Strongly condemning and denouncing the drastic rise of antisemitism in the United States and around the world.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in strong support of any and all serious and meaningful efforts to combat anti-Semitism.

The explosion of anti-Semitism around the world, on college campuses, and online is so shocking that it was the subject of nearly every Jewish household's Thanksgiving meal a week ago.

The Jewish community is absolutely right to consider this terrifying situation a five-alarm fire, as Senator Schumer so appropriately put it in his moving speech to the Nation just a few days ago.

Unfortunately, this resolution does absolutely nothing to genuinely counter the scourge of anti-Semitism, nor does it help bring us together with the unity of purpose that this topic merits. Rather, it is another attempt in a long series of veiled efforts by the GOP to weaponize Jewish lives for political gains. It is another partisan gotcha game that amounts to cheap value signaling, not serious action. If there ever was a time for real action, it is now.

Today, in the face of the largest increase in anti-Semitism, both violent and virulent, in this Nation's history, we have a clear choice. We can abuse this moment to try to inflict interparty political damage or we can rise to the occasion and do something real and powerful to actually help the Jewish community.

Just in the last few weeks, we have seen disgusting displays of outright anti-Semitism. Over the weekend, protesters in Philadelphia targeted a Jewish business. It is plainly and unequivocally anti- Semitic to hold Jews collectively responsible for Israel's actions.

In my district, vile, anti-Semitic graffiti has been scrawled on apartment buildings in the Upper East Side. On the Upper West Side, two Jewish women were assaulted after calling out individuals who were despicably tearing down posters of Israeli hostages.

Last week in Brooklyn, three attackers violently attacked a 15-year- old Jewish boy, yelling, ``Free Palestine'' as they punched and kicked the stranger.

This anti-Semitic hate is happening across the country. The Oakland City Council rejected a bid to denounce Hamas, as speaker after speaker espoused dangerously misguided and factually erroneous views at a deeply troubling anti-Semitic public hearing.

Since the Israel-Hamas war began, the GOP has seemed gleeful at their partisan wedging at the expense of the Jewish community, and they have utterly failed to do anything serious to address this crisis. If they object to my charges, let me ask them here today three key questions:

First, what have my friends on the other side of the aisle--the only ones who actually control the agenda on the floor--done to implement the White House's National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism? This historic whole-of-government plan, which has bipartisan support, has been completely ignored in this dysfunctional MAGA-extremist Congress. The answer is clear: They have done nothing.

Second, when will the GOP majority stop its efforts to defund the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, the office that must protect Jewish students from the horrendous discrimination they face on campus today? In order to enforce title VI, the law that prevents such discrimination in education, the Department needs the resources to put legal and investigatory boots on the ground. The answer: The majority still supports defunding this office, and that means Jewish students will remain at terrible risk.

Third, what will the GOP do to ensure that the high-risk Nonprofit Security Grant Program run through the Department of Homeland Security has a meaningful increase in funding? This program keeps our synagogues and Hebrew schools safe across the country. The answer: House Republicans have done absolutely nothing to shore up this program.

I demand that we take real action. Representatives Goldman, Raskin, and I today introduced a resolution which would commit ourselves to the full implementation of the National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism. I implore my Republican colleagues to join it. Join us and take concrete action.

I call on them to actually protect Jewish lives by a dramatic increase in funding for the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights and the high-risk Nonprofit Security Grant Program. That is what taking meaningful action would look like.

Mr. Speaker, by bringing this resolution to the floor without a single Democratic cosponsor, which is extremely unusual, and by rushing it to a vote without careful and considerate collaboration, my Republican friends have shown us who they are and precisely what are their intentions.

In my three decades in Congress, I have voted on numerous bills and resolutions addressing anti-Semitism, including my own. I have never seen an anti-Semitism-focused vehicle come to the floor without the cosponsorship of a single member of the minority party.

The House Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism doesn't support such partisan gamesmanship, nor does the Anti-Defamation League, nor does the American Jewish Committee. With this resolution, the GOP has shown themselves fundamentally unserious about combating anti-Semitism. Of course, none of us should be surprised.

If our friends on the other side of the aisle were serious about combating anti-Semitism, they would have spoken up when former President Trump called the Nazis in Charlottesville very fine people. They would have condemned the former President when he dined with known Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes. Chairman Jordan would have thought better before tweeting out ``Kanye, Elon, Trump,'' sending out dog whistles to their white supremacist, anti-Semitic base.

