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

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

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

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

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

cemeteries, places of worship, and communal activity; and

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

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

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

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

even in countries where few Jews reside; and

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

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

documented by factual accounts and recorded by history; and

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism; and

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

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

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

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

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

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

opposition to policies enacted by the Government of Israel; and

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

civilians; and

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

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

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

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

and

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

of fostering international religious freedom; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That this Senate hereby supports expanded Holocaust educational

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

lessons of the Holocaust; and be it further

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

States Secretary of State to:

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

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

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

combat anti-Semitism;

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

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

OSCE Berlin Declaration against anti-Semitism;

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

violence against persons and property;

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

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

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

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;

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

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

property; and

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

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

enforcement and civil society training programs; and be it further

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

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

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

Island, and the Jewish Community Center of Rhode Island.

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