,

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including countries in the Middle East, Latin America, Europe, and North America, include

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incidents of murder at Jewish sites, violent attacks and death threats against Jews, as well as gun

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violence, arson, graffiti, anti-Semitic cartoons, and other property desecration at Jewish

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cemeteries, places of worship, and communal activity; and

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     WHEREAS, A survey by the Anti-Defamation League of attitudes towards Jews in more

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than 100 countries around the world, released in May 2014 found that over a quarter of the people

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surveyed (26 percent), and nearly three quarters of those surveyed in the Middle East (74 percent)

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hold anti-Semitic views, a stunning indicator of the stubborn resilience of anti-Semitic beliefs,

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even in countries where few Jews reside; and

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     WHEREAS, The Anti-Defamation League survey also found that a majority of people

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surveyed overall have either not heard of the Holocaust or do not believe it happened as has been

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documented by factual accounts and recorded by history; and

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     WHEREAS, President Barack Obama said in his remarks at the USC Shoah Foundation

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Dinner on May 7, 2014, ". . . if the memories of the Shoah survivors teach us anything, it is that

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silence is evil's greatest co-conspirator. And it's up to us--each of us, every one of us--to

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forcefully condemn any denial of the Holocaust. It's up to us to combat not only anti-Semitism,

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but racism and bigotry and intolerance in all their forms, here and around the world. It's up to us

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to speak out against rhetoric that threatens the existence of a Jewish homeland and to sustain

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America's unshakeable commitment to Israel's security''; and

 

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     WHEREAS, In 2004, Congress passed the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act, which

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established an Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, headed by a Special Envoy to

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Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism; and

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     WHEREAS, The United States Government has consistently supported efforts to address

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the rise in anti-Semitism through its bilateral relationships and through engagement in

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international organizations such as the United Nations (UN), the Organization for Security and

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Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Organization of American States (OAS); and

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     WHEREAS, In recent decades there has been a clear and troubling pattern of increased

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violence against Jewish persons and their property, purportedly in connection with increased

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opposition to policies enacted by the Government of Israel; and

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     WHEREAS, During Israel's 2014 Operation Protective Edge aiming to stem the rocket

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fire and terrorist infiltrations by Hamas, Jews and Jewish institutions and property were attacked

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in Europe and elsewhere, including attempts to invade a synagogue in Paris, fire-bombings of

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synagogues in France and Germany, assaults on Jewish individuals, and swastikas spray-painted

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in a heavily Jewish area of London and also in Rome's historic Jewish quarter; and

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     WHEREAS, Anti-Semitic imagery and comparisons of Jews and Israel to Nazis have

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been on display at demonstrations against Israel's actions in Gaza throughout the United States,

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Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, including, placards comparing Israeli leaders to

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Nazis, accusing Israel of carrying out a "holocaust'' against Palestinians, equating the Jewish Star

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of David with the Nazi swastika, and demonstrations that have included chants of "Death to

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Jews'', "Death to Israel'', or expressions of support for suicide terrorism against Israeli or Jewish

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civilians; and

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     WHEREAS, The Governments in France, Germany, and Italy, the three countries where

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the majority of incidents have occurred, have strongly condemned anti-Semitism as unacceptable

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in European society and have all made clear statements that such attacks on their Jewish

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communities are intolerable, and they have matched those words with strong law enforcement;

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and

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     WHEREAS, Some civil society leaders have set strong examples, including the

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condemnation by the Union of Mosques of France, on behalf of their 500 mosques, called the

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attacks "morally unjust and unacceptable'', and stated, "nothing can justify any act that could

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harm our Jewish compatriots, their institutions, or their places of worship''; and

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     WHEREAS, The largest newspaper in circulation in Germany, Bild, featured statements

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against anti-Semitism from politicians, business leaders, civic leaders, media personalities and

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celebrities with "Never Again Jew Hatred'' on the front page; and

 

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     WHEREAS, Lawmakers at all levels have played an essential role in illustrating and

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counteracting the resurgence of anti-Semitism worldwide; now, therefore be it

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     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

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hereby unequivocally condemns all forms of anti-Semitism and rejects attempts to justify anti-

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Jewish hatred or violent attacks as an acceptable expression of disapproval or frustration over

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political events in the Middle East or elsewhere; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That this Senate hereby decries and condemns the comparison of Israel to

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Nazis as an insult to the memory of those who perished in the Holocaust and an affront to those

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who survived and their children and grandchildren, the righteous gentiles who saved Jewish lives

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at peril to their own lives and to those who bravely fought to defeat the Nazis; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That this Senate hereby applauds those foreign leaders who have

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condemned anti-Semitic acts and calls on those who have yet to take firm action against anti-

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Semitism in their countries, to do so; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That this Senate hereby affirms its support for the mandate of the United

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States Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism as part of the broader policy priority

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of fostering international religious freedom; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That this Senate hereby supports expanded Holocaust educational

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programs that increase awareness, counter prejudice, and enhance efforts to teach the universal

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lessons of the Holocaust; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That this Senate hereby fully supports and respectfully urges the United

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States Secretary of State to:

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     (1) Maintain combating anti-Semitism as a United States foreign policy priority;

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     (2) Ensure that the instruments of United States public diplomacy, including the United

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States Representative to the Organization of Islamic Conference, are utilized to effectively

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combat anti-Semitism;

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     (3) Ensure high-level United States participation in the 2014 Organization for Security

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and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) high level event marking the 10th anniversary of the 2004

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OSCE Berlin Declaration against anti-Semitism;

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     (4) Urge governments to ensure that adequate laws are in place to punish anti-Semitic

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violence against persons and property;

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     (5) Continue robust United States reporting on anti-Semitism by the Department of State

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and the Special Envoy to Combat and Monitor Anti-Semitism;

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     (6) Provide necessary training and instruction for personnel posted in United States

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embassies and missions to analyze and report on anti-Semitic violence against persons and

 

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property as well as the response of governments to those incidents;

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     (7) Ensure that United States Government efforts to train law enforcement personnel and

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prosecutors abroad incorporate tools to address anti-Semitic violence against persons and

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property; and

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     (8) Strongly support the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's

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specialized efforts to monitor and address anti-Semitism, including through support for its law

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enforcement and civil society training programs; and be it further

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     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

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transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation, the

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Honorable John Kerry, Secretary of State of the United States, the Jewish Federation of Rhode

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Island, and the Jewish Community Center of Rhode Island.

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