They also would have chosen their recent witnesses more carefully. Chairman Jordan chose to give a platform to Robert Kennedy, Jr., just days after he trafficked in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories suggesting Jews were responsible for COVID.

I cannot help but note that although this resolution strongly condemns and denounces anti-Semitism, its authors carefully avoided mentioning any of the obvious instances of anti-Semitism coming from their own leaders.

The resolution is flawed in other ways, as well. For example, the resolution implicitly compares some peaceful protesters with the January 6 rioters and insurrectionists. I suppose they have their reasons for that.

More problematically, the resolution suggests that all anti-Zionism-- it states that all anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism. That is either intellectually disingenuous or just factually wrong. It unfairly implicates many of my orthodox former constituents in Brooklyn, many of whose families rose from the ashes of the Holocaust.

While most anti-Zionism is indeed anti-Semitic, the authors, if they were at all familiar with Jewish history and culture, should know about Jewish anti-Zionism that was and is expressly not anti-Semitic. This resolution ignores the fact that even today certain orthodox Hasidic Jewish communities--the Satmars in New York and others--as well as adherents of the prestate Jewish labor movement have held views that are at odds with the modern Zionist conception.

According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, ``the anti-Zionist world-view of the ultra-Orthodox groups . . . '' like the ``Satmar Hasidism perceives Zionism and the establishment of the State of Israel as an anti-messianic act . . . '' That is to say that these ultra-orthodox Hasidic Jews believe that only the Messiah can bring about the true Israel, and I assure you the Satmar Hasidic Jews are certainly not anti-Semitic.

I should also note that there are those who try to smear even progressive pro-Israel supporters with the inappropriate label of ``Israel hater'' or ``anti-Zionist.'' Under this resolution, those who love Israel deeply but criticize some of its policy approaches could be considered anti-Zionist. That could make every Democratic Jewish Member of this body--because they all criticized the recent Israeli judicial reform package--de facto anti-Semites. Might that be the authors' intention?

Again, let me be unequivocally clear, most anti-Zionism, particularly in this moment, has a real anti-Semitism problem, but we cannot fairly say that one equals the other.

As the most senior Jewish Member in this House, with perhaps the largest Jewish constituency in this country, I have always and will always support real, meaningful legislation to combat anti-Semitism. This, of course, is deeply personal for me and for so many of my constituents. Indeed, I take a back seat to no one in this body when it comes to fighting against this scourge.

In the aftermath of October 7, we have a moral obligation to act to protect our own Jewish citizens and our critical ally Israel. I pray that the GOP majority makes today the day that they stop playing these partisan games and commit themselves to doing the real work to protect Jewish lives. There is not a single minute to spare.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, we hear in this resolution about the opposition to anti- Semitism. As I said before, I would be more impressed with the sincerity of that opposition if the Republican Party were not trying to defund the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, the office that enforces title VI to protect Jewish students on campus, and if the Republicans were not opposing an increase in funding for the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights and for the high-risk, nonprofit security grant program that protects our synagogues and other Jewish institutions.

Mr. Speaker, the rise of anti-Semitism in the United States and across the world is a real and growing problem.

I wish the majority would use its power to actually do something about it instead of playing partisan political games.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 894) strongly condemning and denouncing the drastic rise of antisemitism in the United States and around the world.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on H. Res. 894.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, since the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel, anti-Semitism has surged in the United States and around the world.

Reports show that there was a nearly 400 percent increase in anti- Semitic incidents in the weeks after the attack. These incidents include harassment, vandalism, and assault. Americans have been punched, beaten, and forced to flee for their lives from swerving cars simply because they are Jewish.

A Jewish cemetery in Brooklyn, Ohio, was vandalized with swastikas.

On college campuses, Jewish students have been subjected to harassment, threats, and forced to hide from violent protests.

In a recent survey, 73 percent of Jewish college students said they had experienced or witnessed some form of anti-Semitism this academic year.

In the same survey, just 39 percent of Jewish students said they felt comfortable with their peers knowing they were Jewish.

Less than half of Jewish students surveyed said that they felt safe on campus.

At a hearing before our committee last month, a college student testified that she now thinks twice before wearing any sign of her Jewish faith. This was a young woman who is maybe 20 years old. She had the courage to come and testify before Congress, but she can't safely wear something that would suggest to her fellow students and her teachers that she is Jewish.

She testified that her family and friends who live in Israel--people who are under nearly constant rocket attack from Hamas--and others check in with her every day to see if she is safe. They are in a war zone. She is in the United States, and they are checking to make sure that she is safe.

These incidents are absolutely horrifying, Mr. Speaker. They are unacceptable in the United States and in any civilized society. Members of the Jewish community should not have to hide their faith in order to safely go about their lives or receive an education.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Foreign Affairs,

Washington, DC, November 30, 2023.

Hon. Jim Jordan,

Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Jordan: Thank you for consulting with the

Foreign Affairs Committee, which agrees to be discharged from

further consideration of H. Res. 894 (Strongly condemning and

denouncing the drastic rise of antisemitism in the United

States and around the world), so that the measure may proceed

expeditiously to the House floor.

I ask that you place our letters on this resolution into

the Congressional Record during floor consideration. I

appreciate your cooperation regarding this legislation and

look forward to continuing to work together as this measure

moves through the legislative process.

Sincerely,

Michael T. McCaul,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I say briefly that I very much do applaud the gentleman from New York, who I think has shown tremendous leadership in many ways in standing up for Israel and fighting against anti-Semitism in this country.

I think one of the valuable things that we have seen over the last several weeks is that we have had bipartisan support on both counts. I actually sponsored a separate resolution dealing specifically with the problem of anti-Semitism on college campuses, and that got overwhelming bipartisan support on this floor. I think it had only about 21 ``no'' votes. That has been very encouraging.

With respect to the three charges that were mentioned, number one, there is legislation in the House right now to codify the President's executive order, on which I think it is important that we move forward.

Number two, far from saying we shouldn't have an Office of Civil Rights within the Department of Education, Representative Burgess Owens and I wrote a letter to the head of the Office of Civil Rights in the Department of Education telling them they need to be doing more, they need to be more proactive in looking into anti-Semitic incidents at our universities, and we would certainly welcome their support on that letter.

Number three, as far as the protection for synagogues and other facilities, I would be very interested in partnering with you on any such efforts.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Kustoff).

Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, first and foremost, I want peace. I want a decisive victory over Hamas and an end to its hateful and destructive reign. I want Israel and Palestine to coexist safely, securely, and with prosperity for generations to come.

It is difficult to talk about peace during wartime, but that is exactly what we must do. We cannot be distracted by disingenuous messaging bills that do nothing but grab headlines with no plan forward.

As a person of faith, I have been taught not to hate, but I must admit that I have hated what I have seen in this Chamber recently. For as I hate anti-Semitism and Islamophobia and racism, as I despise homophobia and transphobia, as I reject and revile hatred and bigotry of any kind, I am also disgusted by the way those prejudices have been weaponized in our Chamber.

We voted yesterday on yet another nonbinding messaging resolution denouncing anti-Semitism, H. Res. 894.

To be clear, I have supported efforts to push back against anti- Semitism. That is why I am supporting Mr. Nadler's plan to combat anti- Semitism. It is why I am supporting Mr. Green's two-state solution resolution. It is why I signed on to Ms. Wasserman Schultz' letter regarding the safety of students on college campuses.

Let's face facts. That was not what this resolution was about. This resolution offers no solutions. It does not seek to bring people together. This resolution was a cynical attempt to weaponize the very real fears of some of our Jewish friends and our neighbors to push a specific political agenda, one that is strikingly disrespectful to the Palestinian state, the State of Israel, and others who support the cause of free and sovereign Palestinian and Israeli states.

On Monday, my colleague, Mr. Nadler, laid out how reckless and uninformed clause 4 of this resolution is. By making it the official position of this Congress that ``anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism,'' we are labeling the thousands of Jews in this country who don't believe their deeply held faith is intrinsically tied to the modern State of Israel as anti-Semitic.

There are very real steps that we as the United States Congress can and should take to combat anti-Semitism in a productive and bipartisan manner. Condemning anti-Semitism wherever it rears its ugly head is critical, but continuing to vote on nonbinding resolutions week after week after week to score political, partisan points does not get us closer to a solution. It is disrespectful to the seriousness of this situation.

Until Republicans are willing to address rising hate and fascism, we will be sitting here waiting without being able to accomplish anything. It is no better than moments of silence or thoughts and prayers with no substantive action to back it up, which were offered during the mass shootings in our schools, malls, and places of worship.

We have work to do for the American people. The rise of anti- Semitism, Islamophobia, racism, homophobia, and xenophobia are a threat to the American experiment in multicultural democracy, and there are Members of this body who are putting in the work to defend the more perfect Union that we built over the last 250 years.

When Republicans who have been obsessed with these messaging bills are ready to join us, we will welcome them with open arms.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this resolution that strongly condemns the dramatic rise of anti-Semitism both here in our Nation and abroad.

Last week, I had the privilege and the honor, frankly, of speaking with Amir Ohana, who is the Speaker of the Knesset. We discussed a lot of things. We talked about how life has changed not only in Israel but around the world since Hamas' horrific and brutal terrorist attack against Israelis on October 7. We also talked about how we have seen an absolute explosion of anti-Semitic incidents, attacks, and harassment in Israel, here in our own Nation, and across the world.

Mr. Speaker, two interesting statistics, if I can: According to the Anti-Defamation League, since the Hamas massacre on October 7, anti- Semitic incidents around our Nation have increased over 400 percent compared to the same time period last year.

The second statistic, Mr. Speaker, more Jews were murdered on October 7 than on any other single day since the Holocaust. Let that sink in.

We have seen Members of this very body repeat blatantly anti-Semitic rhetoric and spread lies about Israel and her right to exist. Let me be absolutely clear: Such hate has no place in the Halls of Congress nor in our national discourse.

It is our fundamental responsibility as leaders and as Members of Congress to condemn and fight these horrific acts of hate and discrimination against the Jewish community.

That is why I am proud to work with my colleague, Congressman Max Miller, to introduce this critical resolution to condemn and denounce all instances of domestic and global anti-Semitism.

A few months ago, Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity--really, the privilege--to take a group of people through the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

A lot of us have been there. It is not too far away from here in the Capitol where we are standing. That museum serves not only as a reminder of the atrocities that took place during the Holocaust, but it also serves as a stark reminder that we can never forget the horrors of the Holocaust and that we, as leaders, have an obligation and a duty to make sure that it never happens again.

For these reasons, I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this very simple, yet critical, resolution.

It is absolutely important that we send a clear and firm message to the world that the United States House of Representatives stands shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish community here in the United States and abroad.

Mr. Speaker, as Jews around the world celebrate Hanukkah very soon in the next few days, we should remember the words of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks.

He said: ``Hanukkah tells us not to curse the darkness, but instead to bring light to the world. It tells us to fight back and not be afraid.''

We should truly heed those words. I thank my colleagues for supporting this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I will vote Present on H. Res. 894, a resolution that aims to condemn antisemitism throughout the world. Several of my Jewish colleagues voted Present as well.

I strongly agree that Congress must condemn all forms of antisemitism. The House of Representatives has voted in favor of several resolutions condemning antisemitism since Hamas's horrific October 7th attacks on Israel, multiple of which I've supported and cosponsored. However, this latest resolution, H. Res. 894, contains overly broad language that weaponizes the real scourge of antisemitism and uses Jewish people as pawns to play partisan political games. For this reason, I could not support the resolution.

For example, H. Res. 894 suggests that ``anti-Zionism is antisemitism.'' While some forms of anti-Zionism are antisemitic, there are many members of the Jewish community that identify as anti-Zionist. Lumping together factions of the Jewish community as ``antisemitic'' is clearly problematic.

Some language in H. Res. 894 also appears to be a veiled attempt to police the free speech of Americans who have demonstrated in favor of human rights for Palestinians. Again, while some demonstrators have disturbingly engaged in antisemitic actions that should rightfully be condemned, H. Res. 894 is too broad.

H. Res. 894 also fails to condemn antisemitic acts from those on the far right, including white nationalists who have increasingly promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories and have threatened the lives and livelihoods of Jewish Americans.

Let me be clear: I unequivocally condemn all forms of antisemitism, and I am appalled by the significant rise in antisemitism we've seen in recent years and especially after Hamas's October 7th terrorist attacks on Israel. If the House Republican majority were serious about tackling antisemitism, they would support President Biden's National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism, would quit trying to defund the Office of Civil Rights for Title VI enforcement which protects Jewish students and would increase funding for the High-Risk Nonprofit Grant Program to secure Jewish institutions as a start.

That's why I've cosponsored H. Res. 907, introduced by Representatives Nadler, Raskin, and Goldman. H. Res. 907 thoughtfully and powerfully condemns the rise of antisemitism in the United States-- including on college campuses--and calls on Congress to support the above substantive actions to tackle antisemitism, which congressional Republicans have so far refused to do. Had H. Res. 894 been written as carefully as H. Res. 907, I would vote in support.